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Terms of Use

General​

Edmond Repository is a service for the publication of research data. It is provided by Max Planck Digital Library (MPDL), department of Max Planck Information and Technology (MaxIT), on behalf of Max Planck Society. Therefore the Terms of Service of the Max Planck Digital Library are valid for Edmond.

Edmondʼs aim is to provide a platform for granting access to valuable research data and to promote the accessibility of these data. It may be used by uploading content to Edmond Repository (submitter) and by downloading (and using) content from Edmond Repository (downloader).

Content​

Edmond is a repository for research data, which is data that is created during scientific research in all fields of scholarship. Also negative results and other data that does not lead to a publication are welcome. All other sorts of data are not allowed to be uploaded in Edmond. In case it is not clear for you whether your data is research data or not, please contact the Edmond support before depositing the data. If you embed external images in your datasetsʼ descriptions using html, you are responsible for correct copyright use and DSGVO compliance. You must also check whether foreign trade law applies to the publication of the data. This applies in particular to the dual use of data and code. The Edmond support team is not obliged to pre-screen any content for legal compliance - this is the obligation of the submitter.

As soon as the researcher submits a new dataset, the Edmond support team receives an automated e-mail notification. This triggers manual checks of the content and data format for adequacy. The Edmond support team reserves the right to contact the researcher to request an adjustment of the data. We also reserve the right to modify or remove content without notice from the platform in case it is considered inappropriate, not related to scientific research, or violates the Rules of Good Scientific Practice.

Registration​

The Edmond Service is free of charge for all employees of the Max Planck Society and its scientific project partners for data from research projects. It is not allowed to exploit this service for data other than those arising from research projects associated with the Max Planck Society.

Scope of Access​

The aim of putting content into Edmond is to publish it. Content, once published, will be kept and made available for at least ten years. Once published, submitter has no possibility to erase the content. In exceptional cases of legal issues, submitter can ask for deaccessioning (i.e. withdrawing) a published dataset, but the decision is up to the Edmond support team . On publish, depositors grant Edmond Repository a non-exclusive right to use content deposited in the repository, in particular the right to make content publicly accessible on a permanent basis – also for downloading. If a dataset draft remains unpublished for longer than a year, it may get deleted by the Edmond team after contacting the submitter.

License​

During the publishing process within Edmond, there is the possibility to assign a license to the data. If no license is assigned, the data will be released under CC0. By uploading Content to Edmond Repository submitter agrees to and grants third parties the right to use the content on the basis of this license. Edmond is not able to monitor the reuse of the data in accordance with the license outside Edmond. If the Edmond support team becomes aware of an improper use of the data, an attempt will be made to apply the license conditions. If this is not successful, the Edmond support team will decide on further actions together with the data creator.

Operation​

The Edmond Service is provided on an 'as is' and 'as available' basis. Its operators agree to:

  • Assist and consult you during the publishing process of your data.
  • Store your data on servers in Germany (currently at the Gesellschaft fuer wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Goettingen (GWDG)).
  • Take care that your data is regularly backed up.

Edmond is a curated repository. Thus, the Edmond support team has reading and writing access to datasets, also to those in draft or review status.

Questions about the Terms of Use should be sent to the Edmond support team.

Long-term Preservation​

Once the data is published in Edmond, the Dataverse storage design as well as the GWDG infrastructure ensure the data availability for at least ten years. If researchers wish to retain the data beyond the specified 10-year period, they can contact the Edmond team for assistance with transferring the data to an appropriate archive. Within the guideline for long-term archiving in Edmond researchers are informed about the data requirements for long-term data preservation and transfer to an appropriate archiving solution.