Terms of use

(Voir la version française)

Last update on 20/06/2024.

These Terms of use set out the conditions of use of the website.

These general conditions set out the conditions of use of the website accessible at the address spartexplorer.mnhn.fr hereinafter referred to as the “Site”, created by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) hereinafter referred to as the “Site administrator”), and put online by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.

By accessing the Site, you become a “User”. Any navigation on the Site and/or registration for a service implies the express and unreserved acceptance by the User of these Terms of use and its commitment to comply with it.

Information contained on this website

This website enables to launch taxonomy tools, present and handle produced data in order to facilitate the interpretation and comparison.

No information contained on the site may be construed as having any contractual value whatsoever. The scientific texts published on the site are valid at the date of publication and do not bind their authors in the future.

Information on the services or objects in the collections or any other information contained on the site is taken from documents considered reliable on the day they were uploaded online. All information, whether practical or scientific, is of an indicative nature only and without any commitment on the part of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.

The information contained on the website may be modified at any time without prior notice by the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. The information contained on the site does not constitute an offer of services or products or a commercial solicitation of any kind, nor does it constitute a recommendation or advice. The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle shall not be held liable for any decision taken or not taken on the basis of information contained on the website, nor for any use that may be made thereof by a third party. This information does not entail the liability of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.

Acceptance and modification of the terms of use and the website

Access to and use of the website are subject to acceptance and compliance with these Terms of use. By browsing the website, regardless of the technical means or points of access used, users are deemed to be aware of these Terms of use and to accept them without reservation. These Terms of use are applicable to any version or extension of the website on current or future social media and/or community networks.

These Terms of use may be modified at any time by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. Before browsing the website, users should consult the latest version of the Terms of use, which are available at all times on the website. If users do not agree with the Terms of use, they should not use the website.

Protection of website content

The Spart Explorer website as well as all of its key components are the property of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. They are protected by copyright and intellectual property rights.

The reproduction of all or part of this website on any paper or electronic medium whatsoever is authorized solely for non-commercial distribution for associative, informational or educational purposes, subject to compliance with the following three conditions:

  • free distribution ;
  • respect for the integrity of the documents reproduced: no modifications or alterations of any kind ;
  • clear and legible citation of the source indicating “Spart Explorer,” the web address of the portal (spartexplorer.mnhn.fr) and the mention “© Spart Explorer – Reproduction prohibited – All rights reserved.”.

Any distribution or use of the website content or information for commercial or advertising purposes is strictly prohibited. For other uses, send requests for authorization through the contact-us section.

The databases and/or files are protected by special provisions in French Act No. 98-536 of July 1, 1998 on the legal protection of databases. The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle guarantees that it hold the intellectual property rights to the content posted online or have obtained the necessary authorizations from the rights holders.

It is prohibited to reuse the content without express prior authorization from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.

Access to the website and use of content

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle authorizes all visitors, in accordance with these Terms of use and rules governing Internet use, to consult this website free of charge for informational purposes, for personal and private use only and excluding all commercial purposes. All costs related to accessing the website, whether related to equipment, software or Internet access, are the sole responsibility of users.

Personal Data

For more information regarding personal data processing by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, please refer to the privacy policy.

Responsability

1) User responsibility

All equipment and software required to access and use the website are the sole responsibility of users, who are solely responsible for the proper operation of said equipment and Internet access.

Users should take all necessary measures to protect their own data, information systems and/or software from possible viruses or any other “malicious software”.

Users are solely responsible for their use of the website.

Users/clients are responsible for any damage they may cause the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle as a result of non-compliance with the Terms of use.

Users undertake to immediately inform the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle of any error, impropriety or non-compliance, and/or the presence of viruses or “malicious software they may notice when using the website as soon as they become aware of it.

To address a security alert (virus control, etc.), a request from an authority (administrative, legal or any other authorized authority), or alert from another user, the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle reserves the right, if necessary, to :

  • keep, for evidentiary purposes, any information that does not comply with the rules set out in the Terms of use ;
  • keep, for evidentiary purposes, any logs, traces of connections or personal or generic data proving improper behaviors or actions by a user ;
  • modify, refuse or remove access to any information that does not comply with the rules set out in these Terms of use

2) Availability and responsibility of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle uses all reasonable means at its disposal to ensure quality access to the website.

The website is available 24/7, except in the event of force majeure, an event outside the control of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle or outages and necessary maintenance operations, scheduled or not, to ensure the website’s proper functioning.

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle cannot be held responsible for any malfunction of the network and/or servers or any other event outside its control that would prevent or hamper access to the website.

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle reserves the right to interrupt or modify access to part or all of the website without notice to conduct maintenance or for any other reason without the interruption giving rise to any obligation or compensation.

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle cannot be held responsible for any direct or indirect damage caused by :

  • use of the website by the user in a way that does not comply with these Terms of use and current regulations ; or
  • computer configurations that allow users to automatically log in and thus allow any third party to use the website with their account or by usurping their identity. Accordingly, to limit this risk, users should secure access to their account (delete cookies and automatic logins, etc.).

The User is informed that during his visits to the Site, cookies may be saved on his computer. The cookie is a text file which does not identify the User but is used to record information relating to their navigation on the Site. The use of these cookies aims to carry out traffic analyzes or audience measurements in order to improve the quality of the Site. Refer to the paragraph on cookies in the privacy policy.

Hypertext Links

Hypertext links are used on the website to redirect users to other external online resources as well as from external resources towards the website. These links may be created with websites of Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle or third-party websites. These various links should not be considered as an offer of services or products, or a recommendation, advice or commercial solicitation of any kind. The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle cannot be held responsible for the content or use by any third party of the information on any other website.

Furthermore, the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle cannot be held responsible for any consequences resulting from technical failures related to these links.

Hypertext links to pages or documents posted on the www.science-ensemble.org portal is authorized if the links guarantee that the origin of the document can be identified. This authorization does not apply to websites disseminating information of an illicit nature.The user should inform the portal administrators in advance through the contact us section. The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle may at any time require the removal of hypertext links created by anyone towards the Spart Explorer website from an external website if said website reflects poorly on the image of either parties, the projects presented, or citizen science in general.

Telecommunications security and integrity

The security and integrity of Internet communications cannot be guaranteed.

The Muséum national d’Histoire naturellecannot be held responsible for the consequences related to technical failures in relation to the website, particularly with regard to any difficulty accessing the website or any interruption of website service.

Protection of information systems

Articles 323-1 et seq. of the French Criminal Code penalize violations of automated data processing systems, and especially :

  • fraudulently accessing or maintaining part or all of an automated data processing system ;
  • obstructing or distorting the operation of such a system ; or
  • fraudulently introducing data into such a system or fraudulently deleting or modifying the data in the system.

Duration

These Terms of use are applicable for the entire duration of navigation and access of the User to the Site and for the entire duration of use of the Service. The User is informed that the terms of use may be subject, at any time, to an update under the conditions mentioned above.

Applicable law and jurisdiction

The Spart Explorer website is subject to French law and falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the French courts.