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Elsevier ScienceDirect AI Personal Digital Subscription Terms and Conditions

Elsevier terms and conditions of sale for ScienceDirect AI - academic researchers*

These Elsevier Terms and Conditions of Sale (“T&C”) apply to your subscription to ScienceDirect AI (“Subscription”) concluded via the website https://researcher.elsevier.com/ (“Website”) between an individual academic researcher (“you” or “your”) and Elsevier B.V. (“we” or “us”) on the date that you submit your order on the Website check-out page (“Check-Out page”) by selecting the “I Agree” button and receive an email confirmation (“Email Confirmation”) if accepted by Elsevier. These T&C expressly incorporate the Privacy Policy, and any guidelines, rules or disclaimers that may be posted and updated on the Website or any notices that are sent to you.

1 Contact Information and Customer Support

If you wish to subscribe to ScienceDirect AI on the Website, you are required to select an initial term (free trial, month or year) (“Initial Term” and upon renewal “Term”) for your Subscription and complete your delivery and payment details. Once these details have been completed, you will be able to check and further edit these details prior to submission of your order on the Check-Out page. You can correct the delivery and payment details after you check out via your user account (“Account”).

If you have any questions, comments or complaints regarding these T&C or your Subscription, please contact customer support service (“Customer Support”) via Managing your individual ScienceDirect AI subscription: FAQs - ScienceDirect Support Center.

2 Subscription

2.1 ScienceDirect AI

We hereby grant to you the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and use ScienceDirect AI as identified in your Email Confirmation, including any changes made thereto by us and provide ScienceDirect AI to you subject to these T&C.

2.2 Free Trial Subscription

A free trial Subscription will automatically roll over into a paid Subscription for the Initial Term selected by you and you will be charged the amount indicated in the Email Confirmation.

To unsubscribe before the end of the free trial please visit your Account (https://researcher.elsevier.com/customer/account) or contact Customer Support via Managing your individual ScienceDirect AI subscription: FAQs - ScienceDirect Support Center. For EU academic researchers, your right of withdrawal starts from the first day of your paid Subscription.

Elsevier has the right to limit or restrict the number of free trials available per individual academic researcher.

2.3 Authorized Use by you

You may:

  • access, search, browse and view ScienceDirect AI;

  • print, download and store a reasonable portion of individual items from ScienceDirect AI for your exclusive use;

  • incorporate links to ScienceDirect AI on your intranet and internet websites, provided that the appearance of such links and/or statements accompanying such links will be changed as reasonably requested by us;

  • provide print or electronic copies of individual items from ScienceDirect AI to a limited number of other academic researchers, inclusive of colleagues who are part of an invitation only work group on non-commercial platforms or tools, for their personal scholarly or research use; and

  • generate a response for your internal use.

2.4 Restrictions on Use of ScienceDirect AI

Except as expressly stated in these T&C or otherwise permitted in writing by us, you may not:

  • abridge, modify, translate or create any derivative work and/or service (including resulting from the use of artificial intelligence tools), based on ScienceDirect AI except to the extent necessary to make it perceptible on a computer screen;

  • remove, obscure or modify in any way any copyright notices, other notices or disclaimers as they appear in ScienceDirect AI;

  • use any robots, spiders, crawlers or other automated downloading programs, tools, or devices to search, scrape, extract, deep link, index and/or disrupt the working of ScienceDirect AI;

  • use ScienceDirect AI without our permission in writing in combination with an artificial intelligence tool (including to ingest, train an algorithm, test, process, analyze, copy, distribute, make publicly accessible, generate output and/or develop any form of artificial intelligence tool);

  • post abstracts from ScienceDirect AI on social networking sites;

  • use ScienceDirect AI for evaluation and/or benchmarking purposes; or

  • substantially or systematically reproduce, retain, store locally, redistribute or disseminate ScienceDirect AI (including generated responses) or any part thereof, any derivative work and/or service (including resulting from the use of artificial intelligence tools).

2.5 Intellectual Property Ownership

You acknowledge that all right, title and interest in and to ScienceDirect AI remains with us and our suppliers, except as expressly set forth in these T&C, and that the unauthorized redistribution or dissemination online of ScienceDirect AI could materially and irreparably harm us and our suppliers.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in these T&C, more extensive usage terms might be permitted for open access content in ScienceDirect AI as identified in the individual journal article as stated in the applicable user (e.g. CC) license.

3 Our performance obligations

3.1 Access to Subscribed Products

We will make ScienceDirect AI accessible to you as set out in your Email Confirmation.

3.2 Quality of Service

We will use reasonable efforts to provide ScienceDirect AI with a quality of service consistent with industry standards, specifically, to provide continuous service with an average of 98% up-time per year, with the 2% down-time including scheduled maintenance and repairs performed at a time to minimize inconvenience to you, and to restore service as soon as possible in the event of an interruption or suspension of service.

3.3 Withdrawal of Content

We reserve the right to withdraw from ScienceDirect AI content that we no longer retain the right to provide or that we have reasonable grounds to believe is unlawful, harmful, false or infringing.

4 Your performance obligations

4.1 Authentication

Access to ScienceDirect AI will be authenticated by the use of usernames and passwords and/or a delegated authentication mechanism requiring at least two different credentials.

4.2 Protection from unauthorized access and use

You will:

  • take appropriate measures to protect against misuse or unauthorized access, whether by yourself or any third party, through or to your credentials used to access ScienceDirect AI and/or information derived therefrom;

  • manage identification, use, access and control of all credentials used to access ScienceDirect AI in an appropriately secure manner, including, but not limited to, not divulging any passwords or credentials to any third party;

  • immediately deactivate any credentials when no longer needed or where access presents a security risk;

  • implement and maintain your own appropriate program for credentials management and ensure access to ScienceDirect AI via such credentials is reviewed on an appropriate basis; and

  • promptly upon your discovery, or being notified by us or a third party, that there has been unauthorized use of ScienceDirect AI or a security issue permitting unauthorized use, you will take appropriate steps to end such activity and to prevent any recurrence, including, but not limited to, implementing required updates and configuration where needed to rectify the issue. When notified by a third party or upon discovering the unauthorized use directly, you must promptly notify us of the unauthorized use. You will cooperate with us and share information, subject to any applicable confidentiality or nondisclosure obligations, concerning the unauthorized use or security issue.

In the event of any unauthorized use of ScienceDirect AI, we may suspend access and/or require that you suspend access from where the unauthorized use occurred upon notice to you. You will be responsible for the adherence to these T&C by a third-party provider you engage.

4.3 Security Requirements

You agree that you will have in place documented policies and procedures, which will be reviewed by you periodically, and if appropriate, tested and updated, covering the administrative, physical and technical safeguards in place and relevant to the access, use, loss, alteration, disclosure, storage, destruction and control of information. You will promptly notify us if we determine that there has been a failure of such safeguards if such failure results in a compromise of the confidentiality or security of any of Elsevier Content provided hereunder and you will cooperate with our reasonable requests surrounding such failure, including taking appropriate steps to end such activity and to prevent any recurrence. For the purpose of this Section 4.3, “Elsevier Content” means any material or information which we provide or make available to you in connection with the Subscription and these T&C.

5 Term, Renewal and Termination

5.1 Term and Auto-renewal

The Initial Term of the Subscription will commence upon receipt by you of our Email Confirmation and will be automatically renewed for successive Terms equivalent to the duration of the Initial Term (one month or a year), unless either party gives notice to the other no later than the last day of the end of the then current Term that it does not intend to renew.

Your Email Confirmation specifies when the next Term will commence and you will receive an e-mail prior to the start of the next Term, which also includes instructions on how to terminate.

5.2 Termination

You may terminate your Subscription at any time by logging into your Account and following the process for termination, but please note that you will not be issued with a refund for the current Term of a paid Subscription except (i) as set out in Section 5.3 below or (ii) in the event you are a resident of the Netherlands, Germany or France, in which case you will receive a pro rate refund of the Fees you paid.

5.3 Right of Withdrawal – cooling-off period

For all EU countries, as well as Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, you will have the right to withdraw from the Subscription for a period of 14-days (cooling-off period) from the date you received the Email Confirmation, in which case Elsevier will refund the Fees in full, except if you accessed and used ScienceDirect AI during the 14-days cooling-off period. If you want to use your right to withdraw from your Subscription during the 14-days cooling-off period, please contact Customer Support.

6 Fees and payment

6.1 Fees

Subscription fees (“Fees”) will be quoted on the Check-Out page and confirmed in your Email Confirmation.

The Check-Out page will state explicitly whether the Fees are inclusive or exclusive of any applicable Value Added Tax or other sales tax.

6.2 Changes to Fees

Subject to applicable law, Elsevier may change the Fees for ScienceDirect AI for future Terms not already paid for, and Elsevier will communicate such changes to its Fees to you in advance. Changes to Fees will take effect at the start of the next Term following the date of the change of Fees. If you continue to use ScienceDirect AI during the next Term, you automatically accept the new Fees. If you do not agree with the change of Fees, you have the right to reject the change by terminating your Subscription prior to the change of Fees taking effect.

6.3 Payment

Payments (including any recurring payments) shall be made in accordance with the methods of payment and currency displayed on the Check-Out page and confirmed in your Email Confirmation.

7 Our warranties and indemnities

7.1 Warranties

We warrant that use of ScienceDirect AI in accordance with these T&C herein will not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.

7.2 Indemnities

We will indemnify, defend and hold you harmless from and against any loss, damage, costs, liability and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or out of any third-party action or claim that use of ScienceDirect AI in accordance with these T&C infringes the intellectual property rights of such third party. If any such action or claim is made, you will promptly notify and reasonably cooperate with us. This indemnity obligation will survive the termination of your Subscription.

7.3 Disclaimer

EXCEPT FOR THE EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND INDEMNITIES STATED HEREIN, AND TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SCIENCEDIRECT AI IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH REGARD TO SCIENCEDIRECT AI, THE USE OF ANY FORM OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND ANY OTHER DATA, DOCUMENTATION, TECHNOLOGY OR MATERIALS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THESE T&C, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY ERRORS, INACCURACIES, OMISSIONS, OR DEFECTS CONTAINED THEREIN, AND ANY WARRANTY AS TO MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

SCIENCEDIRECT AI DOES NOT PROVIDE (MEDICAL OR REGULATORY) ADVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GENERATED RESPONSES, WHICH RESPONSES ARE DELIVERED WITHOUT HUMAN REVIEW AND FOR INFORMATION DISCOVERY PURPOSES ONLY. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GENERATED RESPONSES MAY BE INACCURATE AND SUBJECT TO BIAS. YOU MUST EXERCISE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT BEFORE ACTING ON OR APPLYING ANY SUCH RESPONSES. CONTENT IS IN ENGLISH AND WHILE INPUTS AND RESPONSES MAY BE SUPPORTED, TRANSLATIONS ARE NOT VALIDATED.

7.4 Limitation of liability

Except for the express warranties and indemnities stated herein and to the extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will we or our suppliers be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages including, but not limited to, loss of data, business interruption or loss of profits, arising out of or in connection with the use of ScienceDirect AI or these T&C, nor will our liability and our suppliers’ liability to you exceed a sum equal to the Fees paid by you hereunder during the 12 month period immediately preceding the date on which the claim arose, even if we or any supplier have been advised of the possibility of such liability or damages.

8 General

8.1 Force Majeure

Neither party’s delay or failure to perform any provision of these T&C (other than payment obligations) as a result of circumstances beyond its control (including, but not limited to, war, strikes, fires, floods, power failures, telecommunications or internet failures or damage to or destruction of any network facilities or servers) that prevents it from fulfilling its obligations under these T&C (any such circumstances being “Force Majeure”) will be deemed a breach of these T&C. If you reside in the EU, you agree that the departure of one or more members of the Euro zone will not, in and of itself, be a “circumstance beyond its control” and will not have the effect of discharging or excusing performance of (any obligation under) these T&C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a party’s financial inability to fulfil its obligations will in no event constitute a Force Majeure.

8.2 Severability

The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these T&C will not affect any other provisions of these T&C.

8.3 Modification

No modification, amendment or waiver of any provision of these T&C will be valid unless in writing and signed by the parties, except for changes reflecting substituted authentication mechanisms, invoicing and contact address details which may be confirmed by us in an email notice sent to you.

8.4 Assignment

You will not assign, transfer or license any of your rights or obligations under these T&C unless you obtain our prior written consent, which consent will not unreasonably be withheld.

8.5 Privacy

To the extent that you provide any personal data to us during Account registration or otherwise, the parties acknowledge and agree that such information will be processed by us in accordance with our privacy policy at Privacy Policy | Elsevier Legal and our Data Processing Addendum at Data processing terms | Elsevier Legal (“DPA”). The parties acknowledge and agree that each party acts as an independent controller of any personal data shared or otherwise processed under this Subscription and that each party will comply with its obligations under the Data Protection Laws. Terms used but not defined in this section shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the DPA.

8.6 Confidentiality

You will maintain as confidential and not disclose to anyone without our prior written consent the financial terms and commercial conditions of the Subscription, these T&C and other confidential information including but not limited to components, drawings, data, product plans, programs, (joint) research and development, scientific and technical information. We may only disclose such information (i) to applicable service providers to the extent necessary to perform their functions in support of your Subscription and (ii) where reasonably necessary to address security, safety, fraud or other legal issues.

8.7 Compliance with laws

Each party will comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to its duties and obligations under these T&C. We reserve the right to deny access to ScienceDirect AI to any person who is prohibited from receiving such access based on any applicable export control and trade sanctions laws or embargo programs.

8.8 Governing law and venue

Your Subscription and these T&C will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of The Netherlands, without regard to conflict of law principles, and the parties irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of The Netherlands with respect to any action or suit arising out of or pertaining to your Subscription and these T&C.

For any Australian customers:

8.9 Reformation and severability

In the event you are considered a “consumer” for the purposes of the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)), in case any provision of your Subscription and these T&C shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable pursuant to such regulation, it shall, to the extent possible, be modified in such manner as to be valid, legal and enforceable but so as to most nearly retain the intent of the parties, and if such modification is not possible, such provision shall be severed from your Subscription and these T&C, and in either case the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of your Subscription and these T&C shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

8.10 Duty to provide information under the consumer dispute resolution act (only applicable to consumer in the European Union)

In accordance with Regulation (EU) No 524/2013, please note that platforms (“ODR platforms”) exist for out-of-court online dispute resolution (http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr). As a matter of principle, Elsevier GmbH, ELSEVIER ESPAÑA, S.L.U and Elsevier B.V. do not consent nor are obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer mediation or arbitration board.

* For US federal government employee researchers, please contact us at https://www.elsevier.com/products/sciencedirect/sciencedirect-ai/contact-us to explore other contracting options.

Last revised: 2 October 2025