Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the BeeMachine website and mobile application (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. BeeMachine is operated by the Spiesman Lab at Kansas State University. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

Description of the Service

BeeMachine is a citizen science platform that enables users to photograph and identify bee species using AI-powered prediction technology. Users can submit sightings, participate in collaborative projects, comment on observations, and contribute to ecological research on pollinators.

Account Registration

To use most features of the Service, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate and complete information during registration and to keep your account information up to date. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

User Content and Submissions

When you submit sighting photographs, location data, comments, or other content to BeeMachine, you retain ownership of your original content. However, by submitting content to the Service, you grant BeeMachine and Kansas State University a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, and distribute your submissions for the purposes of:

• Operating and improving the Service.
• Conducting academic and ecological research on pollinators.
• Publishing research findings (sighting data may be included in aggregated or anonymized form).
• Contributing to public biodiversity databases and conservation efforts.

You represent that you have the right to submit any content you upload and that your submissions do not infringe on the rights of any third party.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Submit false, misleading, or fabricated sighting data.
• Upload images that you do not have the right to share or that contain inappropriate content.
• Harass, abuse, or threaten other users through comments or any other feature of the Service.
• Attempt to interfere with, compromise, or disrupt the Service or its underlying infrastructure.
• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws or regulations.
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or manipulate data.
• Use automated tools to scrape, collect, or mine data from the Service without prior written consent.

Projects and Collaboration

BeeMachine allows users to create and participate in collaborative projects. Project owners and editors may set visibility and membership rules for their projects. By joining a project, you agree to abide by any additional guidelines established by the project owner. BeeMachine reserves the right to remove projects that violate these Terms.

AI-Powered Identifications

The species identifications provided by BeeMachine are generated by machine learning models and should be treated as predictions, not definitive identifications. Confidence scores and composite ratings are provided to help assess the reliability of each prediction. BeeMachine does not guarantee the accuracy of any automated identification. Users are encouraged to seek expert verification for critical determinations.

Intellectual Property

The BeeMachine name, logo, software, design, and all associated intellectual property are owned by Kansas State University and the Spiesman Lab. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Service without prior written permission, except as expressly permitted by these Terms.

Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components. We make no warranties regarding the accuracy or reliability of any species identifications, data, or information obtained through the Service.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, BeeMachine, Kansas State University, and their affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or related to your use of the Service, including but not limited to reliance on species identifications provided by the platform.

Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at our discretion if you violate these Terms or engage in conduct that we determine to be harmful to the Service or its community. You may delete your account at any time. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately, though previously submitted sighting data may be retained for research purposes in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes through the Service. Your continued use of BeeMachine after updated terms are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Kansas, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact: