Terms of Use

Effective Date: 2026-02-24

Hosted by: Aarhus University, Center for Humanities Computing (“AU”, “we”, “our”, “us”)

Website: pastnetworks.org (“Site” or “Repository”)

1. Purpose

Our Site is a repository operated by AU for the scholarly community of researchers working on network data about the human past and related metadata (the “Community”). Its purpose is to enable upload, sharing, and access of metadata, textual descriptions, and images related to published network research, data and resulting graphs and visualisations (“Content”).

2. User Registration and Access

Users must register an account to upload Content. By registering you affirm that you are a bona-fide member of the Community or have been invited/approved.

We may restrict, suspend or terminate user accounts and access at our discretion, including for violations of these Terms.

3. User Responsibilities and Representations

By uploading any Content, you represent and warrant that:

You own the copyright (and other intellectual property rights) in the Content, or you have obtained all necessary rights, permissions and licenses from the rightful rights-holders to allow you to upload and make publicly available the Content.

The Content does not infringe any third-party rights (copyright, moral rights, database rights, privacy/data-protection rights, confidentiality or contract) or violate any applicable law (including but not limited to the Danish Copyright Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), or other data protection law) or AU’s policies.

If the Content includes personal data (i.e., identifiable physical persons) you have obtained any required consent or have legal basis for processing/sharing under applicable law.

You agree to provide accurate metadata and to clearly attribute any sources, as appropriate.

4. License Granted to AU / Repository

When you upload Content you grant us, AU and its authorized users, a non‐exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual (or for the duration agreed) license to store, reproduce, display, distribute, make available, archive and transform the Content as part of the repository service.

Copyright ownership remains with you or the rights-holder.

You may request removal of your Content subject to the removal policy described below (see Section 6).

5. Prohibited Content and Use

You must not upload or share Content that:

  • Violates copyright, trademark, database or other intellectual property rights of any party.
  • Contains un-consented personal data of identifiable physical persons, unless you have a lawful basis.
  • Is defamatory, obscene, hateful, harassing, discriminatory, or otherwise unlawful or harmful.
  • Is clearly outside the scope of the Site’s purpose (i.e., not network/graph metadata or relevant descriptive material) or misuses the platform.
  • Attempts to undermine or circumvent the Site’s technical or security measures.

6. Moderation and Removal of Content

We reserve the right (but are not obliged) to remove, disable access to, or edit any Content that we determine (in our reasonable discretion) to:

  • Breach these Terms or the Code of Conduct (see separate document)
  • Violate copyright, data protection, or other applicable law or AU policy
  • Pose a risk to individuals’ rights, privacy or the integrity of the repository
  • Is otherwise inappropriate, misleading or irrelevant to the Site’s purpose.

If you believe your Content has been removed unfairly you may contact us at TODO [insert contact/email].

Please note: Although AU intends to maintain the repository, we cannot guarantee permanent storage, availability or backup. Deleted content may not be recoverable.

7. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

The repository and all Content are provided “as is,” and we make no warranty (express or implied) regarding accuracy, completeness, suitability, or fitness for any purpose. AU and the Site’s administrators shall not be liable for any loss, damage (whether direct, indirect or consequential), or legal claim arising from your use of the Site or reliance on any Content.

8. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by Danish law, and the courts of Denmark shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

You agree to comply with AU’s internal policies on data, research integrity and intellectual property, including but not limited to the “Policy for research integrity, freedom of research and responsible conduct of research at Aarhus University”.

9. Amendment of Terms

We may amend these Terms from time to time. The version posted on the Site (with effective date) is the binding version. Continued use of the Site after posting constitutes acceptance of the amended Terms.