Terms of Participation of Japan Link Center

Established by the Steering Committee of Japan Link Center (JaLC) on
January 16, 2013
Revised(January 16, 2014 by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(May 26, 2014

by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(August 17, 2015

by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(March 11, 2016

by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(March 1, 2017by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised(October 1, 2019by the JaLC Steering Committee)(February 28, 2020

by the JaLC Steering Committee)(October 29, 2020

by the JaLC Steering Committee)

Revised
RevisedJapan Link Center (JaLC) is operated by the Secretariat of JaLC (hereinafterreferred to as “the Secretariat”) separately stipulated in the JaLC Rules of Operation(hereinafter referred to as “Rules of Operation”). The objectives of JaLC are to ensure
the integrated management of the location information of electronic academic content
that is produced in the process, or as a result of academic activities that create, practice,disseminate, and inherit knowledge, skills, and technology; and to facilitate the
distribution of academic information by realizing the interlink between them.
The conditions that each corporation or organization must comply with to become aregular member of JaLC, that is, the Terms of Participation of JaLC (hereinafter referred
to as “the Terms”), are defined as follows:(Definition of JaLC and scope of the Terms)
Article 1(1) JaLC provides regular members with services, which include themanagement of all or part of the following (hereinafter referred to as “the Services”):
Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) assigned to academic papers (including informationaccompanying papers such as figures and tables), books, patent information, researchdata, etc. published in Japan (hereinafter referred to as “Content”); bibliographic data
(i.e., data separately specified by JaLC, that is, a document’s title, author, journal name,volume, issue, starting page, ISBN, ISSN, etc.); information that identifies the locationof the Content such as internet addresses (URLs) (Uniform Resource Identifiers [URIs]);
information on citations (e.g., cited references or cited data for each specific Content(hereinafter referred to as “Citation Information;” Bibliographic data, URIs, and citation- 1 -information are collectively called "Bibliographic Data etc."); abstracts (“Bibliographic
Data etc.” and abstract are collectively called “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstract”).
Specifically, JaLC provides regular members with the services listed in the following
items in accordance with the Terms and Rules of Operation. Services (i) to (iii) below are
not provided to search members.
(i) Collection, reduction, and management of “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts”
provided by regular members(ii) Activation of DOIs (DOI registration) for the Content to which “Bibliographic Data
etc. and Abstracts” are provided by regular members(iii) Provision of information related to other Content that is listed as a citation basedon the Citation Information provided by regular members (hereinafter referred toas "Cited Information")(iv) Provision of “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts,” DOIs, and Cited Information
managed by JaLC (hereinafter collectively referred to as "JaLC Data") to regularmembers(v) Other services associated with each of the previous items(2) JaLC provides JaLC Data to corporations or organizations with which JaLC
cooperates (hereinafter referred to as "Cooperation Organization"). The Cooperation
Organization is determined upon the approval of the Steering Committee.
(3) The Terms apply to all actions of regular members when using the Services.
(4) By using the Services, regular members shall be deemed to have consented to all thecontents of the Terms.
(Operations of JaLC)
Article 2 JaLC shall be operated by the Secretariat and regulated by the Rules ofOperation. In order to facilitate the effective and smooth operation of JaLC, itestablished the Japan Link Center Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as the"Committee").
(Regular membership qualification and enrollment procedure)
Article 3 (1) Those who wish to apply for regular membership may do so through theSecretariat using the method prescribed by JaLC in agreement on all the contents of theTerms and Rules of Operation. Only those who meet all the conditions specified in eachof the following items can apply for a membership:(i) Be corporations and organizations in Japan(ii) Understand and agree with the objectives and activities of JaLC

- 2 -(iii) Fall under any of the following items:(a) Publish or provide the Content(b) Implement digital archives and other electronic services related to the Content(2) Those who wish to apply for regular membership shall select one of the following
two membership types when carrying out the application described in the preceding
paragraph:(i) General members: Receive all services specified in all items of Article 1(ii) Search members: Receive only the services specified in Item (iv) of Article 1 andthe associated services(3)

Those who wish to apply for regular membership shall apply for the required

number of DOI prefix(es) in accordance with the form prescribed by JaLC when carryingout the application described in Paragraph (1).
(Enrollment Approval Procedures)
Article 4(1) When such application for membership as described in Paragraph (1) of

Article 3 is made to JaLC, the Committee will examine the qualification stipulated ineach item of the Paragraphs of the Article to determine whether or not to approve it.
(2) The Secretariat will notify those who have applied for membership of JaLC
(hereinafter referred to as “applicants”) in accordance with Paragraph (1) of Article 3
regarding the result of membership examination described in the preceding Paragraphregardless of their approval or disapproval.
(3) Depending on the application made, applicants shall either become general
members or search members based on the approval decision by the Committee.
(4) Regular member shall submit a membership registration request to theSecretariat, and the membership shall be officially completed upon the receipt by the
Secretariat.
(5) Whenever a change occurs in the content of the application approved by theCommittee, regular members shall notify the Secretariat of the content of the changeby the method prescribed by JaLC. The content of the change shall be approved by theCommittee when the Secretariat deems it necessary.
(Membership fee)
Article 5(1) Among regular members, general members shall pay the membershipfee specified in Appendix 1 once a year in accordance with the invoice issued by the
Secretariat or a person designated by the Secretariat.
(2) General members who register DOIs through JaLC using the service, “Crossref,”- 3 -provided by the Publishers International Linking Association, Inc., shall pay the
Secretariat the actual cost based on the achievements (i.e., the cost equivalent to that
related to Crossref, which was actually paid by the Secretariat) in addition to the fee
described above.
(Withdrawal)
Article 6(1) Regular members shall withdraw from JaLC if they fall under any of

the following items:(i) When a regular member notifies the Committee regarding his/her withdrawal atleast three months before the date when he/she wishes to withdraw, and the daycomes (if a regular member does not specify the date when he/she wishes towithdraw, then it would be effective three months after the date he/she notified
the Committee)(ii) When the Secretariat has been unable to contact a regular member by phone oremail for more than a year, for example, due to the member’s violation of
Paragraph (5) of Article 4 (i.e., notification of change in the content of theapplication)(iii) When a regular member conducts inappropriate behavior as a regular member,such as violating the Terms, and the Committee decides his/her withdrawal after
fair deliberation based on facts and because no possibility of improvement can be
expected even though improvement is encouraged by the Committee(iv) When the Services end(2) Regular members who withdraw from the membership pursuant to the preceding
paragraph are obliged to pay the Secretariat for membership fees and other burden
charges incurred until the time of withdrawal.
(3) When a regular member withdraws, JaLC may delete, transfer, and take othernecessary measures for the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” of the Contents thathave been registered by the member in the Services until that time, and may charge themember for reasonable costs incurred by the relevant measures until that time. The
Secretariat shall discuss with the withdrawing member in advance about the necessityof the relevant measures and the specific contents thereof, and the member shall agree
to hold talks. However, the handling of matters that fall under Item (ii) of Paragraph (1)of this Article shall be left to the discretion of the Committee.
(General obligations of regular members)
Article 7 (1) When using the Services, regular members shall comply with the Terms- 4 -and Rules of Operation and shall cooperate to ensure the smooth operation of JaLC.
(2)

Regular members have the following obligations to promote the domestic andinternational distribution of the Contents:(i)

Register the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” of the Contents owned bythemselves or their subordinate organizations that wish to register DOIs in thesystem (hereinafter referred to as “the System”) managed and operated by JaLCfor the Services, promptly after releasing the relevant Contents (The definition of
the subordinate organizations is stipulated in Article 10).

(ii) Promptly make any modifications according to the changes, if there is a change in‘Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstract’ registered in the System.
(iii) Do not delete the DOIs provided by the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts”
registered in the System and by the Services unless there is a rational reason. In
case of deletion, regular members shall promptly notify the Secretariat of thereasons and the scheduled deletion date, then discuss about it.
(iv) The URIs of the Contents to which DOIs are provided by the Services shall beappropriately managed and maintained. If there is a change in the URI, follow
Item (ii) of this Paragraph.
(v) Regular members shall report the usage status of the DOI prefix to the Secretariat
once a year in the prescribed format, and notify the Secretariat of returning the
DOI prefix when they themselves or JaLC judge that there is no possibility of usingit.
(3) Regular members affirm that the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” andcorresponding Contents may become publicly known by registering the “Bibliographic
Data etc. and Abstracts” in the System.
(4)

Regular members shall not make heavy use of the System that may lead toperformance degradation, and shall not behave in a manner that causes or may cause
system failure by any means.
(5) Regular members shall not make any objections against the handling of DOIs
provided by the Services in accordance with the arrangements of the International DOI
Foundation, Crossref, DateCite, and other DOI registration agencies.
(Utilization of Bibliographic Data etc.)
Article 8(1) JaLC allows any third party to freely utilize the “Bibliographic Dataetc.” registered by regular members in the System, irrespective of its purpose orcommerciality.
(2) JaLC allows other regular members and Cooperation Organizations to freely utilize- 5 -the “Abstracts” registered by regular members in the System, regardless of usage. Whenregistering abstracts in the System, regular members shall implement necessary rights
processing in advance with the authors and copyright holders of the abstracts concernedat their own risk and expense.
(3) When JaLC allows a third party other than the regular members or Cooperation
Organization to utilize the abstracts registered by regular members in the System, JaLC
shall obtain the consent of the regular members concerned in advance.
(Handling of DOI resolution log)
Article 9(1) Of the resolution logs related to DOIs registered in the Service that are

obtained from the International DOI Foundation (i.e. access log to doi.org), JaLC shallprovide the resolution logs related to DOI registered by a regular member in the Services
to all regular members.
(2) With the consent of the Committee, JaLC may provide a third party with resolution
logs related to DOIs with the aim of operation of JaLC and distribution of scientific andtechnological information, and regular members shall understand this in advance.
(Subordinate organization and associate member)
Article 10(1) At the request of other corporations or organizations in Japan, general

members may register the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” of the Contents ownedby the relevant corporation or organization in the System, and may receive DOIs (thecorporation or organization making the request is referred to as the “subordinate
organization” in a relationship with the relevant general member, while the latter iscalled its “superordinate organization”).
(2) When superordinate organization register “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” in
the System according to the preceding paragraph, if their respective subordinate
organizations fall under any of the following, then the subordinate organization shall be
registered as an “associate member” of JaLC by the method prescribed by JaLC. Whena change occurs in registration details, the superordinate organization shall promptly
notify the Secretariat of the change by the method prescribed by JaLC.
(i) When a subordinate organization manages the Contents to which a DOI is provided(ii) When a subordinate organization has its own DOI prefix(3)

Superordinate organizations shall bear all responsibility for the possession andmanagement of the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” as well as for the utilizationof JaLC Data by their subordinate organizations. In this regard, superordinate
organizations shall oblige their subordinate organizations to have a duty equal to or- 6 -greater than the Terms.
(4)

To disseminate DOIs in Japan, superordinate organizations shall endeavor to

enlighten their subordinate organizations to understand the purpose of JaLC and work
cooperatively.
(Attribution of intellectual property rights, etc.)
Article 11(1) JaLC and regular members affirm that the copyright of abstracts

registered by regular members in the System belong to the author of the abstracts, orthe person to whom the copyright is transferred from the author, and shall not betransferred to JaLC.
(2) Notwithstanding the provision of the preceding paragraph, the copyright and otherintellectual property rights related to the database as a collection of the entire JaLC
Data shall belong to the Secretariat, the Organizations that appoint committee members
as stipulated by Paragraph (2) of Article 4 of the Rules of Operation, and those persons
designated by JaLC.
(3) When a regular member makes an invention and the like under the Services andother JaLC operation activities, the intellectual property rights generated by this shallbelong to the regular member concerned. In this case, the regular member shall grant aroyalty-free, non-exclusive license with sublicense right to the Secretariat, theOrganizations that appoint committee members as stipulated by Paragraph (2) of Article
4 of the Rules of Operation, and those persons designated by JaLC, to the extent
necessary to provide the Services.
(Representations and Warranties)
Article 12

Regular members represent and warrant to JaLC that the abstracts

registered in the System and the utilization of the abstracts based on the Terms do not
infringe the copyrights and other intellectual property rights, honor rights, privacy
rights, portrait rights, and other rights as well as legal interests of a third party.
(When the Contents violate laws and regulations)
Article 13

When there is a risk that the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” andthe Content registered by a regular member in the System go against public policy andviolate laws and regulations, JaLC may refuse to register the “Bibliographic Data etc.
and Abstracts,” delete them, or discontinue provision of the relevant “Bibliographic Data
etc. and Abstracts.”- 7 -(Suspension of the Services)
Article 14

When temporarily suspending the operation of the Services due to regular

maintenance or other reasons, JaLC, in principle, shall notify regular members at least
one month in advance. Regular members with subordinate organizations shall promptly
notify the subordinate organization of that suspension.
(Termination of the Services)
Article 15(1) When terminating all of the Services, JaLC, in principle, shall notify

regular members at least one year in advance. Regular members with subordinate
organizations shall promptly notify the subordinate organization of the termination.
(2) In case of the preceding paragraph, JaLC shall endeavor to maintain the system, evenafter termination of the Services, that are related to DOIs corresponding to the“Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” registered by regular members before thetermination of the Services.
(Confidentiality)
Article 16(1) Regular members shall maintain the confidentiality of the confidential

information related to JaLC (i.e., information disclosed in connection with the Terms,
whether in writing or not; the same shall apply hereinafter), and shall not disclose,
publicize, or leak it to any third party except with the prior written consent of JaLC.
However, information that falls under any of the following items shall not be considered
as confidential information:(i) Information, which is already publicly known at the time of disclosure(ii) Information, which later becomes publicly known through no fault of the member(iii)

Information, which is already possessed by the member at the time of thedisclosure(iv)

Information disclosed by a third party with legitimate authority, without

restrictions on disclosure(2) When the disclosure of confidential information is required by laws, regulations,etc., regular members may disclose it to the extent necessary after immediately notifying
the Secretariat of that fact.
(Exemption)
Article 17

The Secretariat and the Organizations that appoint committee members as

stipulated in Paragraph (2) of Article 4 of the Rules of Operation shall not be liable fordamages caused to regular members (including damages caused to subordinate- 8 -organizations of regular members) due to or related to the following matters:(i) Use or inability to use the Services by a regular member(ii) Change, revision or abolition, and discontinuation of the Services(iii) Dispute between regular members, and between a regular member and asubordinate organization(iv) Infringement of rights of third parties and other damages caused by registering
the “Bibliographic Data etc. and Abstracts” in the Services(v) Loss or destruction of the JaLC Data not due to gross negligence of the Secretariat(vi) Interference / intrusion or information modification of this service by a third party,
failure or defect of system equipment, etc. not due to gross negligence of the Secretariat(Revision of the Terms)
Article 18(1) The revision of the Terms is determined after deliberation on thenecessity and rationality of the revision by the Committee.
(2) When the Terms are to be revised based on the preceding paragraph, the Secretariat
shall notify regular members by e-mail and post it on the website where it can be viewed
by regular members. Regular members who have subordinate organizations shallpromptly notify the subordinate organizations of the content and take appropriate
measures to make it known to the subordinate organizations such as by posting it on a
website where it can be viewed by the subordinate organizations.
(3) In principle, the revision of the Terms shall take effect one month after the
notification based on the preceding paragraph.
(Survival of debt and text)
Article 19(1) Monetary claims already incurred before the termination of the Terms

shall not be extinguished even after the termination of the validity of the Terms(including cases when the Terms become invalid for all regular members due to the endof the Services or other reasons, and cases when the Terms become invalid only for aparticular regular member due to withdrawal of the member; the same shall apply
hereinafter).
(2) Article 5, Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 6, Paragraphs (4) and (5) of Article 7,
Article 8, Article 11, Article 12, Article 13, Paragraph (2) of Article 15, Articles 16, Article
17, and Article 20 shall survive after the termination of the Terms.
(Laws complied with and jurisdiction)
Article 20(1) The Terms shall comply with Japanese laws and shall be interpreted- 9 -in accordance with Japanese laws.
(2) The Tokyo District Court shall serve as the Exclusive Agreement Court of Jurisdictionof the first instance for disputes due to or related to the Services.

(Supplementary provision) The Terms will be effective from April 1, 2021.

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Appendix 1 Fees
1．Annual membership fee for a regular member[General member]
Rank（*1

Cumulative number of*7）registered Content（*2 *3）

Annual membership

Annual membershipfee (non-profit
organizations)（*4*6）

fee (For-profit
organizations)（*4 *6）

A

100,000 ~JPY300,000（*5）

JPY360,000（*5）

B

30,000 ~ 99,999

JPY200,000

JPY240,000

C

10,000 ~ 29,999

JPY100,000

JPY120,000

D

3,000 ~ 9,999

JPY50,000

JPY60,000

E

0 ~ 2,999

JPY20,000

JPY24,000(*1) The Secretariat evaluates and decides the membership rank in April of the year
based on the cumulative number of registered content as of April 1 of the year. The
Secretariat shall notify any changes in membership rank, if applicable.
(*2) The cumulative number of registered Content shall be based on the total number ofregistered DOIs without any exception, regardless of the type of Content (e.g., thesis,
research data, etc.).
(*3) For regular members who make registrations or conducts search at the request ofsubordinate organizations, those numbers of registrations shall be added up to
determine the rank.
(*4) The judgement on whether for-profit or non-profit shall be made by the Committee.
(*5) The Committee separately determines the fee for each regular member based on thenumber of registrations.
(*6) The annual membership fees indicated in the table for general members include
taxes.
(*7) First-time members are all classified under the E rank regardless of their selfassessed rank.
Note 1

Even if members join or withdraw the membership in the middle of the year,

they are required to pay the annual membership fee for that year.
Note 2Possession of multiple site IDs is allowed in all membership ranks.

[Search member]
Search members are not required to pay an annual membership fee.

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2. Timing and method of payment
The Secretariat charges the annual membership fee for the fiscal year (April to
March in the following year) during the fourth quarter. Regular members shall pay
their membership fees to the bank account specified by the Secretariat within 30
days from the date of invoice receipt. The transfer fees shall be at the expense ofregular members. If a regular member fails to pay on time, the Secretariat may claim
a delayed damage at an annual yield 5% from the next day of the time appointed for
payment to the completion of payment.

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