Terms of Service

Last Updated: October 2, 2026

Welcome to Franz-Josef-Land.info.

These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of Franz-Josef-Land.info, including its articles, maps, images, databases, tools, interactive features, downloads, and other content or services made available through the website.

By accessing or using the website, you agree to these Terms.

If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not use the website.

1. About Franz-Josef-Land.info

Franz-Josef-Land.info is an independent informational and educational reference project focused on Franz Josef Land.

The website may publish content about:

  • geography,
  • islands,
  • historical maps,
  • polar expeditions,
  • explorers,
  • wildlife,
  • glaciers,
  • climate,
  • geology,
  • protected areas,
  • scientific research,
  • and cultural heritage.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Franz-Josef-Land.info is not an official government, national-park, research-institute, museum, tourism, expedition, or scientific-agency website.

2. Informational Purpose

Content on Franz-Josef-Land.info is provided for general informational, educational, historical, and research-reference purposes.

It is not intended to replace professional advice or current operational information.

In particular, website content should not be relied upon as:

  • legal advice,
  • medical advice,
  • scientific consulting,
  • navigational advice,
  • expedition-planning advice,
  • emergency information,
  • wildlife-safety guidance,
  • or official travel authorization.

Please review our Disclaimer for additional information.

3. Eligibility and Lawful Use

You may use Franz-Josef-Land.info only for lawful purposes.

You agree not to use the website in a way that:

  • violates applicable law,
  • infringes intellectual-property rights,
  • interferes with the security or operation of the website,
  • introduces malicious code,
  • attempts unauthorized access to systems or data,
  • overloads or disrupts website infrastructure,
  • impersonates another person or organization,
  • misrepresents the source of content,
  • or uses the website to facilitate fraud or other unlawful conduct.

4. Intellectual Property

The website may contain original material including:

  • articles,
  • explanatory text,
  • original graphics,
  • databases,
  • timelines,
  • page layouts,
  • research compilations,
  • maps,
  • and other editorial material.

Copyright law can protect original website content even though a website as a technical medium is not itself necessarily a single copyrightable work. The U.S. Copyright Office explains that copyrightable authorship may exist in individual website content, compilations, collective works, and derivative works.

Unless otherwise stated, you may not reproduce, republish, sell, redistribute, or create substantial derivative copies of original Franz-Josef-Land.info content without permission where permission is legally required.

This restriction does not limit rights that may exist under applicable law, including lawful quotation, fair use, fair dealing, or other exceptions.

5. Third-Party Material

Some content displayed on Franz-Josef-Land.info may belong to third parties.

This may include:

  • historical photographs,
  • archival maps,
  • scientific figures,
  • satellite imagery,
  • third-party datasets,
  • Creative Commons material,
  • and public-domain works.

Ownership, licensing, and reuse conditions may differ for each item.

The fact that third-party material appears on this website does not mean Franz-Josef-Land.info owns that material or can grant permission for its reuse.

Before reusing third-party material, consult the original source and applicable license or rights statement.

See our Image Credits, Map & Data Sources, and Sources & Citation Policy pages for additional information.

6. Public-Domain and Open-Licensed Material

Some historical or scientific resources referenced or reproduced on the website may be:

  • public domain,
  • Creative Commons licensed,
  • open data,
  • or otherwise reusable under specified terms.

Those materials remain subject to the conditions applicable to their source.

Public-domain status of an underlying historical work does not necessarily determine the rights status of every modern photograph, scan, database, restoration, or reproduction of that work.

7. Limited Personal Use

Unless otherwise prohibited, you may ordinarily:

  • read website content,
  • save pages for personal reference,
  • print reasonable portions for personal or educational use,
  • quote limited passages with appropriate attribution,
  • and link to publicly accessible pages.

You may not systematically copy or reproduce substantial portions of the website in a way that substitutes for the original service or violates applicable intellectual-property law.

8. Automated Access, Scraping, and Data Extraction

Automated tools may not be used in a manner that:

  • materially burdens the website,
  • circumvents technical restrictions,
  • disrupts normal operation,
  • obtains non-public information,
  • or violates applicable law.

Where Franz-Josef-Land.info makes structured datasets or downloadable resources available under specific terms, those specific terms govern use of those resources.

Reasonable indexing by legitimate search engines is not intended to be prohibited by this section.

9. Maps Are Not Navigation Charts

Maps, geographic visualizations, reconstructed expedition routes, and data products published on Franz-Josef-Land.info are for educational and reference use.

They are not intended for:

  • marine navigation,
  • aviation,
  • expedition routing,
  • emergency response,
  • search and rescue,
  • ice navigation,
  • or safety-critical operations.

Geographic data may be generalized, historical, approximate, outdated, or based on multiple datasets with different dates and resolutions.

Users responsible for Arctic operations should rely on current authoritative charts, forecasts, official sea-ice information, appropriate permits, and professional expertise.

10. Historical Reconstructions

Historical maps, routes, coordinates, expedition timelines, and site locations may include reconstructed or approximate information.

Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century observations often contain uncertainties caused by:

  • limited surveying technology,
  • drifting sea ice,
  • incomplete maps,
  • weather,
  • poor visibility,
  • and historical transcription differences.

Reconstructed information should not be interpreted as modern survey-grade data.

11. Scientific Information

Scientific material may summarize peer-reviewed papers, datasets, monitoring programs, and institutional research.

Research findings can change as:

  • new measurements become available,
  • datasets are updated,
  • methods improve,
  • or scientific interpretations evolve.

We do not guarantee that a particular scientific estimate remains the latest available information indefinitely.

Study dates, geographic scope, methods, and uncertainty should be considered when interpreting scientific claims.

The website may contain links to third-party websites.

These may include:

  • journals,
  • archives,
  • libraries,
  • museums,
  • government resources,
  • mapping platforms,
  • tourism services,
  • and scientific organizations.

External links are provided for convenience, attribution, and further research.

Franz-Josef-Land.info does not control third-party websites and is not responsible for their:

  • availability,
  • content,
  • security,
  • privacy practices,
  • accuracy,
  • or terms.

Linking to an external website does not necessarily constitute endorsement of all content or services available there.

13. Advertising

Franz-Josef-Land.info may display advertising.

Advertisements may be delivered by third-party advertising providers and may link to websites or services not controlled by Franz-Josef-Land.info.

Advertising relationships do not automatically constitute editorial endorsement.

Advertisers are responsible for the claims made in their own advertisements.

The website may include affiliate links, sponsored material, or other commercial relationships.

When Franz-Josef-Land.info receives compensation or another material benefit connected with a recommendation or endorsement, disclosures should be presented clearly and conspicuously where required.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission advises that material relationships affecting how readers may evaluate endorsements should be disclosed, and that disclosures should generally appear close to the relevant recommendation rather than only inside a general Terms or About page.

Accordingly, this Terms page does not replace any disclosure that may be required near a specific affiliate link, recommendation, sponsorship, or endorsement.

15. No Guarantee of Accuracy

We aim to publish carefully researched information, but we do not guarantee that all website content is:

  • complete,
  • current,
  • error-free,
  • or suitable for every purpose.

Historical and scientific sources can conflict.

Administrative information can change.

Datasets can be revised.

Mistakes can occur.

We may correct or update content at any time.

16. No Guarantee of Availability

We do not guarantee uninterrupted or permanent access to:

  • the website,
  • individual pages,
  • tools,
  • maps,
  • databases,
  • downloads,
  • or third-party integrations.

Features may be:

  • modified,
  • suspended,
  • discontinued,
  • reorganized,
  • or temporarily unavailable.

17. User Submissions

If the website permits users to submit:

  • corrections,
  • comments,
  • photographs,
  • documents,
  • suggestions,
  • data,
  • or other material,

you remain responsible for what you submit.

You should not submit material that:

  • infringes another person’s rights,
  • is unlawful,
  • is malicious,
  • contains confidential information you are not authorized to disclose,
  • or falsely claims authorship or ownership.

Unless a separate submission agreement states otherwise, submitting material does not automatically transfer ownership of your underlying intellectual property to Franz-Josef-Land.info.

However, where necessary to operate the relevant feature, you may be asked to grant a limited license permitting the website to display, reproduce, format, or process your submission.

Any such license should be described at the point of submission or in applicable additional terms.

18. Corrections and Feedback

We welcome evidence-based corrections.

If you believe an article, map, citation, image attribution, or historical statement contains an error, please use the website’s contact method and provide:

  • the page concerned,
  • the statement or item at issue,
  • the proposed correction,
  • and supporting evidence where available.

Submission of a correction request does not guarantee that a change will be made.

Reports are evaluated in accordance with our Research Standards, Sources & Citation Policy, and Corrections Policy.

If you believe material on Franz-Josef-Land.info infringes copyright, please contact us with sufficient information to identify:

  • the copyrighted work,
  • the allegedly infringing material,
  • the page where it appears,
  • your authority to act for the rights holder,
  • and a reliable method of contacting you.

Where applicable, copyright complaints may also be handled under procedures required by relevant law.

For U.S.-based service providers seeking DMCA safe-harbor treatment, federal rules require public designation of an agent and registration of that agent with the U.S. Copyright Office, together with accurate and periodically renewed agent information.

Franz-Josef-Land.info should only describe itself as having a designated DMCA agent if that registration has actually been completed.

20. Privacy

Use of the website may involve processing of information such as:

  • server logs,
  • analytics data,
  • cookies,
  • contact-form submissions,
  • advertising identifiers,
  • or other technical information.

Where applicable, such processing should be addressed in a separate Privacy Policy.

These Terms do not replace the Privacy Policy.

21. Third-Party Services

Some website features may depend on third-party providers such as:

  • analytics platforms,
  • advertising networks,
  • map providers,
  • embedded media,
  • hosting providers,
  • search services,
  • or external APIs.

Those services may operate under their own terms and privacy policies.

Franz-Josef-Land.info does not control the contractual terms of third-party services.

22. Disclaimer of Warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Franz-Josef-Land.info is provided on an as-is and as-available basis.

We make no warranty that:

  • the website will always be available,
  • every fact will be error-free,
  • all links will remain functional,
  • maps will be suitable for operational use,
  • or the website will satisfy every user’s particular requirements.

Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties or rights that cannot legally be excluded.

23. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Franz-Josef-Land.info and its operators will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or similar damages arising from use of or reliance on the website.

This includes, where legally permitted, losses associated with reliance on:

  • informational content,
  • historical data,
  • geographic data,
  • external links,
  • travel information,
  • or unavailable website services.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or limit liability that cannot legally be excluded under applicable law.

24. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by applicable law, if your unlawful use of the website causes a claim or loss against Franz-Josef-Land.info, you may be responsible for resulting costs or liabilities.

This provision is not intended to waive consumer rights that cannot legally be waived.

25. Changes to Content

We may:

  • edit articles,
  • correct errors,
  • update citations,
  • replace maps,
  • change page structure,
  • remove obsolete material,
  • or add new information

without prior notice.

Significant editorial corrections may be documented in accordance with our Corrections Policy.

26. Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be revised as:

  • the website changes,
  • new features are introduced,
  • commercial relationships change,
  • or legal requirements evolve.

The current version will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Continued use of the website after revised Terms become effective may constitute acceptance of those Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law.

27. Suspension or Termination of Access

We may restrict or terminate access to website features when reasonably necessary to:

  • protect security,
  • prevent abuse,
  • enforce these Terms,
  • comply with law,
  • or maintain website operation.

This provision does not create an obligation to monitor every user or every activity.

28. Severability

If one provision of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions should continue to apply to the extent legally possible.

29. No Waiver

Failure to enforce a provision of these Terms on one occasion does not necessarily waive the right to enforce it later.

30. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with applicable policies referenced within them, form the general terms governing use of Franz-Josef-Land.info unless a specific feature is subject to additional terms.

Relevant policies may include:

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policy
  • Research Standards
  • Sources & Citation Policy
  • Historical Sources Policy
  • Corrections Policy
  • Image Credits
  • Map & Data Sources

If specific feature terms conflict with these general Terms, the more specific terms may govern that feature to the extent stated.

31. Governing Law

The appropriate governing-law and dispute-resolution provisions depend on the legal identity and location of the website operator.

Before publication, the site operator should insert a clause reviewed for its actual jurisdiction rather than using a fictional or arbitrary location.

A finalized clause may state, for example:

These Terms are governed by the laws of [INSERT APPLICABLE JURISDICTION], without regard to applicable conflict-of-law principles, except where mandatory consumer law provides otherwise.

Do not publish the bracketed placeholder without replacing it with the correct jurisdiction.

32. Contact

Questions about these Terms may be submitted through the Contact Us page.

For legal or rights-related correspondence, include enough information to identify:

  • the relevant page,
  • the issue,
  • the person or organization contacting us,
  • and a reliable method for reply.

Final Note

Franz-Josef-Land.info exists to make information about the High Arctic easier to discover and understand.

These Terms are intended to protect both the reference project and its users while supporting reasonable educational, historical, and research use.

Use the website responsibly, verify important information from authoritative sources when necessary, respect intellectual-property rights, and remember that an educational Arctic map or historical article is not a substitute for professional operational guidance.