Terms and Conditions

Purpose of Licensing Agreements

Journal covers

The Philosophy Documentation Center provides online access to the materials owned by many learned societies, universities, and publishers. These materials are protected by intellectual property laws, and the protections include the content, title, and layout of each publication.

We have agreed to protect these materials on behalf of each publication, always trying to balance the interests of authors and readers on the one hand against the practical needs of each publication on the other. This commitment requires us to provide specific terms of access and use of publications on our site. Individual or institutional subscribers agree to abide by these reasonable terms and conditions when accessing the content of collections on our site.

By honoring these terms you help us build confidence among the learned societies and publishers that rely on income from their publications to support continuing production and new projects. This is important for everyone in the scholarly community. Increased confidence in secure online access among sponsors and publishers will help us bring more material online more quickly. Your cooperation makes a difference.

Important Definitions

“Single Site” means:

  • a) a local institutional site or campus that is a single organizational unit; OR
  • b) an institution with multiple locations in a single city that are centrally administered; OR
  • c) an institution located in more than one city, state/province, or country, with central administration of the license managed on behalf of all locations, AND with 70% or more of all FTE’s located at the main campus/primary location.

“Multi-site” means:

  • a) an institution with multiple locations that does not meet the definition of a Single Site; AND
  • b) the multiple locations share the same IP range.

“Multi-institution” means:

  • a) two or more institutions that are independently administered and do not share the same IP range; OR
  • b) two or more institutions in any state/province or country that share a single licence managed centrally on behalf of all participating institutions.

“Institutional user”

Institutional users have access to publications on our site via a subscription or purchase by their library. Such users have access to the full text of all volumes of these publications on our site through their institution’s network. Institutional users typically include faculty, staff, students, alumni, library patrons, and other users authorized by the institution. The Account Administrator for institutional users is generally the serials librarian or electronic resources manager.

“Individual user”

Individual users have access to publications on our site via a personal subscription or purchase. Such users have access to the full text of all volumes of these publications on our site after login with username and password. Individual users at institutions that have different online subscriptions to publications on our site can access their personal publications from within the institution’s network by switching account profiles.

“Society member”

Society members are individuals or institutions who have access to publications on our site via membership in a learned society or association. Authentication for society members is by username / password for individuals and IP for institutions. Individual members at institutions that have different online subscriptions to publications on our site can access their publications from within the institution’s network by switching account profiles.

Adjustment of Terms

We understand that some institutions may need changes in our licensing terms to meet legal requirements in their jurisdictions. We are open to this in principle but need specific information about the changes required. Due to licensing restrictions some changes can be made more easily than others.

Please contact us with specific questions if you believe changes will be required.