Terms Of Service

Terms Of Service

§ 1 Scope (1) transcriptiones is an online database for transcriptions of historical manuscripts. The platform was set up as a prototype by Yvonne Fuchs and Dominic Weber at ETH Library Lab. Subsequently, transcriptiones moved to the Department of History at the University of Basel and has since been affiliated with the chair of Prof. Dr. Lucas Burkart. transcriptiones is part of the latter institution. The following conditions apply to the use of the online database transcriptiones.ch - hereafter referred to as «transcriptiones». (2) The use of transcriptiones is free of charge. By using this platform, you agree to the terms and conditions of use of our website. By agreeing, you warrant to us that you will not create any entries that violate the terms of use.

§ 2 Participation, registration, data protection and data storage (1) In order to upload, revise or extend transcriptions, it is necessary to set up a personal user account. For this purpose, registration with first and last name, username, email address and preferred language of the user interface on the transcriptiones website is required. Users of transcriptiones are not allowed to hand over their access data to third parties. Names and email addresses are used exclusively for registration purposes and for correspondence between transcriptiones and its users. They will never be handed over to third parties or published. The username will be published with the uploaded transcriptions and revisions if requested by the user, but users can also publish anonymously. By entering and sending this data, you agree to this use. (2) transcriptiones electronically logs the following user information each time transcribed text, metadata or photos are saved: username, time of saving, current status of the transcription text as well as any changes thereof. All personal data will be stored on servers of the University of Basel. (3) Session cookies are used on transcriptiones, which are stored on the user’s machine. These only contain the login status and the timestamp of the most recent interaction with the website. (4) The measures to be taken to ensure the security of data depend on the type of information and the nature and purpose of its use. transcriptiones employs organizational and technical security measures to ensure that personal data remain confidential. Only those persons who need to access personal data due to their duties and because of an urgent requirement will be permitted to do so. Furthermore, concepts are pursued to prevent the loss or destruction of uploaded or revised transcriptions, metadata, and photos. However, should data loss ever occur, transcriptiones disclaims any liability. If you have any further questions regarding the storage, use, blocking or destruction of the various types of data, please contact the transcriptiones team.

§ 3 Rights and duties of users of transcriptiones (1) Only transcriptions created by the user are to be uploaded. Furthermore, it is your duty as a user not to publish any contributions that violate these terms of use or applicable Swiss law. You are not permitted to do the following: 1. to publish content that does not deal with the subject of transcriptions and historical manuscripts and/or the publication of which constitutes a criminal offence; 2. to publish content that is knowingly untrue; 3. to revise your own or other people’s transcriptions in ways that are not intended to improve the quality of the transcriptions. It is your duty as a platform user to consider § 3 para. 1 no. 1-3 of these Terms of Use prior to publishing your contribution on the platform and to check whether you have complied with these points. (2) If you violate § 3 para. 1 no. 1-3 of these Terms of Use, we reserve the right to take the following actions against you: 1. delete and/or modify your contributions; 2. prohibit you from uploading or writing contributions to the platform; 3. block your access as a user. (3) If you, as a user, have not complied with the terms of use and this has resulted in possible legal violations caused by your content on our platform (breach of duty), you, as a user, undertake to indemnify us against any claims, including claims for damages, and to reimburse the costs. (4) By your consent, you guarantee us that you will not create any uploads or other contributions that violate the terms of use.

§ 4 Transfer of rights of use and copyright (1) As a user of the platform, you are solely responsible for complying with copyright law in the sense of the Copyright Act when publishing contributions on the platform. (2) If users wish to upload images of the original source, it is imperative that they obtain prior permission from the respective memorial institution. Users of transcriptiones guarantee that they have obtained this permission when uploading image material. In the event of a violation of this regulation on the part of the user, the memory institution concerned may request the deletion of the image material. (3) The uploaded transcriptions are subject to a CC0 licence, which means that other users can use your transcription freely. By uploading the data, users agree that other transcriptiones users may revise and expand them. Users waive the right to be named as authors of the transcriptions and metadata. The comprehensive transfer of copyright includes, but is not limited to, the transfer without compensation of the right to use the transcription and metadata in any presently known manner and media and in any future manner and media, and transcriptiones may also permit such use by third parties free of charge or for a fee. Your transfer of rights includes, in particular, the right for transcriptiones to modify, translate into new media, present, perform, distribute, transmit and make available the transcriptions and metadata created in any form and on any medium. The transfer of rights further includes that the transcriptions and metadata created may be made available free of charge or for a fee in databases or books. (4) Furthermore, the transcriptiones team has the right to delete, edit and move your contributions within the website.

§ 5 Limitation of liability (1) We do not assume any liability for the contributions published on the platform, in particular not for their correctness and completeness. (2) We are not obliged to permanently monitor the transmitted and stored contributions of the users or to check the contributions for illegal content. (3) We do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted access to the website. Any liability in this respect is hereby expressly excluded. Even with great care, downtimes can unfortunately not be ruled out.

§ 6 Termination of your participation in transcriptiones (1) You may terminate your participation as a user by sending a written declaration to transcriptiones without notice, whereupon transcriptiones will deactivate your account. (2) In the event of termination of participation – whether by the user or by transcriptiones – transcriptiones is not obliged, but entitled, to delete the content already created via the terminated account. Users have no claims to the content already created or its return. (3) transcriptiones reserves the right to block or delete a user account immediately and without warning in the event of a significant reason.

§ 7 Reservation of right to amend transcriptiones reserves the right to amend these terms of use as required. The changes will be announced on the transcriptiones website before they become effective.