Archivist Agreement

1. Parties and relationship

The “Archivist” is the individual or organization identified during registration. “NSA” means New Science Archives. Their relationship is voluntary and founded upon informed consent, good faith, integrity, privacy, mutual responsibility, and the limited authority expressly granted by this Agreement.

An individual may register personally. A person registering for an organization confirms that they have authority to describe the collection and enter this Agreement for that organization.

2. Archivist information and communications

The Archivist will provide their name, email address, country, and professional title when applicable. An organization name and telephone number may be provided when relevant. The Archivist will keep essential account information current.

NSA may send communications necessary to protect or administer the account, archive, payment, security, or this Agreement. Subscription to a general newsletter is separate and optional.

3. Registration fee and review

The Archivist registration fee displayed during checkout is a one-time application and account-activation fee unless expressly stated otherwise. If NSA declines the application, the registration fee will be refunded. Once NSA approves and activates the account, the fee is nonrefundable except where NSA expressly agrees otherwise or a refund is required by applicable law.

4. Ownership

The archive and its contents remain the property of the Archivist or their respective lawful owners. Delivery to NSA is not a sale, gift, abandonment, assignment, or transfer of title. The Archivist retains all rights not knowingly and expressly granted for the limited purposes of this Agreement.

5. Limited-purpose trust and custody

When NSA accepts an Archivist’s archive, NSA receives and holds that archive in trust and confidence for the limited purposes authorized by the Archivist: preservation, secure storage, organization, indexing, authorized searching, preparation of authorized search results, and administration of the Archivist’s account.

NSA accepts duties of faithful custody, reasonable protection, confidentiality, and use limited to those authorized purposes. NSA will not sell, disclose, publish, license, appropriate, analyze for unrelated purposes, or otherwise exploit entrusted materials without the Archivist’s authorization.

These responsibilities arise from NSA’s knowing acceptance of the archive for a limited purpose, whether characterized in a particular jurisdiction as trust, bailment, custodianship, confidential relationship, or another protective legal relationship.

6. Authority and eligible material

The Archivist confirms that they own submitted material or possess sufficient authority to entrust it to NSA and select its access permissions. The Archivist will describe provenance, ownership, known restrictions, and uncertainties honestly.

The Archivist will not submit classified material, unlawfully obtained material, malware or executable attacks, or sensitive personal records without specific prior review and written approval. NSA may reject or quarantine files that create a credible legal, security, privacy, or operational danger.

7. Private by default

Every new archive and file begins private and under review. No material becomes searchable merely because it was uploaded. After processing and review, the Archivist may authorize one of these conditions:

• Searchable: eligible content may support authorized searches and source trails;
• Restricted: content may be used only within limits documented for the archive; or
• Private: content remains stored but unavailable to ordinary searches.

NSA will not broaden an archive’s permission without the Archivist’s authorization.

8. Storage and security

The initial storage allowance is displayed during registration and in the dashboard. Additional storage may require separate approval or terms. NSA will maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards against unauthorized access, copying, disclosure, alteration, destruction, or misuse.

The Archivist acknowledges that no connected system can guarantee absolute security. NSA will not knowingly place private archive files in a publicly accessible website directory and will respond in good faith to a material incident affecting entrusted material.

9. Search use and source access

Searchable or restricted material may be processed only within its documented permissions. Search reports may contain citations, limited evidence excerpts, archive identification, and authorized source links. Access to an archive does not grant a subscriber ownership or unrestricted redistribution rights.

NSA will endeavor to maintain records showing which archives and files supported searches and when a source was opened, subject to security, privacy, technical feasibility, and the integrity of the reporting system.

10. Dashboard reports and estimated activity value

The Archivist dashboard is intended to report archive names, file counts, storage use, processing status, evidence accesses, source openings, and estimated activity value. Before a formal allocation and payout agreement is accepted, any displayed amount is an illustrative estimate—not an account balance, accrued debt, or promise of payment.

No payment entitlement arises until separate written allocation, verification, minimum payout, and payment terms are presented and accepted. The Archivist remains responsible for determining and reporting their own income and obligations.

11. Return, withdrawal, and deletion

The Archivist may submit a verified request to withdraw an archive. NSA will remove it from new searches, provide a reasonable opportunity for the Archivist to retrieve available files, and delete copies under NSA’s active control. Residual copies in protected backups will remain unavailable for searching or ordinary use and will expire through the normal backup-retention process. NSA will retain no usable copy after that process is complete.

Reports already lawfully delivered to subscribers cannot always be recalled. NSA will not use a withdrawn archive for new searches after de-indexing is completed.

12. Privacy and demands for access

NSA will protect the archive, associated activity, and identifying information from unauthorized access, copying, disclosure, seizure, alteration, destruction, or other misuse. NSA will not voluntarily sell or provide Archivist information or entrusted material to advertisers, data brokers, governmental bodies, or unrelated third parties.

NSA does not recognize a demand as valid merely because it is issued or presented by an institution. NSA may require proof of jurisdiction, lawful authority, proper service, particularity, necessity, and compliance with applicable protections. Where reasonably possible, NSA may object to, narrow, challenge, or seek review of a demand it considers unlawful, excessive, vague, intrusive, or beyond the issuer’s authority.

If disclosure is ultimately unavoidable under binding law or valid legal process, NSA will seek to disclose only what is required. Unless prohibited, NSA will endeavor to notify the Archivist beforehand and provide a reasonable opportunity to seek independent protection.

13. Suspension and disputed rights

NSA may temporarily make material private or suspend processing when ownership, permission, authenticity, privacy, safety, or security is credibly disputed. When practicable, NSA will tell the Archivist what must be clarified and provide a reasonable opportunity to respond.

A temporary protective restriction does not transfer ownership to NSA or authorize unrelated use.

14. Ending the relationship

Either party may end the relationship, subject to orderly account verification, completion of any agreed payment obligations, and the archive-return process. Provisions concerning ownership, confidentiality, limited use, completed reports, return, deletion, and unresolved obligations survive as necessary to carry out their purpose.

15. Good-faith resolution and reserved rights

The parties will first attempt to address a disagreement through direct, good-faith communication. Neither party acquires authority over the other except as knowingly and expressly granted for this Agreement’s limited purposes. All rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, defenses, and objections not knowingly and expressly waived are reserved.

16. Versions and informed acceptance

NSA may revise this Agreement as the service develops. Live registration will record the version accepted, date, time, and associated account. Material changes will be presented for review and renewed acceptance when appropriate. No revision will silently transfer ownership or authorize unrelated use of entrusted material.

17. Related Terms

The Archivist also accepts the Terms of Use. If these documents conflict regarding ownership, confidentiality, custody, authorized use, return, or deletion of an archive, the provision giving the Archivist and entrusted archive greater protection controls unless the parties knowingly agree otherwise in writing.