Asian Soundscape Monitoring Network
Terms of Use and Copyright Policy
Updated: 2024/8/17

This site is a public platform for presenting, preserving, providing open access to, and utilizing ecological and biodiversity soundscape monitoring recordings. The features offered by this site, collectively referred to as "the Service," are governed by these "Terms of Use and Copyright Policy." Users must agree to these Terms of Use and Copyright Policy to use the Service. Continued use of the Service, including browsing relevant public information, constitutes express agreement to the terms below, including compliance with usage requirements, technical specifications, and any updates to these Terms of Use.

In these Terms, "Service Data" refers to any data transmitted through the Service, including but not limited to recordings directly stored by the uploader, recordings lawfully transferred from other third-party platforms by the uploader, or recordings used within a reasonable scope under the Fair Use doctrine. "Metadata" refers to various descriptive information related to individual recordings, resource links, projects, and similar items.

Guidelines

1. The Service is open to the public. However, if users intend to use automated, semi-automated, or batch downloading methods to retrieve data from the Service, they must register as members and request API access or similar interactions that do not impact the platform’s service load.

2. The design of the website and species images may be provided under specific licenses or for browsing only, as indicated in the image annotations. All other publicly available data is generally available for use, including data independently stored or transferred from third-party platforms. Uploaders must confirm they have the rights to upload and store such data on the Service. Data uploaded or transferred by users should be suitable for broad distribution and comply with regulations concerning personal data protection, information security, and intellectual property rights. The Service is responsible limitedly for maintaining the service and managing technical adjustments for stored or transferred data.

3. Users must comply with the law when using data from the Service and avoid infringing on others' legal rights. While there are no specific restrictions against merging or modifying the data provided by the Service, users must not maliciously alter the information. If edited or modified information leads to discrepancies with the original source and causes damage to the Service or others, the user may be held legally responsible for any resulting civil or criminal liabilities.

4. Users must not harm the Service through their usage behaviors. When using the Service via application programming interfaces (APIs) or bots, such use must be within reasonable limits and should not cause substantial interference or affect the efficiency of the platform’s service to other users. The Service reserves the right to revoke or restrict individual users' access based on server load conditions.

5. The Service may take unilateral action in the following circumstances and will not be liable for the results:
- Deletion or Hiding of Inappropriate or Insufficiently Protected Data. In cases involving sensitive biodiversity data or improper disclosure of third-party privacy, where the data might harm species, infringe on third parties' rights, or lead to other environmental damage, the Service may take appropriate measures to obscure or remove the data upon notification by third parties.
- Revocation or Restriction of Access. The Service may revoke or restrict access for actions that interfere with its operation, violate these Terms of Use, or breach the law. The Service reserves the right to adjust user access rights as necessary.

Data Use

6. The natural soundscape recordings and their metadata publicly provided by the Service, unless otherwise stated, are considered compilation works and should be used in accordance with the "CC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-4.0)" license. This includes images or charts derived from the analysis of soundscape recordings, which are also published under CC-BY-NC-4.0. Users must respect the attribution requirements for such compilation data, images, and charts, and understand that the legal intellectual property rights of the uploaders or original creators are not necessarily waived or fully transferred to the users.

7. Without the Service's consent, you may not download substantial parts of the data from the Service in bulk, whether individually or collaboratively, as this may disrupt the normal operation of the platform. Additionally, you may not use the compilation data derived from recordings and metadata for commercial purposes. If users require complete backups or redistribution for scientific research or sustainability purposes, or have other commercial needs, please contact the Service through the provided contact methods for further discussion and consultation.

8. When using data from the Service, users should, in addition to the attribution information specified for the original source, also cite the source as "Asian Soundscape Monitoring Network" to comply with CC licensing terms for attribution. If the cited data can generate an Archival Resource Key (ARK), including this key is required to enhance the accuracy, verifiability, and interconnectivity of research information sharing. Suggested citation formats are as follows:
- In Chinese: 「錄音或資料名稱」，出處貢獻者姓名或其他顯名資訊 @ 亞洲聲景監測網絡，CC-BY-NC-4.0，檢索日期。ARK: https://n2t.net/ark:/18474/s01{通用唯一辨識碼}
- In English: "Title of the Recording or Data", Contributor’s Name or other Attribution Information @ Asian Soundscape Monitoring Network, CC-BY-NC-4.0, retrieval date. ARK: https://n2t.net/ark:/18474/s01{UUID}

Privacy Policy

9. Please refer to the Service's [Privacy Policy] to understand how the Service collects and processes personal data.

Disclaimer 10. The Service is provided "as-is" and does not guarantee its usability or quality. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties and liabilities, including any responsibility for compensation or indemnification. The Service is not responsible for the accuracy, precision, or completeness of the soundscape records (including metadata). If the data you use contains external links, the Service also does not assume responsibility for the security of those links. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is only responsible for correcting, supplementing, or removing data when errors or omissions in the stored or transferred data are identified. The Service is not responsible for the permanent availability of hosted data and does not assume any liability for data loss.

Choice of Law and Jurisdiction

11. These Terms of Use shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Any disputes arising from the use of the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Taipei District Court in Taiwan.

Terms Update

12. The Service may periodically update these Terms of Use. The latest version of the revised Terms will be posted on this platform, and users may not receive individual notifications. Continued use of the Service after any revisions indicates acceptance of the updated Terms.

Contact Information

13. For permissions outside the scope of these Terms of Use or for additional technical support inquiries, please contact us using the contact page provided on this site. If users have concerns that the data hosted by the Service infringes on their legal rights, they may also use the contact page to reach us. The Service's maintenance team will review and address such concerns in accordance with the liability limitation procedures for information storage service providers upon receipt of a rights claim statement from the submitter. Specifically, once a legitimate rights holder raises concerns about infringement, we will respond by removing the disputed Service Data to ensure compliance with limited liability requirements.