Terms of Use
Last updated: 22 May 2026
Welcome to Civilization Spark (“we”, “us”, “our”), a research intelligence platform that aggregates, summarizes, and visualizes scholarly literature from public academic APIs and data sources. By accessing or using our website, dashboards, maps, newsletters, or any related services (collectively, the “Service”), you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
1. Nature of the Service
Civilization Spark provides informational tools only. We ingest metadata and open-access or publicly available bibliographic records from third-party providers such as OpenAlex, PubMed, arXiv, and similar catalogs. We generate plain-language summaries, subject classifications, geographic affiliations where available, and statistical views of recent publications. The Service does not constitute medical, legal, investment, or professional advice. Research outcomes change rapidly; you must independently verify any paper, author affiliation, or conclusion before relying on it for decisions.
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, to subscribe to newsletters or use administrative features. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any credentials issued to you for admin or API access. You agree not to share admin keys, scrape the Service in ways that impair performance, or attempt unauthorized access to our servers, databases, or source-ingestion pipelines.
3. Acceptable use
You may use the Service for personal, educational, journalistic, or internal research monitoring purposes. You may not: (a) resell, sublicense, or commercially redistribute our aggregated database without written permission; (b) use automated bots at a rate that degrades service for others; (c) misrepresent our summaries as peer-reviewed judgments by Civilization Spark; (d) use the Service to harass individuals identified in author lists; or (e) violate applicable export-control, privacy, or intellectual-property laws. We may suspend access if we reasonably believe you have breached these rules.
4. Third-party content and accuracy
Papers, titles, abstracts, DOIs, and links originate from external publishers and APIs. We do not guarantee completeness, accuracy, timeliness, or correct country attribution. Summaries are algorithmically produced and may omit nuance or contain errors. Source APIs may be unavailable, rate-limited, or return incomplete records; ingest schedules run on a periodic basis and are not real-time for every catalog. Your use of third-party full-text links is governed by each publisher’s terms.
5. Intellectual property
The Civilization Spark name, logo, interface design, and original compilation of processed metadata are our intellectual property or licensed to us. Underlying papers remain the property of their authors and publishers. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to view and interact with the Service for permitted purposes. You may quote brief excerpts with attribution to the original paper; you may not copy bulk exports of our database without consent.
6. Newsletter and communications
If you subscribe to email digests, you consent to receive messages matching your stated subject, sub-area, and country preferences. You can unsubscribe by contacting us or using future unsubscribe links we may provide. We process your email address and preference fields to deliver the digest; we do not sell personal data to advertisers.
7. Privacy
We collect minimal personal data: primarily email addresses and filter preferences for newsletters, plus server logs for security. Aggregated paper metadata is not personal data in most jurisdictions. Contact us at hello@civilizationspark.com for privacy-related requests. A dedicated Privacy Policy may be published separately and incorporated by reference when available.
8. Disclaimers and limitation of liability
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CIVILIZATION SPARK AND ITS OPERATORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED SINGAPORE DOLLARS (SGD 100) OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
9. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Civilization Spark, its affiliates, and personnel from claims arising out of your misuse of the Service, violation of these Terms, or infringement of third-party rights resulting from content you submit or actions you take using our tools.
10. Changes and termination
We may modify the Service, ingest scope, or these Terms at any time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the date above. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance. We may discontinue features or terminate the Service with reasonable notice where practicable.
11. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of Singapore, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Courts in Singapore shall have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to mandatory consumer protections in your home country where applicable.
12. Contact
Questions about these Terms: Contact Us or email hello@civilizationspark.com.