Contents

Key Terms

1. General

1.1 Description of Software

CGScholar (Platform) is an online scholarly communication software environment that allows individuals – the Service – (Creators and/or Contributors) and organizations (Publishers) to collaborate in the creation of works of intellectual property, and then communicate these works to the public through electronic and print mediums. An individual Creator is also viewed as a Publisher when works they contribute appear in public spaces (SEE: 3.2) on the Platform. Henceforth all producers of publicly accessible content on the Platform will be defined as Publishers. The platform consists of:

1.2 Online Requirements

The Platform is online computer software. To use the Service you need a computer with Internet access, a recent release of a web browser, and software for creating digital content.

1.3 No Endorsement Policy

The Platform does not endorse any products marketed through its Service and accepts no liability or responsibility for any aspects of any of the works published using the Service. If you have any difficulties, please contact Publishers or Creators directly.

1.4 Distribution Medium

Publishers may use the Service to sell Publishers’ and Creators’ works. A consumer may use the Service to purchase works. The Platform simply provides a medium for these transactions. All responsibility for product delivery, quality, and content rests with its Publishers and Creators.

1.5 Content Control

The Service has no control over the content. The copyright of all content entered into or uploaded to the Service is the Creators, Contributors, and Publishers. The responsibility for that content is entirely theirs. The Service may, however, at its own discretion terminate without notice any person or organization's access to CGScholar.com and remove any part or any of the content that a person or organization has stored on the CGScholar.com server. You agree that the Service will not be liable to you or any other person or organization if we take any of these actions.

1.6 Accuracy and Legality

The Service does not guarantee the accuracy or legality of any content posted on the web or published using the CGScholar.com. As a consequence, we will not accept any claims made against us about this content.

1.7 Eligibility

The Services are intended solely for persons who are 18 years of age or older, except student users (SEE 1.8). Any access to or use of the Site or Services by anyone under the age of 18 must be with the supervision of an Organization Admin who takes full responsibility for content created and maintains the privacy of participants according to the requirements of their legal jurisdiction. By accessing or using the Site or Services autonomously and without adult supervision, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older.

1.8 Student Users

Users who are under 18 years of age must have a student account managed through their school by teachers and other authorized adults affiliated with the school. In these cases, the school agrees to explain these conditions to the student user and to make sure that the student user abides by them. Administrators of student accounts must agree to comply with the laws of their locale relating to child online privacy and parental rights. In seeking to act as administrators of student accounts, authorization is required from the school or relevant educational authorities with whom they work. Organizational administrators obtain student licenses and maintain student accounts. It is their responsibility to seek and secure parent or guardian consent to use Scholar before opening student accounts, as required by local laws. The Platform may at any time request evidence that this consent has been obtained, and reserves the right to remove such accounts when evidence is not provided.

2. Copyright

2.1 Ownership

All software of the Service is copyrighted and protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. In viewing this site, purchasing work, or downloading a work, you, the consumer, agree to the following conditions:

2.2 Copyright

Various Creators and Publishers involved in publishing through this Service are the copyright owners. Creators and Publishers of the works on this site ask that you respect their rights. Please read the terms and conditions of your respective Publishers. An individual Creator is also viewed as a Publisher when works appear in public spaces (SEE: 3.2) on the Platform.

2.3 Fair Use

In the case of publications that draw on the content of this work, fair use is allowed. This includes short quotations for the purposes of criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, research or scholarship. The Platform defines fair use as up to five consecutive sentences directly quoted at one time, as in the case of prose, or up to five lines, but no more than one tenth of the text, in the case of poetry. Any other re-use must meet the approval of the respective Publisher. For the use of material published by Common Ground Research Networks, please submit a request to the CGScholar Knowledge Base.

2.4 Permission to Reproduce

If you wish to copy all or part of a work (e.g., duplicating the electronic file, quoting in another work beyond what is defined as “fair use”, or photocopying) a fee will be assessed based on the terms and conditions the user is reproducing the content (i.e., copying the electronic file to distribute to students is assessed a larger fee than someone copying an electronic file for single use). “Publishers” of the work rely on your honesty. However, you will be held liable for any infringement of U.S. and international copyright laws for which you are responsible. To attain permission to reproduce works published by Common Ground Research Networks, please submit a request to the CGScholar Knowledge Base.

2.5 Rights of Acknowledgment

You are required to respect the Creator’s “moral rights,'' including the right to attribution and the right to be spoken about fairly. Plagiarism of copyright owner’s or Publisher’s work is strictly prohibited. Always acknowledge and accurately cite sources in the case of quotes which constitute “fair use”, or when you have received permission from a Publisher to reproduce. Also, make sure you acknowledge and cite your source when you are paraphrasing another person’s ideas or expression.

2.5 Sub-licensing

In using the Service, you give legal permissions (known as a ‘license’) for the Platform to use this content. Specifically, when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with privacy settings). This license will end when your content is deleted from our Platform. You can delete content individually or all at once by deleting your account. Learn more about how to delete your account or how to change privacy settings in our CGScholar Knowledge Base.


3. Privacy and Data Policy

3.1 Information Privacy

The Service respects the privacy of the users of its software and the visitors to the sites generated using the Platform. No personal or contact data will be passed on to any other person or organization without your permission, or unless the law requires. The Platform may from time to time contact all users of CGScholar.com on matters connected with its software and related services.

3.2 Private and Public Spaces

The Service offers a private collaboration space and a public communication and publication spaces. All data entered into the private collaborations space, including all contact details, will be accessible to persons and representatives of organizations with whom you choose to collaborate (other creators or contributors to a work, publishers and conference organizers as nominated or agreed by you). However, none of this data will be divulged to any other person or organization, nor will it be made public through the web, without your permission or posting by you to your user-generated webspace.

3.3 Unsolicited Invitations to Collaborate

Publishers using this Service are expressly forbidden to send invitations to collaborate, or any other material, to users of the Platform who have not made first contact with them, either through CGScholar.com or some other verifiable means. The Platform reserves the right to remove Creators or Publishers who initiate contact with registered users of CGScholar.com without prior permission. If you believe you were contacted incorrectly or improperly, please contact us through our CGScholar Knowledge Base.

3.4 Cookie Statement

For most effective use, the Platform requires that “cookies” be enabled on your web-browser. Data that is collected using cookies is only by third party internet service providers. Some data will be aggregated, for instance, as a part of general website usage statistics made available to publishers. No individuals will be identified.

3.5 Information Security

Personal information, credit card or bank account details, content not yet posted to the web, and unpublished content is all stored securely on the Platform server. It can only be accessed by persons or organizations that have permission to access that data.

3.6 Unauthorized Account Access

The Platform will not take any responsibility for the use of your account by other people, with or without your permission, and expressly forbids you from permitting another person to use your account or giving them your password.

3.7 Use of Data

We don’t sell your personal data to advertisers, and we don’t share information that directly identifies you (such as your name, email address or other contact information) unless you give us specific permission.



4. Privacy and Data Policy for EU users


CGScholar is part of Common Ground Research Networks. This privacy policy will explain how our organization uses the personal data we collect from you when you use our website.


Topics:  




4.1 What Data Do We Collect?

Common Ground Research Networks collects the following data:

4.2 How Do We Collect Your Data?

You directly provide Common Ground Research Networks with most of the data we collect. We collect data and process data when you:


Common Ground Research Networks will not receive your data indirectly from any third-party source. 


4.3 How Will We Use Your Data?

Common Ground Research Networks collects your data so that we can:

Information that is either aggregated or not used to identify you may be used for the purposes of academic research, and to further improve CGScholar and its knowledge and learning services. 

Common Ground Research Networks will never share your data with other companies. If you are a student enrolled in a College or University taking a course offered by your Institution on CGScholar, your participation data will be processed by your teachers and teaching assistants, and used to assess your performance in the course; your final grade will be shared with your host institution. 

When Common Ground Research Networks processes your order for publications or conference registrations, it may send your data to, and also use the resulting information from, credit reference agencies to prevent fraudulent purchases.


4.4 How Do We Store Your Data?

Common Ground Research Networks securely stores your data at the CGScholar.com server. We do not store any general histories of user visits (either anonymous or authenticated ones). Only the last signed in IP and last signed in time is stored. This is not erased in any periodic fashion. We do not use this information for any other purpose or share it with anyone.


Common Ground Research Networks will keep account and usage data indefinitely for continuity. We will delete this data only upon request. 


Common Ground Research Networks will not use any user or usage information for marketing purposes.


4.5 What Are Your Data Protection Rights?


Common Ground Research Networks would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:

If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at our email:


Call us at: +1-217-328-0405


Or write to us: 2001 South First Street, Champaign, IL 61820 USA

4.6 What are Cookies and How do We Use them?

Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information. When you visit our websites, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies or similar technology. For further information, visit all aboutcookies.org.

Common Ground Research Networks uses cookies minimally to improve your experience on our website, including:

Google Scholar uses Google Analytics in its very basic configuration for site usage statistics. Google Analytics may use some cookies. (See https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies?hl=en-US for Google Privacy Policies)


Common Ground Research Networks uses these cookies so that we recognize you on our website and remember your previously selected preferences. A mix of first-party and third-party cookies is used.


You can set your browser not to accept cookies, and the above website tells you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, in a few cases, some of our website features may not function as a result.


4.7 Privacy Policies of Other Websites

The Common Ground Research Networks website and CGScholar content often contains links to other websites. Our privacy policy applies only to our website, so if you click on a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.

4.8 Changes to Our Privacy Policy

Common Ground Research Networks keeps its privacy policy under regular review and places any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated on March 13, 2023.

4.9 How to Contact Us

If you have any questions about Common Ground Research Networks's privacy policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Email us at: [email protected]


Call us at: +1-217-328-0405


Or write to us: 2001 South First Street, Champaign, IL 61820 USA

4.10 How to Contact the Appropriate Authority

Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that Common Ground Research Networks has not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner, you may contact the local data protection authority of your country. 



5. CGScholar Credit

5.1 General

Scholar Wallet is a function which provides users with greater flexibility in how they interact with and utilize the Service. A user’s Wallet contains their “credits,” which is the sum of monetary values credited to one’s account. All other Scholar Wallet credits shall expire 12 months following the date of their issuance.

5.2 Use of CGScholar Wallet Credits

Credits can be used for anything on the Platform, including but not limited to:

5.3 Sources of CGScholar Wallet credits

5.4 Governing Policies:


6. General Prohibitions

You agree not to do any of the following:


7. University of Illinois Terms

The following terms will apply because you (“End User”) are licensing, using, or are provided access to software or services (“Company Product”) that incorporates, or is based on, certain software (“University Software”) of The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (“University”).

7.1 Rights

End User may (1) use the University Software only as an integral component of the Company Product; (2) make copies of the Company Product for back-up or archival purposes only (provided that all notices are included as specified in Subsection 4 below); and (3) End User may use the Company Products for its internal business purposes only, and will not sublicense, redistribute, or otherwise allow third parties to use them directly or indirectly, whether on a time sharing, remote job entry or service bureau arrangement. Any use of the Company Products beyond these limitations will be subject to Company’s prior written consent and payment of the applicable fees.

7.2 Ownership

All patents, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary rights in or related to the University Software are and will remain the exclusive property of University, whether or not specifically recognized or perfected under applicable law. End User will not take any action that jeopardizes University’s proprietary rights. End User acknowledges and agrees that it acquires no right in the University Software, except the limited use license specified in Subsection 1. University will own all rights in any copy of the University Software or any derivative work thereof, including any improvement or development of the University Software.

7.3 Source Code

The End User is not entitled to receive the source code version of the University Software, and under no circumstances may the End User recipient reverse-compile, reverse-assemble, decompile, disassemble, decrypt, extract, or otherwise reverse-engineer or modify the object code version of the Company Product.

7.4 Notices

The End User must reproduce and include the copyright notice(s) and proprietary legend(s) of University, as applicable, as they appear in the Company Product and on any media containing the Company Product and on all copies of the Company Product prepared by the End User.

7.5 Third Party Beneficiary

End User acknowledges that the provisions of its agreement with Company, including, but not limited to these Terms (“Agreement”), are intended to inure to the benefit of University as a third party beneficiary of this Agreement, and University will be entitled to enforce such provisions against End User. End User further acknowledges that University accepts its third party beneficiary rights hereunder and that such rights will be deemed irrevocable.

7.6 Warranties, Maintenance, and Support

All warranties, maintenance, and support (if any) with respect to the University Software and Company Products will be provided solely by Company and not by University. University makes no warranties or representations concerning the University Software, Company Products or any other materials, services, information, or technology, and University expressly disclaims all such warranties and representation, express or implied, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties or merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

7.7 Liability

Under no circumstances will University be liable for consequential, indirect, special, punitive or incidental damages or lost profits, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable, based on claims of end user or any other party arising out of breach or failure of express or implied warranty, breach of contract, misrepresentation, negligence, strict liability in tort, failure of any remedy to achieve its essential purpose, or otherwise. Notwithstanding the form (e.g., contract, tort, or otherwise) in which any legal or equitable action may be brought. In no event will University be liable for damages or losses that exceed, in aggregate, the amount of fees paid by the end user for the products that gave rise to such damages or losses for each respective breach or series of related breaches, and end user agrees that it must first pursue and exhaust all remedies against company before pursuing any remedy (if any) against University.



8. About these Conditions

8.1 Modification

The Platform reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify the Site, Services and these Terms, at any time and without prior notice. If we modify these Terms we will post the modification on the Site or provide you with notice of the modification. We will also update the “Last Updated Date” at the top of these Terms. By continuing to access or use the Site or Services after we have posted a modification on the Site or have provided you with notice of a modification, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by the modified Terms. If the modified Terms are not acceptable to you, your only recourse is to cease using the Site and Services.

8.2 Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold CGScholar.com, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Platform or Services, or your violation of these Terms.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE OR SERVICES OR BY DOWNLOADING OR POSTING ANY CONTENT FROM OR ON THE PLATFORM OR THROUGH THE SERVICES, YOU ARE INDICATING THAT YOU HAVE READ, AND THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY, THESE TERMS, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE REGISTERED ON OR THROUGH THE SITE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, THEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ACCESS OR USE THE PLATFORM OR SERVICES. If you accept or agree to these Terms on behalf of a company, university or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that company, university or other legal entity to these Terms and, in such event, “you” and “your” will refer and apply to that company or other legal entity.