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Last updated: July 8, 2020
Terms of Service
Please note:
 * If you reside outside of the United States, sections 1 to 15 of these Terms
   apply to you.
 * If you are a United States resident, additional Terms of Service ("Additional
   U.S. Terms") apply to you (see sec. 16-19), INCLUDING A MANDATORY ARBITRATION
   CLAUSE IN SECTION 17.
 * These terms ("Terms") incorporate additional policies ("Policies") that may
   apply to you when using certain features (e.g. Projects, Q&A, Members’
   discussions on ResearchGate, etc.) including our:
   Intellectual Property Policy
   Unsolicited Ideas Policy
   Community Guidelines

Contents
 * 1. General information
 * 2. Conclusion of agreement
 * 3. Scope of the Service
 * 4. User Obligations
 * 5. Export control laws
 * 6. Copyright and other intellectual property rights
 * 7. Unsolicited ideas
 * 8. Changes to the Service
 * 9. Changes to these Terms
 * 10. Term, Termination
 * 11. Liability
 * 12. Indemnity
 * 13. Applicable law
 * 14. International jurisdiction / Venue for legal disputes / Consumer dispute
   resolution
 * 15. Miscellaneous

Additional Terms of Service for United States residents only ("Additional U.S.
Terms")
 * 16. No warranty, release, and limitation of liability
 * 17. Agreement to arbitrate, class action waiver and release
 * 18. Applicable US law
 * 19. Venue for legal disputes not subject to arbitration

1. General information
ResearchGate GmbH, Chausseestr. 20, 10115 Berlin, Germany ("ResearchGate", "we",
"us", or "our") provides the services made available at www.researchgate.net and
all other websites operated by ResearchGate and all associated applications,
including mobile applications, and services ("Service"), as an information
society service in the meaning of Article 1(b) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535. Full
ResearchGate contact information is available here.
ResearchGate’s mission is to connect the world of science and make research open
to all. Connections can only be established when potential connections and
commonalities are known and connecting lines can be drawn. Openness can only be
achieved with comprehensive accessibility. Our Service takes your work and
activities on the Service into account to help connect you with other
individuals who are relevant to you, and recommend relevant content. We also
gather information from external sources, in order to disseminate as much
relevant scientific content as possible to drive science forward. Any natural or
legal person who, as a recipient of the Service, accesses or uses the Service
for any purpose is a User ("User", "you"). Our registered Users ("Members") can,
by way of example, and not as a limitation, share their professional identities,
credentials, awarded grants, display their academic publications, engage and
collaborate with their networks, exchange knowledge and professional insights,
contact or be contacted by other Users (including recruiters), post and view
relevant content, and discover business and career opportunities. Some content
is also visible to unregistered and logged-out Users ("Visitors").
2. Conclusion of agreement
These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between ResearchGate and any
of its Users. In some jurisdictions, you may be bound to these Terms if you
access the Service. Furthermore, a Visitor may also be asked to assent to these
Terms in order to use a certain limited number of features on the Service. The
Terms become binding on Members once we accept your offer to enter into a
binding agreement with us, e.g., once you have submitted the registration
process and we have sent confirmation that you have successfully registered for
the Service.
The Service is only available to individuals who are at least 18 years old. If
you are under 18, you may not use or attempt to register for the Service. In
addition, if you have previously had your membership restricted by us, you may
not attempt to register for the Service again.
3. Scope of the Service
Among other things, the Service provides you with the ability to add, create,
upload, submit, distribute, send, share, or post ("submit", "submitting", or
"submission") content, articles, data, text, photographs, images, illustrations,
advertisements, job posts, or other information on or to the Service
(collectively, the "Member Submissions"). By way of example, and not as a
limitation, Member Submissions may be submitted when you request the Service to:
 1. identify, resolve, copy, or import content stored on your or a third party’s
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 2. synchronize content such that the Service stores or "mirrors" content stored
    on your or a third party’s computer system by storing such content on
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 3. save or store your comments, edits, or annotations to content accessible
    through the Service; or
 4. share with another person any content stored on your or a third party’s
    computer system.

The Service also enables you to learn about other Members, get into contact with
or be contacted by other Members and/or institutions, consume their work, their
research, post and answer questions on various topics and interact with
ResearchGate’s community. The Service also allows you to present, organize and
manage scientific collaboration.
The Service also provides you with functionalities that support your scientific
work, your professional life and development. To be as helpful as possible, the
Service takes information about you as a Member, your Member Submissions and
your activity on the Service into account in suggesting content and providing
other aspects of the Service. This way we can make recommendations for
connections, content, and features that may be useful to you. Also, by taking
your work, research, career, experience, and other factors into account, we are
able to provide you with opportunities, vacancies, information and helpful
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For further information regarding our data processing, please refer to our
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ResearchGate shall not be a contracting party to any agreements entered into by
Users with other Users or with any third party via the Service. Users are solely
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ResearchGate shall not be held liable for breaches of duty in relation to such
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ResearchGate assumes no responsibility and is under no obligation to become
involved.
The Service consists largely of information uploaded by and/or stored upon the
request of Members. We do not manually or automatically preview or review or
filter such information. Therefore, we do not and cannot have current knowledge
of possible infringements, inappropriate content, or violations of law caused by
information that is uploaded by and/or stored upon the request of Members. We
are not liable for such information (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C.
section 512; Article 14 of Directive 2000/31/EC). We will, upon obtaining
knowledge about or becoming aware of such infringements, act expeditiously to
remove or disable access to such information. See our Intellectual Property
Policy for more information about how to report content.
In addition to Member Submissions, we also source bibliographical information
from various publicly available sources. We do so to enrich our platform with
information that is not a Member Submission. We want to promote scientific
discourse by adding even more relevant information to our platform. To the
extent that content collected from third-party sources, including personal data,
is made available by ResearchGate on the Service, we are unable to control the
legitimacy or accuracy of such content. However, we will review any issues that
are reported to us. Our Help Center provides information about how to report
content to us.
4. User Obligations
ResearchGate strives to connect the world of science. It is essential for the
credibility of the world of science and for the reputation of researchers that
Members identify themselves using their real names and their true affiliations.
You must therefore provide only true and non-misleading statements and use your
real name; you may not use pseudonyms or pen names. You may not accept, adopt,
or post content that falsely or misleadingly implies an incorrect identity,
inaccurate biographical facts, or misleading information about your research,
qualifications, work experience, awarded grants, or achievements.
You warrant and represent that all personal data you provide is accurate. You
are obliged to update such data when it changes. If you choose to use a profile
photo, you must use a photo where you can be clearly identified and for which
you have the necessary usage/license rights; images of more than one person,
other people, animals, text, graphics and inappropriate content are not
permitted.
You are responsible for ensuring that the use or other exploitation of any
Member Submissions by you as contemplated by these Terms does not infringe or
violate the rights of any third party, including without limitation any privacy
rights, publicity rights, patent, copyrights, contract rights, or any other
intellectual property or proprietary rights. Except in the case of Member
Submissions containing content exclusively in the public domain, you represent
and warrant, and can demonstrate to our full satisfaction upon request that (i)
you own or otherwise control any and all rights or licenses required in order to
submit or share all content in your Member Submissions and you consent to the
use of such content as contemplated by these Terms, and (ii) you have full
authority to act on behalf of any and all owners of any right, title, or
interest in and to any content in your Member Submissions to use such content as
contemplated by these Terms.
You understand that all information publicly posted or privately transmitted
through the Service is the sole responsibility of the person by whom such
content was submitted. We will not be liable for any errors or omissions in any
such content. We reserve the right to delete, modify, demote, or reformat any
materials, content, or information submitted by you when, in our sole
discretion, we deem it to be necessary or appropriate, including if we determine
that the content may expose us to harm, potential legal liability, or is in
breach of these Terms. We do not endorse and have no control over any content
submitted to the Service. We cannot guarantee the authenticity of any Member
Submission. You acknowledge that all content accessed by you in connection with
your use of the Service is at your own risk and you will be solely responsible
for any damage or loss to any party resulting from your access to or your
inability to access such content.
You understand that depending on your settings, your profile information,
account activity or Member Submissions may be publicly available. In such case
you understand that it may be shared with third parties (including other
Members, recruiters or Visitors) and that we cannot and do not control any such
third parties. For further information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. As a
Member you may change the visibility of your profile information and full-text
content at any time when you are logged in.
You are obliged to keep your password confidential at all times. ResearchGate
will not disclose your password to any third party, and will not ask for your
password at any time other than during the login process. You are solely
responsible for anything that happens through your account, unless you close it
or report misuse.
You must not publish, share, sell, or make available information that is
provided within the Service to any third party outside the Service, unless such
a distribution or disclosure is intended within the scope of and in accordance
with the Service. Information made available within the Service is not to be
commercialized by Users in any way.
You must not store, process, or use any other User's personal data for any other
purpose than the natural purpose of such data being published within the Service
by the respective User.
In connection with using or accessing the Service, you shall not:
 * Post false, inaccurate, dishonest, misleading, manipulative, deceptive,
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 * Encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing.

5. Export control laws
We do not represent that the materials made available in the Service are
appropriate or available for use in any particular location. Those who choose to
access or use the Service do so on their own initiative and are responsible for
compliance with all applicable local laws, including, if you are in the United
States, any applicable export control or foreign assets control regulations.
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The software running the Service, the site design and content, the logos and
other graphics, articles and other texts, as well as the database are protected
by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws in multiple
jurisdictions. For information about protecting Intellectual Property on the
Service, please see our Intellectual Property Policy.
7. Unsolicited ideas
Any idea, information, or feedback you submit to us without our specific request
is subject to our Unsolicited Ideas Policy.
8. Changes to the Service
We reserve the right to modify the Service or to offer services different from
those offered at the time of the User’s registration at any time, in particular
under, but not limited to, the following circumstances:
 1. We introduce new features that enhance the Service;
 2. To the extent we are required in order to comply with applicable law,
    including in the event of a change in such laws;
 3. To the extent we are required to do so because of a legal order or decision
    by a government authority;
 4. To the extent the respective modifications are required to mitigate any
    potential security vulnerabilities;
 5. If the modification is only beneficial to the Member; or
 6. If the modification is of a purely technical or process-related nature
    without any material impact on the Member.

9. Changes to these Terms
 1. We may change the Terms at any time. You will become subject to the new
    terms if you explicitly agree to them, or we provide you with notice of the
    changes. We will provide such notice by sending you an email and/or
    notifying you on the Service. Unless we state otherwise, changes are
    effective thirty days from the time they are posted. In our notices, we will
    inform you of the new terms and the main changes to these Terms, your right
    to object and the importance of the deadline to object. You are obliged to
    check your account regularly for a notice about changes to these Terms. For
    the avoidance of doubt, if you continue to use your Account after the notice
    period, you agree that you are bound by the changes.
 2. If you do not agree with the new terms you must close your account.
 3. If you have a dispute with us, the version of the terms in effect at the
    time that we receive actual notice of your dispute shall apply.

10. Term, Termination
You may terminate the contractual relationship at any time without cause by
deleting your account. In order to protect you from unauthorized deletion of
your account, we may be required to perform an identity check before agreeing to
delete your account at your request.
ResearchGate is entitled to immediate extraordinary termination for good cause
at any time. Extraordinary termination for good cause is defined as an event
which makes it unacceptable for the terminating party to continue the agreement
until the end of the termination period, taking into account all circumstances
of the individual case and weighing up the interests of both parties. A good
cause for ResearchGate includes, but is not limited to, any of the following
events:
 1. The Member fails to comply with any applicable legal provisions;
 2. The Member breaches a contractual obligation of these Terms;
 3. The reputation of the Service is potentially substantially impaired by the
    online presence of the Member;
 4. The Member promotes any communities or associations, or any of their methods
    or activities, which are accused of a crime, or under surveillance by
    authorities responsible for public safety or the protection of minors;
 5. The Member causes harm or poses a risk to any other User(s); or
 6. The Member exposes ResearchGate to potential risk or legal liability.

In the event of a good cause and notwithstanding our right to terminate, we are
entitled to:
 1. Delete or modify Member Submissions;
 2. Issue a warning to the Member;
 3. Suspend, disable, restrict, or block the Member’s access to the Service;
 4. Take technical and/or legal steps to prevent the Member from using our
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If the Member relinquishes or loses the right to use the Service, the following
shall survive termination:
 1. The ability of other Members and Visitors to use and share any content and
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 2. The Member’s ability to access the Service as a Visitor;
 3. Sections 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of these
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11. Liability
ResearchGate may be liable without limitation for damages resulting from injury
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addition, ResearchGate may be liable without limitation for damages due to
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or vicarious agents.
Liability pursuant to the German Product Liability Act shall remain unaffected.
Apart from the cases set out above, ResearchGate’s liability shall be limited to
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cardinal contractual duties due to slight negligence. Cardinal contractual
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You will indemnify and hold ResearchGate (including our affiliates and
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13. Applicable law
Except as provided below in Section 17 with respect to U.S. Users, these Terms
shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, except for its
conflicts of laws principles and the CISG (United Nations Convention on the
International Sale of Goods).
If the User is a consumer in the sense of Article 6 of EU Regulation 593/2008
and has their habitual residence outside of Germany, provisions which, in the
absence of choice, would have been applicable and which cannot, by virtue of
law, be derogated from by agreement, shall remain unaffected.
14. International jurisdiction / Venue for legal disputes / Consumer dispute
resolution
Except as provided below in Section 17 with respect to U.S. Users, the courts of
the Federal Republic of Germany shall have sole jurisdiction over any disputes
arising out of or in connection with these Terms. This does not apply if the
User is a consumer in the sense of Article 17 of EU Regulation No. 1215/2012 and
is residing in a Member State of the EU; in this case the international
jurisdiction is governed by Article 18 of EU Regulation No. 1215/2012.
If the User (i) is a merchant, a legal person under public law, or special funds
under public law, and is either a resident of Germany or resides outside of the
European Union (EU), or (ii) is resident of another Member State of the EU and
is not a consumer in the sense of Article 17 of EU Regulation No. 1215/2012, or
(iii) has its residence outside of the EU, the courts of Berlin, Germany, shall
have sole jurisdiction over any disputes arising out of or in connection with
these Terms.
Statutory provisions regarding exclusive jurisdiction shall remain unaffected.
The EU Commission provides an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform for the
out-of-court resolution of disputes concerning contractual obligations with
consumers (as defined in Article 4 of EU Directive No 11/2013). You can find the
link to this platform here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. We do not
participate in such ODR.
We do not use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to resolve
disputes with consumers.
15. Miscellaneous
Any administrative emails from ResearchGate will be sent to the Member’s current
primary email address listed for their account. In the event that the last email
address you provided is not valid, or for any reason is not capable of
delivering you the notice, our dispatch of the email containing such notice will
nonetheless constitute effective notice. For security and privacy reasons,
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listed as contact email addresses for an account.
We are permitted to transfer rights and duties to third parties, in whole or in
part. Section 10 applies. If ResearchGate does not act to enforce a breach of
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If any provision or portion of these Terms is held to be or becomes invalid,
illegal, unenforceable, or in conflict with the law of any applicable
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provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
These Terms are only available and binding in their English-language version.
Additional Terms of Service for United States residents only ("Additional U.S.
Terms")
The following Additional U.S. Terms apply only to United States residents and
apply in addition to the Terms set out above. To the extent they are
inconsistent with any previous Terms, the following Additional U.S. Terms shall
prevail.
16. No warranty, release, and limitation of liability
The Service is provided "as is" and we disclaim any and all representations and
warranties, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied
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You acknowledge and agree that you assume full responsibility for your use of
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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, our liability to you
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If you have a dispute with one or more Users, you release us (and our affiliates
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This section only applies to Users in the United States.
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY — IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL
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17 (referred to as a "Claim") will be resolved as follows:
Informal Resolution
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that sets forth the name, address, and contact information of the party giving
it, the facts giving rise to the dispute, claim, or controversy and the relief
requested. You will send your notice by email to copyright@researchgate.net AND
to this address: ResearchGate GmbH, Chausseestr. 20, 10115 Berlin, Germany. We
will send our notice by email to the email address associated with your account.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the notice and 30-day negotiation period required
by this paragraph shall not apply, however, to disputes, claims, or
controversies concerning patents, copyrights, moral rights, trademarks, and
trade secrets and claims of piracy or unauthorized use of the Service.
Formal Resolution
Except as provided in the "Exceptions" section below, if we cannot resolve a
Claim informally, any Claim either of us asserts will be resolved only by
binding arbitration and not in courts of general jurisdiction. The arbitration
will be conducted under the rules of JAMS that are in effect at the time the
arbitration is initiated (referred to as the "JAMS Rules") and under the rules
set forth in these Terms. If there is a conflict between JAMS Rules and the
rules set forth in these Terms, the rules set forth in these Terms will govern.
ARBITRATION MEANS THAT YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. You may, in
arbitration, seek any and all remedies otherwise available to you pursuant to
your state’s law.
 1. Personal Users
    If you are a User who uses the Service solely for your own personal,
    non-commercial use, and not in a professional capacity and you decide to
    initiate arbitration on your own behalf as a living person ("Personal
    User"), we agree to reimburse your arbitration initiation fee, and any
    additional deposit required by JAMS to initiate your arbitration. We also
    agree to pay the costs of the arbitration proceeding. Other fees, such as
    attorney’s fees and expenses of travel to the arbitration, will be paid in
    accordance with JAMS Rules. The arbitration will be held at a location in
    your hometown area unless you and we both agree to another location or
    telephonic arbitration. To start an arbitration, you or we must do the
    following things:
    1. Write a Demand for Arbitration. The demand must include a description of
       the Claim and the amount of damages sought to be recovered. You can find
       a copy of a Demand for Arbitration at www.jamsadr.com.
    2. Send three copies of the Demand for Arbitration, plus the appropriate
       filing fee, to: JAMS, 500 North State College Blvd., Suite 600, Orange,
       CA 92868 (1-800-352-5267).
    3. Send one copy of the Demand for Arbitration to us at: ResearchGate GmbH,
       Chausseestr. 20, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
 2. Professional Users
    If you are a User who uses the Service in a professional capacity in
    connection with an educational institution or legal entity ("Professional
    User") and you decide to initiate arbitration associated with your
    professional use of the Service, you will be required to pay the arbitration
    initiation fee as well as any additional deposit required by JAMS to
    initiate your arbitration. You also agree to pay the costs of the
    arbitration proceeding. Other fees, such as attorney’s fees and expenses of
    travel to the arbitration, will be paid in accordance with JAMS Rules. The
    arbitration will be held in San Francisco, California, unless you and we
    both agree to another location or telephonic arbitration. To start an
    arbitration, you or we must do the following things:
    1. Write a Demand for Arbitration. The demand must include a description of
       the Claim and the amount of damages sought to be recovered. You can find
       a copy of a Demand for Arbitration at www.jamsadr.com.
    2. Send three copies of the Demand for Arbitration, plus the appropriate
       filing fee, to: JAMS, 500 North State College Blvd., Suite 600, Orange,
       CA 92868 (1-800-352-5267).
    3. Send one copy of the Demand for Arbitration to us at: ResearchGate GmbH,
       Chausseestr. 20, 10115 Berlin, Germany.

Special Rules
In the arbitration proceeding, the arbitrator has no authority to make errors of
law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator does so. Otherwise, the
arbitrator’s decision is final and binding on all parties and may be enforced in
any federal or state court that has jurisdiction. Neither you nor we shall be
entitled to join or consolidate claims in arbitration by or against other
individuals or entities, or arbitrate any claim as a representative member of a
class or in a private attorney general capacity. Accordingly, you and we agree
that the JAMS Class Action Procedures do not apply to our arbitration. A court
may sever any portion of Section 17 that it finds to be unenforceable, except
for the prohibition on class, representative, and private attorney general
arbitration.
Exceptions
Notwithstanding the foregoing, disputes, claims, or controversies concerning
patents, copyrights, moral rights, trademarks, and trade secrets and claims of
piracy or unauthorized use of the Service, including disputes involving a
violation of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 605, or the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1201, or the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, or any other statement or law governing
theft of service, shall not be subject to arbitration as set out in this Section
17 and may be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction. Moreover, you
may choose to pursue your claim in small claims court where jurisdiction and
venue over ResearchGate and you otherwise qualify for such small claims court
and where your claim does not include a request for any type of equitable
relief.
Personal User right to opt out
If you are a Personal User, you have the right to opt out and not be bound by
the binding arbitration requirement by sending written notice of your decision
to opt out to the email address copyright@researchgate.net. The notice must be
sent within 30 days of the effective date of these Terms or your first use of
the Service, whichever is later. If you opt out of the binding arbitration
requirement, we also will not be bound by the requirement. Professional Users
may not opt out of the binding arbitration requirements.
Changes to this section
We will provide 30 days’ notice of any changes to this section. Changes will
become effective on the 30th day, and will apply prospectively only to any
claims arising after the 30th day.
18. Applicable US law
The U.S. Federal Arbitration Act (including its procedural provisions) is the
law that will be applied to determine whether Section 17 can be enforced and how
it should be interpreted.
Apart from that, if you are a United States resident, these Terms and our
relationship will be governed by Californian law, except for its conflicts of
laws principles.
19. Venue for legal disputes not subject to arbitration
If you are a United States resident, judicial proceedings that are excluded from
the Arbitration Agreement in Section 17 must be brought in state or federal
court in San Francisco, California, unless we both agree to some other location.
You and ResearchGate both consent to venue and personal jurisdiction in San
Francisco, California.

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