These Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) form a binding agreement between Sci-Database (“Sci-Database,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), developed at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha, Qatar (Patent QF Ref: 2024-066), and the person or entity using the Service (“you” or “User”).
By creating an account, clicking an acceptance button, purchasing a plan or credits, uploading content, submitting a processing job, accessing a shared database, or otherwise using Sci-Database, you confirm that:
If you do not agree, you must not use the Service.
Sci-Database is a software platform that may help Users:
The Service is an information-processing tool. Sci-Database is not a publisher, journal, repository, library, university, research institution, peer reviewer, healthcare provider, legal adviser, financial adviser, regulatory authority, or substitute for qualified professional judgment. We may add, remove, suspend, limit, or modify features at any time.
The Service and all outputs are provided for research-support and informational purposes only. They are not scientific conclusions, validated evidence, peer review, clinical guidance, diagnosis, treatment advice, regulatory advice, legal advice, financial advice, engineering certification, safety certification, or a recommendation to act.
Artificial-intelligence and automated extraction systems can hallucinate, omit information, misread tables, figures, equations, handwriting, scans, units, decimal points, signs, citations, footnotes, abbreviations, statistical results, and scientific context. They can confuse papers, versions, authors, samples, control groups, outcomes, or records. Confidence scores, agreement scores, citations, page references, and validation features can also be incomplete or wrong.
You are solely responsible for:
You must not rely on the Service as the sole basis for decisions that may affect health, safety, legal rights, regulatory compliance, academic integrity, public policy, financial interests, or other high-impact matters.
The Service may search, link to, display metadata from, or interact with third-party services such as CORE, Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, publishers, repositories, DOI services, institutional archives, and other data providers (“Third-Party Sources”). Third-Party Sources are independent from Sci-Database. References to a source do not imply endorsement or verification by Sci-Database.
Third-party metadata may be inaccurate, incomplete, duplicated, stale, mismatched, or linked to the wrong work or version. A record marked “open access,” “public,” or “free” may still be subject to attribution, non-commercial, no-derivatives, or other restrictions.
You acknowledge that access without a paywall does not itself place a work in the public domain and does not automatically authorize every form of reuse. Before downloading, processing, reproducing, adapting, sharing, publishing, licensing, or selling content or derived material, you must identify and comply with the applicable licence and law.
You must not remove copyright notices, licence notices, author attribution, DOI information, repository notices, watermarks, or other rights-management information.
Papers, files, text, prompts, schemas, metadata, database records, corrections, and other material that you submit or create through the Service are “User Content.” You retain any rights you lawfully hold in your User Content. You represent and warrant that:
Subject to our Privacy Policy, you grant Sci-Database a worldwide, non-exclusive, limited licence to host, copy, transmit, convert, parse, analyze, and process private User Content only as reasonably necessary to provide, secure, maintain, troubleshoot, and operate the Service.
Sci-Database may use third-party infrastructure and AI model providers to process User Content. You acknowledge that automated outputs are probabilistic and may differ between runs. We do not warrant any minimum accuracy, recall, precision, completeness, reproducibility, or scientific validity unless expressly agreed in writing.
Output must not be represented as manually verified, peer reviewed, or independently replicated unless that statement is independently true and documented. You are responsible for labelling AI-assisted work when required by a journal, institution, or funder.
A “Schema” means a structure of field names, data types, units, descriptions, validation rules, and related instructions used to organize an extraction.
To foster open scientific reproducibility and discoverability, Schema structures (field definitions only, never your underlying extracted private data) may be made public in the community gallery. You grant Sci-Database a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, index, display, and allow others to use that Schema definition in connection with the Service.
Databases and extraction results remain strictly private unless you deliberately use a feature that clearly identifies them as public, shared, downloadable, or offered for sale (“Shared Content”).
Before sharing, you must review the selected data, citations, licences, and visibility settings. You represent and warrant that you possess all rights needed to share the Shared Content. Sci-Database does not review or endorse every Shared Database and is not its author or guarantor.
If the Service permits Users to offer databases for licence or purchase, Sci-Database acts as the software platform and marketplace facilitator. Unless a separate written agreement states otherwise, Sci-Database is not a party to direct agreements between Users concerning Shared Content.
Rights holders and authorized representatives may report allegedly unlawful or infringing content to ebentria@hbku.edu.qa with proof of identity, protected work identification, the specific Sci-Database URL/identifier, and a good-faith statement. We act promptly to investigate, disable, or remove infringing content in compliance with applicable laws.
You must not use the Service to:
You must provide accurate account information, keep credentials secure, and notify us promptly of suspected unauthorized use. API keys belonging to you or your institution must be stored securely and never exposed in public schemas or shared fields.
Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, process, retain, and delete personal data. You must not assume that a general account satisfies specialized regulatory regimes (such as HIPAA or classified frameworks) unless expressly supported by an executed institutional agreement.
Usage consumes credits (1 credit = 1 paper processed). Free starter credits are provisioned upon registration. Credits represent a limited contractual right to use Service features, have no cash value, and are non-transferable. Subscriptions and purchases are billed according to published rates.
Sci-Database and its licensors own the Service, Kateeb extraction engine, interfaces, algorithms, branding, and documentation, excluding your User Content. You retain complete ownership of your private research data and export files.
The Service interacts with external APIs and repositories (e.g. OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, CORE). You must review and comply with their respective terms and licences when using third-party metadata or full-text files.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICE, THIRD-PARTY SOURCES, PAPERS, METADATA, SCHEMAS, AI OUTPUTS, AND ALL RESULTS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. SCI-DATABASE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SCIENTIFIC VALIDITY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SCI-DATABASE AND ITS AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, RESEARCH TIME, GRANTS, OR REPUTATION. TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO SCI-DATABASE IN THE SIX MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Sci-Database, its creators, and affiliates from claims, damages, and legal costs arising from your User Content, breach of these Terms, or unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property.
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access immediately when reasonably necessary to protect platform integrity, prevent abuse or fraud, or enforce these Terms.
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be accompanied by an updated revision date. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance where permitted by law.
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Sci-Database. If any provision is deemed unenforceable, remaining provisions remain in full force.