Terms of Use

Welcome to the India Roadkill Monitoring Project. These Terms of Use govern your participation in our mobile project platform, website, and related services. By joining this project, you are contributing to a collaborative citizen science initiative aimed at understanding and reducing roadkill incidents across India. By using our platform, you agree to comply with and be bound by these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the project platform.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the India Roadkill Monitoring Project project platform, you acknowledge and agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, you may not participate in the project or use the project platform.

2. Use of the Project Platform

License: We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to use the project platform solely for personal, non-commercial purposes related to citizen science and roadkill monitoring.

User Responsibilities: You agree to use the project platform responsibly and in compliance with applicable laws. You must not:

• Submit false, misleading, or fabricated data.
• Engage in any activity that harms or disrupts the project platform, data quality, or community members.
• Violate the privacy, dignity, or rights of other users or third parties.

3. Citizen Science Participation

Purpose: Our citizen science project is designed to benefit scientific research, conservation policy, and public awareness. Your contributions are a part of this larger goal, serving both the scientific community and society.

Data Collection: By submitting records, you affirm that your observations are accurate to the best of your knowledge. You also consent to our project team contacting you through in-platform notifications, email, or other communication channels if clarification of your submissions is needed, or to provide important updates about the project. This helps ensure your contributions remain accurate, valuable, and effectively used for conservation and research.

Data Use & Permissions: By participating, you grant the India Roadkill Monitoring Project and its collaborators a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license to use, analyze, modify, and share your contributions for scientific, educational, conservation, and policy-related purposes. We ask for these broad permissions to ensure that the data remains usable even if legal requirements change in the future.

Non-Commercial Use License: All data submitted to the India Roadkill Monitoring Project is provided under a strict citizen-science, non-commercial license. This means:

• Your contributions may be freely used for conservation research, academic studies, education, policy-making, and other non-profit scientific purposes
• The data may NOT be sold, commercially licensed, or used for any profit-driven commercial activities
• Commercial entities may reference or cite the data in non-commercial contexts (such as academic publications or conservation reports) but may not incorporate the data into commercial products or services
• Any redistribution of the data must maintain the same non-commercial licensing restrictions

Mandatory Attribution Requirements: Whenever data or any outputs derived from the India Roadkill Monitoring Project are used, shared, published, or referenced, users MUST:

• Provide clear and prominent attribution to the "India Roadkill Monitoring Project" using this exact project name
• Include a direct link to the project website or these Terms of Use
• Clearly indicate if any modifications, analyses, or derivative works were made using the original data
• Use the following attribution format when possible: "Data provided by the India Roadkill Monitoring Project - [link to project]"
• Ensure attribution is given in a reasonable and visible manner appropriate to the medium of use
• Attribution must not suggest that the India Roadkill Monitoring Project or its contributors endorse the specific use or user

Community Standards: You agree to uphold ethical standards by respecting wildlife, ensuring safety while collecting data, and avoiding any actions that could harm animals, habitats, or people.

4. User Content

Ownership: You retain ownership of the photos, notes, or other content you submit. However, by contributing, you grant us permission to display, archive, and distribute that content in connection with the project’s mission.

Attribution: Where possible, contributions will be attributed to you in project outputs.

Preferences: You may adjust how your name and profile appear within the project platform by managing your account preferences.

5. Intellectual Property

All software, design, and platform-related materials of the India Roadkill Monitoring Project are protected by intellectual property laws and remain the property of the project owners. Except for your own submitted content, you may not copy, distribute, or reuse materials without prior written consent.

6. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

Disclaimer: This project platform and related services are provided “as is.” While we strive for accuracy, we make no warranties regarding completeness, reliability, or suitability of the data or outputs for any specific purpose.

Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by law, the project owners are not liable for any damages, including indirect, incidental, or consequential losses, resulting from your use of the project platform or reliance on project data.

7. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms of Use from time to time. Changes will be posted in the project platform or on our website. Continued use after updates constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

8. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access if you violate these terms or engage in unlawful, unethical, or harmful behavior.

9. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

Governing Law: These terms are governed by the laws of India.

Jurisdiction: Any disputes shall fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Amravati, Maharashtra, India.

Dispute Resolution: Before legal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt resolution through good-faith discussions. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes may proceed to court. Class or collective actions are expressly waived.