Project

General

Profile

Home » Database development » VegBIEN »

conditions of use

If a BIEN3 data extract includes only publishable datasources, it may be published, as long as you provide a copy of the conditions of use page anywhere that you post the data online (use File > Save Page As... > "Web Page, complete" to save it to disk). Also, please be sure to link to our conditions of use page in your paper's references, as this is required by the data providers.

However, if the extract includes private datasources, both the extract and the download link must be kept private within the BIEN group, as the extract contains restricted-access data.

→ datasource details

summary

publishable datasources spreadsheet: (see also the Excel export of it)

Loading Google Spreadsheet...

details

ACAD

ARIZ

  • conditions of use: "additional terms of use specific to the individual collections may be distributed with the data download. When present, the terms supplied by the owning institution should take precedence over the general terms posted on the website." our extract only includes data from the University of Arizona Herbarium collection (omcollections.CollID = 2), whose rights, rightsHolder, and accessRights columns are all empty (i.e. no specific restrictions).
  • source: direct MySQL link at db.herbarium.arizona.edu
  • web interface (filter by all valid lat/longs)
  • contact: Ben Brandt, Brad Boyle

bien_web

  • schema only, no data that would be subject to conditions of use
  • source: export from BIEN2 DB

BRIT

  • conditions of use: "Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 2.5 License [...] ©2005-12 Botanical Research Institute of Texas" [+emphasis]. this would only apply to the portions of the database copyrighted by their institution (i.e. their DB schema), not the data submitted to them (owned by the provider), but they unfortunately have no separate use policy for contributors. thus, we can make the raw data public, but not the VegBIEN-imported data or the VegCore-modified staging tables.
  • source: raw data from Jason Best
  • web interface
  • contact: Jason Best

CTFS

  • conditions of use: "we ask that the prospective investigator not share the BCI data with other parties not included on the Request for Data Access Proposal"
    • "Citation: Publications using BCI data should include the following citations: [...] Publications should also include an acknowledgement of the support of the Center for Tropical Forest Science of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the primary granting agencies that have supported the BCI plot: [...]"
    • available via data request form
  • source: aggregated data from BIEN2 DB
  • web interface
  • contact: Rick Condit

CVS

Does this mean that we cannot redistribute CVS, or can we redistribute
it if the private fields/embargoed plots are removed?

Correct, it should not be redistributed in its current form.

So if we delete the values in realLatitude/realLongitude, this is
sufficient for the data to be safe to make public?

Yes, if those values are removed. The authorE and authorN should also be removed, those could betray the real location as well. We don't expose those in VegBank's interface.

  • source: raw data from Mike Lee
  • web interface
  • contact: Bob Peet, Mike Lee

Cyrille traits

  • conditions of use: legal restrictions that prevent publishing the data: (e-mail from Cyrille)

Will [the data] at some point in the future be available for open access, or
are there legal restrictions that would prevent that?

There are legal restrictions that prevent that... we need to be careful about that...

To clarify, does this mean that the rows marked public can be published, since they do not come from TRY?

not necessary... This is why we need to be cautious about that. For a large part (e.g. seed mass coming from Kew), we are allowed to use them (downloaded from their website) BUT NOT to serve them (it is clear from their rules).

I have put a column ‘access’ with different values (public, private etc.). so for each trait value you have this information – public means it’s ok for BIEN to use them

The public flag is interesting for BIEN members/collaborators: they can use all these data. But I did not originally create it for open access (serving on the web). Still in discussion for part of them...

Can you provide a list of which Reference numbers/Paper references are from TRY?

No one came from TRY!

But didn't your traits data for BIEN2 include the TRY data?

no TRY data in BIEN 2. EXCEPT for the habit data. [unlike BIEN2, BIEN3 does not use any separate data from TRY, including habit data.]

BIEN knows that I built the trait tables on my own, without TRY

FIA

  • conditions of use: public domain: "Data are collected in a variety of ways, including by permanent or temporary Federal employees; State employees through cooperative agreements; or non-government sources (universities, private contractors, etc.) via contract". work performed by federal employees is legally public domain. it is reasonable to assume that the contracts for work performed by others would include copyright assignment to the U.S. (i.e. the public domain), in order to secure FIA users' rights to use the data.
  • source
  • contact: Kai Zhu (Jim Clark's Ph.D. student), Jes Coyle, Brad Boyle, Brian McGill

GBIF

geoscrub

GADM

  • conditions of use: fair use (no copyright attached)
    • the scrubbed names are a very small portion of all that GADM provides, and we are using only a subset, so fair use applies
  • use policy: no longer has one
    • previously, was: "These data are freely available for academic and other non-commercial use. Redistribution, or commercial use, is not allowed without prior permission."
  • source

geonames

herbaria

HIBG

HVAA

  • conditions of use: "General Citation: Herbario Virtual Austral Americano. 2013. http//:www.herbariovaa.org/index.php. Accessed on December 04."
    • "Herbario Virtual Austral Americano asks that users not redistribute data obtained from this site without permission for data owners". however, the dataOwners, rights, and accessRights fields are all empty for all rows, so the data owners appear to have granted this permission, by not specifying conditions of use.
  • source

IRMNG

IUCN

JBM

MO

  • conditions of use: "Attribution should be given for use of data derived from the site. General reference to the site can be given as “Tropicos, botanical information system at the Missouri Botanical Garden - www.tropicos.org” or individual pages should be cited as indicated at the bottom of each page."
  • source
  • contact: Peter Jorgensen

MT

Madidi

  • conditions of use: "Outside, non‐members, users will need to confirm that they will respect the full terms of this code of conduct, and solicit AR [Associated researcher] status. Only then will they for the purpose of this document be considered research associates and thereby have to follow the clauses 1a–d."
  • source: raw data from Peter Jorgensen
  • web interface
  • contact: Peter Jorgensen

NCBI

  • conditions of use: public domain: "Information that is created by or for the US government on this site is within the public domain" [emphasis added]
  • source

NCU

  • conditions of use: lists citations for each collection
    • "Copyright © the Herbarium of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005"
  • source (link provided by Bob Peet)
  • contact: Bob Peet

newWorld

  • conditions of use: public domain: common knowledge/generally-accepted facts (equivalent to public domain)
  • source: export from BIEN2 DB
  • contact: Brad Boyle

NVS

  • conditions of use: "A clear acknowledgement of NVS as a data source must appear in any products (e.g. publications, unpublished reports) in the following terms: We <or User/Institution name> acknowledge the use of data <or other information> drawn from the National Vegetation Survey Databank (NVS) on [28 November 2012]."
  • source: example export from Nick Spencer
  • web interface
  • contact: Nick Spencer

NY

we are planning to publish BIEN3, and would like to include NYBG in the published version if possible. Would you be willing to give permission to redistribute the data in the *NYBG extract*?

Yes, you have permission to redistribute the NYBG data.

QFA

REMIB

SALVIAS

  • conditions of use: "I further agree to acknowledge SALVIAS as a source of any data or information obtained through the SALVIAS website. The SALVIAS website should be cited as: "The SALVIAS Project (2002 and onward). Retrieved [20 January 2014], from http://www.salvias.net""
    • redistribution: "Anyone using data obtained through SALVIAS must adhere to both the General Participant Agreement ["I may not redistribute any data obtained through SALVIAS, unless specifically permitted to do so by the original data provider"], as well as the specific data access conditions set by the data provider". the specific data access conditions are in projects.ipr_specific, where "There are no specific use conditions attached to this dataset. [...]" indicates a redistributable dataset.
      • projects.ipr_specific = '' also indicates a redistributable dataset. when this field is blank, this just means it was not yet updated with the string "There are no specific use conditions attached to this dataset". (Brad)
    • data access controls: plots that are "No Access" (AccessCode=1) or "Can view plot metadata" (AccessCode=2) can't be public
  • source: raw data provided by Brad Boyle
  • web interface
  • contact: Brad Boyle

SpeciesLink

  • conditions of use: since the data is publicly accessible, and the website that provides it does not list any explicit restrictions, it's reasonable to assume that the data can be redistributed
    • supposedly there is an XML "environment variable" rights, but this is not downloaded by our Tapir client. since the data is publicly accessible, it's reasonable to assume that the contents of rights would allow providing public access to the data.
  • source
  • contact: Alexandre Marino (system administrator)

TEAM

  • conditions of use: "The Data Set Creator hereby grants to the Data User a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to copy, use, and create derivative works from this Data Set, subject to the terms of this Agreement [...] The Data User agrees to notify the Data Set Creator prior to use of the data, and to provide an explanation of how the Data Set is intended to be used. In addition, the Data User agrees to offer clear and prominent attribution to the Data Set Creator if such attribution is requested by the Data Set Creator."
  • source
  • contact: Eric Fegraus

test_taxonomic_names

  • conditions of use: BSD
    • created by Brad Boyle on 2012-10-1, while he was employed by the University of Arizona
  • copyright: University of Arizona
  • source/contact: e-mail from Brad Boyle @ iPlant (author) on 2012-10-1

TEX

we are planning to publish BIEN3, and would like to include TEX in the published version if possible. Would you be willing to give permission to redistribute the data in the TEX extracts?

we have no problem with these data being included in BIEN3

TNRS

TRT

TRTE

TRY

not currently used

  • conditions of use: "Downloaded data cannot be redistributed to others and must not be redistributed via other websites, databases or any other storage system to prevent circulation of different versions of the datasets"
    • "Open-access means that data are freely distributed without charge. Data download is unrestricted and requires only a free registration needed for web security"
    • "the data providers and TRY [must] receive fair credit for their work through appropriate citation: [...] the TRY initiative: Kattge et al. (2011) TRY - a global database of plant traits. Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935"
  • web interface

U

  • conditions of use: since the data is publicly accessible, and the website that provides it does not list any explicit restrictions, it's reasonable to assume that the data can be redistributed
    • also, note that the Netherlands is a member of the OECD, and therefore has "signed a declaration which essentially states that all publicly funded archive data should be made publicly available". the formal declaration specifically supports the "unrestricted use of data".
    • the web interface provides a permalink to cite the data
    • they also provide a contact e-mail
  • source: raw data used in BIEN2 DB
  • web interface

UBC

UNCC

  • conditions of use: lists herbarium names for each collection
    • "Copyright © the Herbarium of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005"
  • source: raw data used in BIEN2 DB
  • contact: Bob Peet

VASCAN

  • conditions of use: public domain: "To the extent possible under law, the Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this dataset, releasing it to the public domain under a CC0 waiver"
  • source

VegBank

  • citing: "To cite the VegBank database as a whole or a single entity in the database, use the following citation: Peet, R.K., M.T. Lee, M.D. Jennings, D. Faber-Langendoen (eds). 2013. VegBank: The vegetation plot archive of the Ecological Society of America. http://vegbank.org; searched on [8 October 2013]."
  • conditions of use: "Data downloaded from VegBank and used in some subsequent work must be identified in that work by reference to VegBank Accession Code(s) and the date(s) of the download."
    • ESA obtains legal distribution rights from submitters: "To upload material to VegBank the submitter must confirm possession of the right to distribute the submitted material and must either convey that right to the Ecological Society of America in the form of transfer of copyright or confirm that ESA holds that right owing to the information being in the public domain or being available through the fair-use provisions of US copyright law"
  • source: raw data obtained from vegbankvm.nceas.ucsb.edu
  • web interface
  • contact: Bob Peet, Mike Lee

WIN

XAL

dataset assembly

assembly of inputs

  • conditions of use: BSD
    • the collection of flat files on vegbiendev (used as inputs to the program) was hand-assembled, and thus attaches the preparer's copyright as a compilation
  • copyright: UCSB
  • source/contact: Aaron Marcuse-Kubitza @ NCEAS (preparer)

running of program on inputs

  • conditions of use: no copyright attached
    • the creation of the dataset itself is automated, so no copyright attaches
    • the VM used to run the scripts is considered to be a program, so the copyright in setting up the VM's software attaches to the VM rather than the data
  • source/contact: Aaron Marcuse-Kubitza @ NCEAS (preparer)

injected material

column names