ARGA Data Use Policy

About the ARGA Data Use Policy

The ARGA Data Use Policy comprises two documents:

1. Terms of Use
2. Privacy Statement

These two documents are to be interpreted as together forming the ARGA Data Use Policy in full.

Terms of Use

By accessing the Australian Reference Genome Atlas (ARGA) website and associated data application (herein referred to as “ARGA App”), you agree to the following Terms of Use and the Privacy Statement.  

Data available through the ARGA App may be protected by copyright or other intellectual property rights belonging to third parties.  Access and use of these data is subject to any rights asserted by the Data Author/s or Data Provider, such as Creative Commons licences.

The Data Provider Terms and the Terms of Use form the legally binding agreement between You, ARGA and/or the Data Provider. If there is any inconsistency between these Terms of Use and the Data Provider Terms, then the Data Provider Terms will prevail, but only to the extent that it applies to the particular Contents and to the extent necessary to resolve any conflict.

ARGA reserves the right to change these Terms of Use at any time, and without notice; a Data Provider may also change their Data Provider Terms at any time, and without giving you notice. Please check them every time you visit the ARGA website or App, or access provided Content or Data.

Using the Content

If you use or download Content from the ARGA website or App you:

• recognise that most of it is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights and will respect those rights;
• agree to acknowledge, reference or attribute the relevant data provider (using any specific attribution wording they may have provided) in any derived information product, work or publication that is based on the relevant Content;
• will comply with any Data Provider Terms that the Data Provider may indicate regarding its use, e.g. personal use only, non-commercial use, not make derivatives, etc.;
• will not remove any identifier of ownership or terms of use that is associated with the Content or data record;
• recognise that the Content is provided without any warranty regarding its quality, accuracy, completeness, currency, relevance or suitability for any particular purpose and that you use the Content at your own risk (see Disclaimer);
• respect any restrictions regarding the availability of the data, such as sensitive data.

Your use of Content may also be subject to specific terms and conditions imposed by the Data Provider Terms. You must comply with these Data Provider Terms. Where they exist they will be available through the metadata with the Content or shown with the Content.

If you want to use Content otherwise than in accordance with the data provider’s licence you need the approval or permission of the data provider.

A single page on the ARGA App may be made up of many different datasets, each covered by a different licence. You are required to check to see which licence applies to any portion(s) of the page or Content record you wish to use and abide by any restrictions on the Content.

Copyright

This ARGA website and App, and its Content, are protected by copyright law.  Copyright in this material resides with ARGA or various other Data Providers as indicated.

Where possible, ARGA has endeavoured to indicate the licensing and copyright status of Data according to the information obtained from the Data Provider, however, ARGA accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of these indications.  If you believe that We have not properly accessed your Content or Data, please do not hesitate to contact us at and we will address your concerns.  ARGA strongly encourages users to verify the licensing and copyright status of any Data with the rights holders prior to use.

Users must acknowledge, reference or attribute the relevant data author/s and, if applicable, data providers in any content, work or publication produced with the use of any data. Where possible, users are expected to cite the dataset, relevant publication, or data provider platform according to the relevant DOI or using any supplied citation wording that may be supplied by the data provider. Users are also requested to acknowledge the ARGA App where it has been used as a data discovery tool for any content, work or publication. The suggested attribution is provided below.

Many of the trademarks or logos displayed on the ARGA website and App, such as ARGA, Atlas of Living Australia, Australian BioCommons, Bioplatforms Australia, or CSIRO logo or name are the registered trademarks respectively of ARGA, Atlas of Living Australia, Australian BioCommons, Bioplatforms Australia and CSIRO. The trademarks of third parties are also displayed on the ARGA website and App. All these trademarks cannot be used without the express written permission of ARGA or the relevant third party.

Disclaimer

The ARGA website, App and Content are intended to provide information for general and scientific use, to assist research and public knowledge, discussion and policy development.

ARGA makes no warranty, guarantee or promise (express or implied) concerning the quality, accuracy, completeness, currency, or relevance of the data and information supplied through the ARGA website.  ARGA specifically disclaims any liability for any loss or damage arising out of, or in any way connected with access to or use of the ARGA website, including liability associated with any viruses which may infect a user’s computer equipment.

ARGA makes the ARGA website, App and Content available on the understanding that you use them at your own risk – they are provided “as is” and “as available”, and you exercise your own skill, judgement and care with respect to their use or your reliance on them.  See also the Important note about data usage and limitations in the ARGA user-guide.

ARGA and its Data Providers give no warranty regarding the quality, accuracy, completeness, currency, relevance or suitability for any particular purpose of the Content or the ARGA App.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, ARGA and the Atlas of Living Australia (including its employees and contractors), the Commonwealth of Australia and data providers exclude all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages (including indirect, special or consequential damages, loss of business, revenue/profit, loss of time, etc.), costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from your use of the ARGA App or Content, or inability to access the ARGA App.

If you find any inaccurate, out-of-date, or incomplete Content on the ARGA App, or if you suspect that something is an infringement of intellectual property rights, you must let us know immediately by contacting or the Data Provider of the Content.

Personal Information

Our Privacy Statement also forms part of the ARGA Terms of Use, and it describes how we use your Personal Information when you use the ARGA website and App.

Whenever you give us Personal Information, you are consenting to its collection and use in accordance with our Privacy Statement.

As a user of the ARGA website and App, you must not use any Personal Information made available to you on these sites for any purpose other than:

• in the case of an individual who made a particular record (e.g. genomic data) to verify the details of that record and/or to acknowledge them as the relevant creator, and
• in the case of an individual administering a dataset, to contact them directly to request greater access, further information and/or support.

Links to external websites

ARGA provides links to a range of external websites, including those from which we index and otherwise source Data; however, ARGA is not responsible for the content of any pages linked or referenced through this site.  Similarly, ARGA has no direct control over the content of the linked websites nor changes that may occur to the Content on those websites.  ARGA makes no warranty, guarantee or promise (express or implied) concerning the content or accuracy of the information linked or referenced through the ARGA website or App. The presence of a hyperlink from the ARGA App does not imply any kind of endorsement of the content of these pages or links by that organisation.

Linking to the ARGA website and web application

We encourage the use of links on external websites to the homepage for the ARGA website or App, or other relevant pages on the ARGA App.  Such links should not suggest that your website, organisation or services/products are endorsed by ARGA.  ARGA reserves the right to prevent linking or framing by giving notice on the ARGA website.

Security of the ARGA website and web application

The internet exists across insecure, public networks. There is a risk that transmissions to or from this website may be intercepted and modified by third parties or that files obtained from or through this website may contain computer viruses, disabling codes, worms or other defects.

ARGA accepts no liability for any interference with or damage to your computer system, software, or data occurring in connection with or relating to the ARGA website or App, or its use. You are encouraged to take appropriate and adequate precautions to ensure that whatever is selected from this website is free of viruses or other contamination that may interfere with or damage your computer system, software or data.

You must not try to circumvent the security features of the ARGA website or App, or tamper with, hack into, or in some other way disrupts any computer system, server,  website, router or other device used to host this website, or make it available.

Email addresses on the ARGA website and web application

The presence of email addresses on the ARGA website or App does not infer consent to send unsolicited commercial electronic messages (email) to those addresses.

General

These Terms of Use are governed by the law applicable to the Australian Capital Territory and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that Territory.

No delay, neglect or forbearance on the part of ARGA in enforcing these Terms of Use will be, or deemed to be, a waiver. Nor will it prejudice any rights of ARGA.

Privacy Statement

Important

By using the Australian Reference Genome Atlas (ARGA) website, App, and the Content or Data available on and through it, you are agreeing to be bound by this Privacy Statement and the Terms of Use.

The purpose of this Privacy Statement is to set out how ARGA will deal with personal information gathered by ARGA when you visit and use the site.

Personal Information collected by ARGA is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Site visit data

ARGA operates the ARGA website and App without the use of an external service provider.  When visiting ARGA sites, a record of your visit is logged.  ARGA records information and statistics about website visits to monitor and evaluate user traffic and activities.

The following information is supplied by your browser or recorded by our servers:

• the user’s server address;
• the user’s operating system, e.g. “Windows”, “Mac OS”;
• the date and time of the visit to the site;
• the pages accessed and the documents/data downloaded;
• the previous site visited;
• search terms used;
• the type of browser used, e.g. “Google Chrome”, “Mozilla Firefox”.

We use the site visit data for the purposes of:

• monitoring, developing and improving the quality of the ARGA sites;
• dealing with your enquiries and requests;
• usage statistics such as determining traffic through the server, download statistics, etc.;
• providing you with information about ARGA services and products.

Website visit data may be aggregated for analysis with identifiable characteristics removed. Aggregated data may be published or provided to other people, including data providers, or ARGA’s operational partners or funding bodies.

No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities except in the unlikely event that doing so is authorised or required by law (for example: where a law enforcement agency executes a warrant to inspect the server’s logs).

Any Personal Information that may be collected shall be used only by ARGA and for no other purpose without the permission of the person(s) to whom the information relates.  ARGA will not sell, rent or share any user-identifiable information with any third party unless it relates to specifically managing a user’s online enquiry.

Collection and use of Personal Information

When you email us or submit Content or Data as a contributor or expert:

• we will record your name, email address, telephone number, postal address, organisation, area of interest and/or such other Personal Information as provided;
• we will only use your details to communicate with you, respond to your requests and enquiries and for directly related purposes as stated on the pages or forms where you submit it;
• you may opt out of receiving communications from us by contacting us directly;
• your details will not be added to an external mailing list without your consent;
• we will not use your details for any other purpose;
• unless otherwise required to by law, we will not disclose any information you submit without your express permission, except where we may be authorised or required by law to disclose the information.

Note also that if you provide your Personal Information associated with biodiversity-related or genome-related data or records, then users of that data will be able to see the Personal Information provided, and may use that Personal Information to verify the details of the particular record, to acknowledge/attribute you as the creator of the record, or contact you to request greater access, further information or support.

Certain Personal Information may be required, such as name and email address, to provide a particular ARGA service or product (e.g. dataset) to you, or respond to your enquiries.  This information may also be used by ARGA to inform you of additional related products or services or obtain your feedback on the service or product.

We will, at your request, provide you with access to any information which we have collected about you through this portal in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 12 (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)).

To gain access to this information you should contact us. If you believe that any information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please contact us and we will revise the relevant information in accordance with Australian Privacy Principle 13 (Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)).

We will also, at your request, delete any Personal Information we have collected about you. To contact us for any of the reasons listed, please contact us or send an email to .

Cookies

Cookies are currently not enabled for ARGA sites.  In future, we may enable cookies to enhance the user experience for ARGA App users.

A cookie is a small file that a website sends to your browser when you access information at that site. Upon receipt of the information, your browser saves the information on your hard drive (unless your browser doesn’t support cookies).  Each time you use your computer to access that same website, the information that was previously received is sent back to the website by your browser. The cookie records information necessary for certain website functions, such as remembering your preferences or settings.

ARGA may, in future, use cookies for some of its interactive features, however, these cookies collect only enough information to enable website functions.

If you don’t want to accept cookies, you can set your browser and/or firewall to block them. You will still be able to access all ARGA Content but some interactive features will be unavailable.

For more information about cookies, how they are used by websites and how you can change your settings, see the Privacy Commissioner’s website or Cookie Central.

Interaction with the ARGA website and web application

Currently, there are no interactive features available on the ARGA App, however, future community participation in forums and annotations functionalities may eventuate.  In this event, this Privacy Statement will be amended to deal with these instances of data sharing.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose or post personal information through ARGA pages, this information will become available to anyone with access to the internet and may be collected and used by others. We suggest that you use your discretion and exercise caution when providing your personal information. Therefore, we recommend that you refrain from posting any information that you do not want seen in public areas.

External links

The ARGA website and App contain links to other sites.  ARGA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

Security of information

Your Personal Information will not be released unless the law requires or permits it, or your permission is given. We provide a secure environment and a reliable system, but you should be aware that there may be inherent risks associated with the transmission of information via the internet. For those who do not wish to use the internet, ARGA provides alternative ways of obtaining and providing information via its partner organisation, the Atlas of Living Australia.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, or any privacy issues related to this site, then please contact us or CSIRO’s Privacy Officer.