Terms of Use

The Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform makes available descriptive, technical and contextual information, referred to as metadata, relating to biobanks, collections, biological resources, samples, records, associated services and participating entities in the Blue Bioeconomy ecosystem.

This metadata is intended to support discovery, consultation, interoperability, referencing and potential reuse of information about marine and aquatic biological resources, promoting scientific research, innovation, collaboration between entities and sustainable valorisation of resources made available through the platform.

Use of the platform implies acceptance of these terms.

For the purposes of these terms:

• Platform means the Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform, accessible through bluebiobanksplatform.com.
• Metadata means the descriptive information made available on the platform about collections, organisms, samples, records, biobanks, services, institutions, access conditions, general location, taxonomy, collection codes and biological, environmental, technical or administrative characteristics.
• Record means an individual entry made available on the platform, associated with a biological resource, organism, sample, collection or service.
• Collection means an organised set of resources, samples or records made available by a biobank or participating entity.
• Image associated with a record means any photograph, illustration, graphic, visual representation or other visual content made available on the platform in association with a record, collection, sample, organism or biological resource.
• User means any natural or legal person who accesses, consults, downloads, reuses, cites or integrates metadata from the platform.
• Data provider means the biobank, institution, project, entity or team responsible for submitting, curating or maintaining metadata made available through the platform.

Metadata made available on the Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform may be used for research, education, innovation, technological development, report preparation, scientific analysis, decision support, biological resource prospecting or other purposes compatible with the platform mission.

By using the metadata, the user undertakes to:

1. Use the information responsibly, ethically and transparently;
2. Respect the origin of the metadata and properly acknowledge the platform and the relevant data providers;
3. Not distort, manipulate or present metadata in a misleading way;
4. Not suggest that the platform, its partners or data providers validate, certify or support the user's conclusions, products, services or decisions unless expressly authorised;
5. Verify, whenever necessary, the currency, completeness and suitability of metadata before using it in scientific, commercial, regulatory, legal or operational contexts;
6. Respect any specific conditions associated with particular biobanks, collections, records, services, biological resources or associated images.

The platform makes metadata available for the discovery, description and referencing of biological resources and collections. Making metadata available on the platform does not, by itself, imply:

1. The immediate availability of samples, biological materials, associated data or services;
2. Automatic authorisation to access, collect, transfer, use or commercialise biological resources;
3. The granting of rights over physical materials, samples, sequences, images, derived data, intellectual property or associated traditional knowledge;
4. Approval of research protocols, access requests, material transfer agreements, licences or ethical, legal or administrative authorisations.

Access to biological resources, samples, additional data or services may be subject to assessment, authorisation, contracts, technical conditions, legal requirements, institutional policies or availability from the data provider.

The platform seeks to promote the quality, interoperability and updating of the metadata it makes available. However, metadata may contain errors, omissions, inconsistencies, incomplete information or information that becomes outdated.

Metadata is provided as is, without any express or implied guarantee of accuracy, completeness, currency, suitability for a specific purpose or absence of errors.

The user is responsible for evaluating whether metadata is suitable for the intended purpose, especially when used in scientific research, commercial development, public policy, environmental assessment, regulatory decisions or publications.

Users are encouraged to report errors, omissions or inconsistencies to the platform team or to the relevant data provider.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, metadata may be used for:

1. Searching, consulting and discovering biobanks, collections, records and biological resources;
2. Scientific and academic research;
3. Teaching, training and scientific communication;
4. Integration into reports, publications, presentations, dashboards or information systems, provided the source is properly acknowledged;
5. Analysis of availability, distribution, diversity or general characteristics of collections and biological resources;
6. Identification of potential resource providers, services or scientific collaboration.

Permitted metadata use does not automatically extend to images associated with records, unless expressly stated otherwise or authorised by the relevant rights holder.

The user must not use the metadata for:

1. Illegal, fraudulent, misleading purposes or purposes contrary to scientific ethics;
2. Re-identification of people, entities, sensitive locations or protected resources when that information is not explicitly made available for that purpose;
3. Unauthorised access to systems, databases, biological resources, samples or restricted information;
4. Massive, automated or abusive metadata extraction that compromises platform availability, performance or security;
5. Representing metadata as complete, certified or validated for regulatory, commercial or legal purposes without appropriate confirmation;
6. Creating derived products, services or databases that remove or hide authorship, provenance, citation or acknowledgement of data providers and the platform;
7. Using information to exploit biological resources in violation of applicable law, including rules on biodiversity, conservation, biosafety, access to genetic resources or fair and equitable benefit sharing;
8. Reproducing, copying, downloading, redistributing, publishing, modifying, commercially exploiting or reusing images associated with records without prior authorisation from the relevant rights holder or responsible collection.

Images that may be associated with records on the platform are protected by copyright of the relevant collection, institution, biobank, data provider or other indicated rights holder.

Images are made available primarily to support identification, contextualisation, description or visualisation of the relevant record, collection, sample or biological resource.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, viewing an image on the platform does not grant any licence, authorisation or right to reproduce, reuse, redistribute, publish, modify, commercially exploit or integrate it into external materials.

Any use of images outside the platform must be authorised in advance by the relevant rights holder or responsible collection.

Any public use of metadata from the Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform, including in scientific articles, reports, theses, presentations, websites, applications, databases, communication materials or technical documents, must appropriately acknowledge the platform and, where applicable, the collections, records or data providers used.

9.1. Citation of the platform or multiple collections

When metadata relating to one or more collections is used, the recommended reference is:

Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform (Year of Access). [Collection1], [Collection2] and [Collection3]. Accessed at bluebiobanksplatform.com on dd-mm-yyyy.

Example:

Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform 2026. Algoteca, CM2C and CoBI. Accessed at bluebiobanksplatform.com on 16-06-2026.

9.2. Citation of a specific record

When a specific record is used or referenced, the recommended reference is:

Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform (Year of Access). [Genus] [Specie], [Collection Code]. Accessed at bluebiobanksplatform.com on dd-mm-yyyy.

Example:

Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform 2026. Aglaophamus malmgreni, DBUA0001043.01. Accessed at bluebiobanksplatform.com on 16-06-2026.

9.3. Additional acknowledgement

Where metadata is associated with a specific biobank, institution, collection, funded project or data provider, the user must include the relevant acknowledgement when that information is indicated on the platform or requested by the data provider.

Citation of the platform does not replace citation of scientific publications, datasets, DOIs, collections, projects, institutions or data providers when these are indicated as the preferred reference. Citation also does not authorise reuse of images associated with records, which remain subject to the copyright of the relevant collection or rights holder.

Making metadata available on the platform does not transfer to the user any intellectual property rights, database rights, rights over biological resources, rights over samples, trademarks, logos, images, technical documentation or other protected content.

Rights over metadata, collections, records, associated content, images and biological materials remain with their respective rights holders, data providers, institutions or responsible entities, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Images associated with records are protected by copyright of the relevant collection or rights holder and may not be reproduced, modified, redistributed, published, commercially exploited or used in external materials without prior authorisation.

The user must respect any licences, rights notices, restrictions or specific conditions displayed on the platform.

The platform may present information about biological resources, collections, samples or services made available by participating biobanks and entities.

Consulting metadata does not constitute a reservation, order, access authorisation, service agreement or material transfer agreement.

Requests for access to samples, organisms, derivatives, additional data, laboratory services or scientific collaboration must be submitted through the channels indicated on the platform or directly to the responsible entity. Such requests may be subject to scientific, technical, ethical, legal, commercial or institutional assessment.

The user is responsible for:

1. Ensuring that use of the metadata complies with applicable law;
2. Obtaining all authorisations needed to access or use biological resources, samples, associated data, services or images;
3. Confirming the suitability of metadata for the intended use;
4. Correctly citing the platform, collections, records and data providers;
5. Not using information in a way that may harm the platform, data providers, biological resources, biodiversity, local communities, ecosystems or third parties;
6. Not reusing images associated with records without prior authorisation from the relevant collection or rights holder.

The Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform, its responsible parties, partners, data providers and participating institutions are not liable for losses, damages, costs, decisions, conclusions, interpretations or consequences resulting from use of the metadata, inability to use the metadata, errors, omissions, unavailability or outdated metadata.

The platform does not guarantee that metadata is free from errors, permanently available, suitable for all purposes or reflective of the real and immediate availability of the biological resources or services described.

The platform is also not responsible for unauthorised uses of images associated with records by users or third parties.

Metadata made available on the platform is intended to describe resources, collections, biobanks and services. If certain metadata may be considered sensitive, restricted or subject to legal limitations, its use must comply with the applicable conditions.

The user must not attempt to infer, reconstruct or obtain information that is not publicly available, including personal data, sensitive locations, confidential information, proprietary data, information protected by confidentiality agreements or data whose disclosure could compromise conservation of species, ecosystems or biological resources.

The Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform promotes interoperable metadata use aligned with good practices for scientific data management, discovery and reuse.

Whenever metadata is integrated into other systems, databases, publications, applications or digital services, the user must preserve, whenever technically possible:

1. Identification of the platform as the source;
2. Identification of the original collection or record;
3. The collection code or relevant identifier;
4. The access date;
5. Information about the data provider;
6. Any associated licences, restrictions or specific conditions;
7. Copyright notices or restrictions applicable to images, when images are referenced or described.

The Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform may update these terms whenever necessary, including to reflect legal, technical, operational, scientific or institutional changes.

The applicable version will be the version published on the platform at the time the metadata is used. Continued use of the platform after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

Questions about metadata use, requests for clarification, error reports, requests for access to resources, image-use authorisation requests, or questions about citation and acknowledgement should be sent through the contacts made available on the Blue Biobanks Digital Research Platform or to the entity responsible for the relevant biobank, collection or record.