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ABSCLUST TERMS OF SERVICES

Effective: 29.7.2024

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1. General conditions

On the website absclust.com (“Site”), AbsClust, Lübecker Straße 3, 18057 Rostock, Germany (“AbsClust”) provides a platform for scientific articles search, filtering, and knowledge extraction (“Service”). Reaching out to us is possible by email team@absclust.com.

Use of the AbsClust Service requires that you, as the user (“User”), accept all provisions, rules, and conditions of these terms of use (“Terms of Service”), which form the basis of the agreement concluded between AbsClust and the User (“Contract”). If, for any reason, the User disagrees with these provisions and does not accept these Terms of Service, they must not enter the Site and must not use the AbsClust Service. In the event of any contradiction between the details of these Terms of Service and other documents on the Site, the details provided within these Terms of Service shall prevail.

In cases where there is any ambiguity or if a particular situation is not explicitly addressed within these Terms of Service, the provisions of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) shall apply. The BGB will govern and provide the necessary legal framework and guidance to resolve any such issues, ensuring clarity and legal consistency. By agreeing to these Terms of Service, users acknowledge and accept that the BGB will serve as the supplementary and governing law in instances of uncertainty or unaddressed matters.

2. Acceptance of terms

A User may use our service if they are an individual who has reached the age of 18. By accessing or using our service, the User represents and warrants that they are at least 18 years old. If the User is using our service on behalf of a company or organization, the User confirms that they are authorized to act on behalf of that entity and agree to these Terms of Service on its behalf.

To use our service, the User must complete the registration process by providing a username, email address, and setting a password. The User’s login credentials are confidential, and the User is responsible for maintaining their secrecy. The User agrees not to disclose their login details to any third party without our written consent.

As the owner of their login credentials, the User is responsible for all activities that occur under their account. The User acknowledges that we may assume that any use of their account credentials is by the User. If the User believes their password has been compromised or suspects unauthorized access to their account, they must promptly change their password and notify us immediately.

3. Service

AbsClust provides services for finding research articles, visualizing their structure, extracting information from research articles, etc. User can

  • Perform search requests to find relevant articles in the open-source article databases (“AbsClust Search”), potentially using AbsClust feature to detect best search strategy for a given query (“Smart search”)

  • Use AbsClust visualization technology (“AbsClustMaps”) to analyze similarities between different articles

  • Use question answering feature to find relevant articles within publicly accessible or custom dataset, and generate specific answers (“Question answering”)

  • Use information extraction feature, allowing to extract specific information from the collection of research articles (“Information extraction”).

  • Upload their own articles as PDF files to use above-described features on their own data (“Custom dataset”)

All services provided by AbsClust are offered on an “as-is” basis. Users should be aware that the system is still in the beta development stage. As such, no uptime or availability guarantees are provided, and users may encounter bugs or other issues while using the service. AbsClust is actively working on improvements, but the current state of the service may not meet all user expectations. Users acknowledge and accept these conditions by using the service. Users are encouraged to report any bugs or errors they encounter to support@absclust.com. AbsClust commits to responding to such reports within 5 working days and will aim to fix reported issues within a reasonable timeframe.

3.1 Support

AbsClust provides support for its Services (English only), available by email support@absclust.com. Support requests will be answered within 5 working days.

3.2 AbsClust Search

AbsClust searches within public databases to provide Users with relevant scientific literature. While AbsClust facilitates the discovery of scientific articles, it does not provide access to the full text directly. Instead, AbsClust provides direct links to open access articles through third-party services. Users can retrieve and read open access articles directly from the respective sources, ensuring compliance with the licenses and terms set by those third-party providers.

3.3 Question answering and Table feature

AbsClust provides the ability for automatic question answering and information extraction. The quality of question answering and information extraction depends on the availability of information. For public datasets, questions can only be answered based on the information contained therein, which might or might not be sufficient. For custom datasets, the relevancy and quality of answers will depend on the user-uploaded articles.

Even if the correct answer is in the data source, AbsClust does not guarantee it will be found or that the answer or extract will be correct. The automatic question answering and information extraction features rely on AI technologies, which are not always accurate. Users should use the answers as a guide and verify them with additional sources when necessary.

3.4 User uploaded data

AbsClust provide technical possibility to upload data to the server, as a part of the Custom dataset creation. The User bears sole responsibility for all content they upload to our service. This includes ensuring that any uploaded materials do not infringe on personal rights, advertising rights, copyrights, publishing rights, or any other rights of third parties. Specifically, the User must:

  1. Ensure that all uploaded content, including but not limited to scientific articles, does not violate the intellectual property rights of others.

  2. Confirm that no licenses or other fees are required or incurred through the use of the uploaded content.

  3. Only upload published scientific articles in PDF format. Confidential, personal or sensitive information, including unpublished works, are not permitted.

All uploaded data is securely stored on AbsClust servers and is only accessible to the User themselves. It is the User’s duty to determine whether the licenses of the articles they upload allow for such storage and access. The User acknowledges that they are solely liable for any consequences arising from their uploads, including legal actions or claims resulting from the violation of third-party rights. User can request the removal of their uploaded data or the deletion of their account by sending an email to us at support@absclust.com.

AbsClust is not a data storage platform and does not guarantee that information uploaded (custom datasets) will be available indefinitely.

4. Subscription

4.1 Free Version

AbsClust may offer a free version of its service that includes a limited set of features or limited amount of requests (“Free Version”). The availability and scope of features in the Free Version are determined at AbsClust sole discretion. AbsClust reserves the right to modify the features included in the Free Version or to discontinue the Free Version entirely at any time without prior notice.

4.2 Subscription Plans

AbsClust offers various subscription plans for accessing different sets of features or amount of requests (“Subscription”). The prices and limitations for these Subscription plans are detailed at the AbsClust web page.

Before ordering a Subscription plan, the User must create a free user account. By selecting a Subscription plan and clicking on the button labeled “Order with obligation to pay” or similar at the end of the order process, the User makes a legally binding offer to enter into a contract for the chosen Subscription plan. The User can adjust the order at any time before placing it.

Upon receiving the order, the User will receive an automatically generated summary of the Subscription. This summary serves as a non-binding confirmation receipt, informing the User that the order has been received and specifying the details of the ordered Subscription. A contract is concluded only when AbsClust confirms the order or begins providing the services.

Subscription prices can be paid monthly or annually via credit card. All payment transactions are handled by Stripe, a secure payment gateway. The User’s Subscription will automatically renew on a monthly or yearly basis, depending on the selected plan, unless it is terminated prior to renewal.

All prices are net prices, exclusive of applicable taxes and fiscal charges as required by law.

4.3 Cancellation and termination

The User has the right to terminate the Contract at any time, without the need to observe a notice period or provide any reason. This termination can be effectively executed by deleting the User’s AbsClust account or by contacting AbsClust. Upon deletion of the account, the Contract will be considered terminated immediately.

AbsClust reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to suspend access to a User’s account if AbsClust reasonably determines or has reasonable grounds to suspect that the User’s use of the AbsClust platform:

  • Violates these Terms of Service, the License Terms, and/or applicable law,

  • Infringes the rights of third parties,

  • Poses a security risk to the functionality of the AbsClust platform,

  • Could subject AbsClust and/or other users to liability, or

  • Could be fraudulent

5. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, AbsClust shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) User use or inability to use the Service; (ii) any unauthorized access to or use of our servers and/or any personal information stored therein; (iii) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Service; (iv) any bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like that may be transmitted to or through the Service by any third party; (v) any errors or omissions in any content or for any loss or damage incurred as a result of User use of any content posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available through the Service; and/or (vi) the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party.

In no event shall AbsClust’s aggregate liability for all claims related to the Service exceed the amount paid by User to AbsClust for the Service during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the claim. The foregoing limitations will apply even if a remedy provided herein fails of its essential purpose.

6. Processing personal data

AbsClust approach to processing personal data can be found in the Privacy Policy available at the AbsClust website (https://absclust.com/disclaimers/privacy).

7. Miscellaneous

AbsClust retains the right to modify or cease, whether temporarily or permanently, any aspect of the Service at any time, with or without prior notice.

Subscription fees, including monthly and yearly plans, are subject to change. AbsClust will provide a 30-day notice of any price adjustments, which may be communicated via email or posted on the Service platform. AbsClust will not be liable to User or any third party for any changes, price adjustments, suspensions, or terminations of the Service.

AbsClust retains all rights, title, and interest in the software provided through the Service. Users are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service in accordance with these Terms of Service. Users may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse engineer any part of the Service.

If you encounter any matters not covered by these Terms of Service, please contact us via the email provided in the General Conditions section. We are committed to addressing your inquiries and will work to resolve any issues as quickly as possible.

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