UTS FIGSHARE REPOSITORY TERMS OF USE

These terms (the Terms) dated 8 July 2025 set out the rights and responsibilities regarding the use of the University of Technology Sydney’s (University) portal instance of the Figshare digital Repository. These Terms create a binding agreement that applies to any individual or organisation that: (a) submits or attempts to submit a Work (and any associated Metadata) to the Repository (Depositor); or (b) accesses, downloads, links to, or otherwise uses a Work (or any Metadata) obtained from the Repository (End-User). By using the portal instance of the University’s Figshare Repository, Depositors and End Users (collectively User(s)) consent to these Terms and the University’s Privacy Policy. In the event a User does not agree to these Terms, that person should not make use of the Repository.

  • 1. Definitions & Interpretation

    • 1.1. Definitions

      • 1.1.1. Business Day means a day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in New South Wales, Australia.

      • 1.1.2. Creative Commons Licence means any standard form public licence created and published by the organisation ‘Creative Commons’ under which the copyright owner grants advance permission to the public to use, share and where the licence permits, adapt the licensed material subject to the specified conditions of the licence.

      • 1.1.3. Cookie Policy Cookie Policy means the Figshare Cookie Policy as amended from time to time and available at: https://figshare.com/cookie-settings.

      • 1.1.4. Metadata means descriptive and technical information supplied with a Work, including any Creative Commons Licence.

      • 1.1.5. Repository means the University’s instance within the digital platform operated by Figshare to store, preserve, index and disseminate research and teaching outputs.

      • 1.1.6. Privacy Policy in respect of Figshare means the Figshare Privacy Policy as amended from time to time and available at: https://info.figshare.com/privacy-policy/ and in respect of the University means the University’s Privacy Policy as amended from time to time and available at: https://www.uts.edu.au/about/leadership-governance/policies/a-z/privacy-policy.

      • 1.1.7. Service Terms means the Figshare Terms & Conditions as amended from time to time and available at: https://figshare.com/terms.

      • 1.1.8. Work(s) means any text, dataset, image, audio-visual material, or other content a User deposits on the Repository.

    • 1.2. Interpretation

      • 1.2.1. Words defined throughout the Terms (not set out in clause 1.1 above) will have the meaning given to them as stated.

      • 1.2.2. The word ”including” means “including without limitation”.

      • 1.2.3. Headings are for convenience only.

  • 2. About the Service

    • 2.1. The Repository provides a managed cloud-hosted platform though which the University:

      • 2.1.1. stores Works and its Metadata; and

      • 2.1.2. makes those Works searchable, and where permitted, openly accessible on the internet.

    • 2.2. The Repository (including all software, databases, API’s and related documentation) together with all copyright in the Repository is owned by Figshare LLP (Figshare) or their licensors. No proprietary rights in the Repository are transferred to Users beyond the limited licenses expressly set out in these Terms.

    • 2.3. All Users must comply with Figshare’s own Service Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy as amended from time to time. To the extent a provision from the Figshare Terms directly conflict with these Terms, these Terms are intended to prevail in relation to the Repository only, otherwise, the Figshare Terms apply in addition to, and not in substitution for, these Terms.

    • 2.4. The University does not systematically review, verify or vet Works deposited by a Depositor within the Repository. Works may therefore contain errors, omissions or viewpoints that are not those of the University, nor its directors, officers, agents or personnel. End-Users rely on the Works uploaded and stored within the Repository entirely at their own risk and should exercise academic rigour and caution when interacting and viewing the Works made available.

    • 2.5. Features and any downstream integrations may be changed, suspended, altered or discontinued by the University in its sole discretion. The University is not liable to provide Users with any advance notice of such changes, even if those changes materially affect the use of the Repository.

  • 3. Eligibility & Registration

    • 3.1. Users must be at least sixteen (16) years old and/or be legally able to enter a contract or be acting with authority on behalf of an organisation.

    • 3.2. Users are solely responsible for all activity using their credentials and must promptly notify the University of all unauthorised account usage.

  • 4. Use of Displayed Works

    • 4.1. Subject to clause 4.2 below, Depositors are required to detail in the Metadata precisely the rights and limitations other Users have in respect of their uploaded Works. It is entirely the responsibility of a Depositor to correctly identify their Works; The University shall in no way be responsible for any act taken by a User from any incorrect Metadata uploaded by a Depositor in relation to a given Work.

    • 4.2. If a specific licence (e.g., a Creative Commons licence) is displayed in the Metadata in connection with a particular Work, then use of that Work is governed by the terms of that licence.
      If no licence is displayed, the Work is provided on an “all rights reserved” basis and may be used only for personal, noncommercial research, study or teaching purposes.

    • 4.3. Users may view, download and cite a Work solely for the purposes set out in clause 4.2. Users must not otherwise reproduce, adapt, distribute, communicate, perform, display or exploit a Work without first obtaining the express permission of the copyright owner (or as otherwise permitted by law).

    • 4.4. Works may incorporate images, data or other material owned or licensed by third parties. Such material may be subject to additional restrictions that are not waived by its appearance in the Repository. It remains the User’s responsibility to obtain any further permissions required.

    • 4.5. Users acknowledge and agree that access to and reliance on any Works included in the Repository is entirely at the User’s own risk and it remains at all times the User’s responsibility to make their own assessment of any copyright or other legal issues prior to using a Work beyond personal study.

  • 5. Acceptable Use

    • 5.1. Notwithstanding the acceptable use obligations in the Figshare Terms, The Depositor and each End-User must at all times comply with the acceptable use requirements set out below. Users must not:

      • 5.1.1. copy or exploit Works beyond the rights granted in clause 4 or any licence shown in the Metadata;

      • 5.1.2. create any derivative works based off either the Repository or any individual Works, unless, in the case of any individual Works, is otherwise permitted by the specified license associated with an individual Work;

      • 5.1.3. harvest, scape, crawl or mine content, or otherwise impose an unreasonable or disproportionate load on the Repository infrastructure;

      • 5.1.4. circumvent, probe or interfere with security or other authentication mechanisms, share login credentials, or reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to derive any source code or underlying algorithms pertaining to any part of the Repository platform;

      • 5.1.5. transmit or otherwise upload or deposit any unlawful or harmful content, including material that infringes intellectual property or privacy rights, contains defamatory, obscene, hateful, fraudulent or unlawful content, discloses sensitive personal or confidential information without consent, or introduces malware, harmful code or any trojan; and

      • 5.1.6. misrepresent or impersonate any person, falsify authorship, funding declarations or institutional affiliation, or submit plagiarised or undisclosed AI-generated content.

    • 5.2. A breach of this clause 5 constitutes a material breach of these Terms. The University may, at its sole discretion, and without prior notice, suspend or terminate access, remove or disable Works, block IP addresses, notify law enforcement or regulatory bodies, and/or pursue civil remedies for any breach of this clause 5.

  • 6. Depositor Grant of Rights to University

    • 6.1. When a Depositor deposits a Work by uploading or otherwise transmitting it via the Repository, to the extent permitted by law, the Depositor grants the University a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual licence to:

      • 6.1.1. store, reproduce, modify, re-format, display, publish, communicate and back-up the Work (including any associated Metadata) to enable public consumption; and

      • 6.1.2. keep one or more archival copies for security, back-up, archives and preservation after public withdrawal.

    • 6.2. Nothing in the foregoing licence is intended to transfer ownership of copyright from the Depositor to the University. Copyright at all times remains with the Depositor or the relevant rights holder.

    • 6.3. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing licence in clause 6.1 does not exclude, limit or modify any rights available to the University (or other User’s) under relevant copyright laws, including but not limited to, fair dealing and educational use rights.

  • 7. Depositor Representations & Warranties

    • 7.1. The Depositor represents and warrants that:

      • 7.1.1. the Depositor owns or has secured all rights to deposit the Work and grant the licence set out in clause 4 (including obtaining all necessary third-party permissions);

      • 7.1.2. by dealing in the Work (or the Metadata), neither the University nor any other User will infringe any third-party’s intellectual property rights;

      • 7.1.3. all third-party material is duly licenced and acknowledged;

      • 7.1.4. the Works do not contain any confidential information or personal information that is not permitted to be shared; and

      • 7.1.5. the Works aren’t contrary or in breach of any laws, including but not limited to those relating to defamation, obscenity, contempt and blasphemy or otherwise are considered libelous.

  • 8. Disclaimer

    • 8.1. Works are deposited by independent Depositors and are not formally peer-reviewed or curated by the University. The Repository and all Works are provided “as is” and “as available” without any warranty (express or implied) including fitness for purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement.

    • 8.2. The University has no general obligation to monitor Works or User activity for compliance, but reserves the right to do so to protect its legitimate interests and comply with any legal or regulatory obligations.

    • 8.3. The University will not be held responsible for how any User deals with any Work and is under no obligation to take any action on behalf of a Depositor and/or the copyright owner if a User’s use of a Work is unauthorised or otherwise infringes a person’s rights, or for any other reason.

    • 8.4. The Repository may link to external websites or incorporate third-party materials. Such resources are provided solely for convenience. The University has no control over, and has no responsibility for, the availability, accuracy, legality or content of external resources.

    • 8.5. Users acknowledge that the “Warranty Disclaimer” provisions set out in the Figshare Terms also apply to a User’s use of the Repository. The University does not control Figshare’s infrastructure and is not responsible for any limitation, delay, or failure of the service caused by Figshare or its upstream providers.

  • 9. Takedown, Withdrawal & Suspension

    • 9.1. University Rights: The University may, in its sole discretion, and at any time, remove, disable access to, embargo, or restrict a Work (in whole or in part) if the University reasonably believes that a User’s use of the Repository is contrary to these Terms or the Figshare Service Terms.

    • 9.2. Depositor Rights: A Depositor may request withdrawal of a Work by written notice to the University at RKIT@uts.edu.au. Unless clause 9.1, applies, the University will temporarily disable public access to the work within seven (7) Business Days of acknowledging the request while the takedown request is being considered. Where the University ultimately determines that the Work should be removed, the University may retain a copy of the Work for audit purposes in accordance with clause 6.1.2.

    • 9.3. Third-Party Rights: Any person asserting a Work infringes their rights or is otherwise unlawful or is contrary to these Terms or the Figshare Service Terms must send a takedown request in the form specified by the University (and available at ) specifying (among other details set out in the request):

      • 9.3.1. sufficient information to identify the Work;

      • 9.3.2. the nature of the complaint and the legal basis for it;

      • 9.3.3. their contact details; and

      • 9.3.4. a declaration that the information provided is accurate and in good faith.

    • 9.4. University Response: Upon receiving a sufficiently detailed notice of the kind set out in clause 9.3 above, the University will promptly disable public access to the Work pending investigation and alert the Depositor of the same. The Depositor may submit a counter-notice explaining why the Work should not be removed attaching any supporting evidence. The University, in its sole discretion, will decide whether to permanently remove, restore, redact or otherwise amend access to the Work (including any Metadata) and will notify both parties of its decision.

  • 10. Termination

  • 11. Proprietary Rights Notice

    • 11.1. Repository Platform: All software, databases, APIs, page layouts, trade-marks and logos that make up or appear within the Repository are owned by, or licensed to, the University (or Figshare) and are protected by copyright and trade-mark laws.

    • 11.2. Removal of Notices: Users must not remove, obscure or alter any copyright, trade-mark or licence notice displayed on, or embedded in, the Repository, a Work or its Metadata.

  • 12. No Liability for Consequential Losses

    • 12.1. To the fullest extent permitted by law, UTS shall not be liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for lost profit, data or goodwill.

  • 13. Notices

    • 13.1. Any notice given or received under or pursuant to these Terms are to be delivered to the email address below:

      • 13.1.1. University: RKIT@uts.edu.au

      • 13.1.2. User - the email provided by the User (either on depositing a Work or otherwise).

    • 13.2. A notice is taken to be received once sent unless the sender receives an automatic notification that the email was not delivered, or if it was sent after 5pm, or on a day which is not a Business Day, in which case it will be taken to be delivered at 9am the following Business Day.

  • 14. Changes to these Terms

    • 14.1. Variation: The University may modify, replace or add to these Terms at any time in its absolute discretion. A revised version will be posted on the Repository and, where feasible, an email or notice will be sent to Users at least thirty (30) days before the changes take effect.

    • 14.2. Urgent Updates: Where a change to these Terms is required to comply with law, address a security or integrity risk, or reflect a change imposed by Figshare or one of its service providers, the University may implement the change to these Terms immediately and will post the revised Terms as soon as practicable.

    • 14.3. Continued Acceptance: If a User accesses or uses the Repository after the effective date of the revised Terms, the User is taken to have accepted the changes. If a User does not agree to the revised Terms, the User must stop using the Repository and, where the User is also a Depositor, the User may request withdrawal of their Works in accordance with clause 9.2.

  • 15. Changes to these Terms

    • 15.1. Governing Law: These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts. The University may, in its sole discretion, elect mediation or arbitration prior to any litigation that may arise from a dispute relating to these Terms.

    • 15.2. Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with all terms provided by Figshare, constitutes the entire agreement regarding the use of the Repository and supersedes all prior representations and agreements.

    • 15.3. Waiver: A failure or delay in exercising a right under these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right. A waiver is effective only if in writing and applies only to the matter waived.

    • 15.4. Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held unlawful or unenforceable, it is severed and the remainder continues in full force.

    • 15.5. Assignment: The University may assign its rights under these Terms at any time without User consent. A User may not assign any of their rights without written consent from the University.

    • 15.6. Survival: The following clauses are intended to survive any cessation of these Terms: 1 (Definitions & Interpretation); 4 (Use of Deposited Works); 6 (Depositor Grant of Rights to University); 7 (Depositor Representations and Warranties); 8 (Disclaimer); 9 (Takedown, Withdrawal & Suspension); 10.3 (Effect of Termination); 11 (Proprietary Rights Notice); 12 (No Liability for Consequential Losses); 13 (Notices); 15 (Governing Law & Dispute Resolution); and 16 (General).