BGCI PlantSearch and GardenSearch Databases

DATA PROVIDER AND USER AGREEMENT

June 2016

Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) hereinafter referred to as BGCI, is an international organisation representing botanic gardens around the world. These institutions, hereinafter referred to as botanic gardens, include a wide range of organisations with living botanical collections, and offer critical skills, information, capacity and resources essential to ensuring the long-term conservation and sustainable use of plant resources. Furthermore, the plants maintained by botanic gardens in their living collections, seed banks and in vitro laboratories are unique and valuable, representing around one third of the world's known plant diversity, including many species that are rare and threatened in the wild. In order to support and coordinate the work of botanic gardens in plant conservation, BGCI maintains two databases - GardenSearch and PlantSearch. These databases house and report information contributed by botanic gardens, aimed at ensuring the continued relevance and support for botanic gardens and their collections.

The purpose of this agreement is to confirm ownership of data provided to GardenSearch and PlantSearch, gain permission from data providers and assign restrictions over how the data may be used by BGCI and other users.

I. Data Provider Limitations and Provisions

Botanic gardens that contribute information, hereinafter referred to as Data Providers, to BGCI's GardenSearch and PlantSearch databases agree to the following:

a) Data Providers maintain the rights to their data. By providing data to BGCI, Data Providers give permission to BGCI to compile and present that data for use via its PlantSearch and GardenSearch databases.

b) Data Providers also give permission to BGCI to use their data in a compiled format for reporting purposes and for publications. The names and locations of institutions reporting particular plant taxa will not be revealed by BGCI in any such reports or publications without the prior consent of the Data Provider.

c) Data Providers warrant that they are the owners or have made the appropriate agreements with the original owners of the data to make the data available through GardenSearch and PlantSearch; and that they have the right and authority to provide that data.

d) Data Providers will make reasonable efforts to ensure that the data they provide is the most accurate and up-to-date as possible; annual or regular updates of data contributed to PlantSearch and GardenSearch are encouraged.

e) Data Providers understand that there are three classes of data users;

• Public online access - with access to GardenSearch data and only anonymized plant data in PlantSearch.
• BGCI members - access to GardenSearch data and, through a password protected portal, access to PlantSearch 'Advanced Search' which provides institution location data for taxa flagged as 'not-hidden' during the PlantSearch upload process.
• Data requesters who contact BGCI directly - BGCI reserves the right to provide compiled data to users within the framework of the Data Use Agreement [see below], which ensures confidentiality of data.

f) Data Providers indemnify BGCI from any liability or responsibility for the data contents or their use; or for any loss, damage, claim, cost or expense however it may arise, from use or inability to use BGCI's data services.

I agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Data Provider Agreement and acknowledge the rights of BGCI over providing access to data via BGCI's GardenSearch and PlantSearch databases.

II. Data User Limitations and Provisions

Individuals and institutions that use information, hereinafter referred to as Data Users, supplied from BGCI's GardenSearch and PlantSearch databases agree to the following:

a) Data Users are accessing PlantSearch and/or GardenSearch data for scholarly, educational or research purposes;

b) Data Users who are BGCI Members will not share their login access password (if applicable), or copy and pass any data obtained to anyone outside their organisation.

c) The names and locations of institutions reporting particular plant taxa will not be published in a report or made public in any form without the prior consent of the institution(s) providing the data.

d) Data Users will not publish data in its entirety, but small anonymized extracts can be provided for illustrative purposes and duly acknowledged with 'BGCI GardenSearch [and/or] PlantSearch Database[s]'. Suggested citation: BGCI. [YEAR ACCESSED]. [PlantSearch] / [GardenSearch] online database. Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Richmond, U.K. Available at www.bgci.org. Accessed on DD/MM/YYYY. Data Users will share any publications using data obtained from PlantSearch and/or GardenSearch with BGCI for review prior to publication.

e) Data Users may not use PlantSearch and/or GardenSearch data for commercial purposes, with the exception of publishing extracts in an anonymized form in commercial publications.

f) Any publication or other use of data provided outside the terms of this agreement requires a separate agreement with BGCI and the Data Provider(s).

I agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Data Use Agreement and acknowledge the rights of BGCI and contributing institutions (as per the Data Provider Agreement [above]) over data accessible via BGCI's GardenSearch and PlantSearch databases.