The LITERATURE

1. Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to www.the-literature.com (“The Literature”, “we”, “us”, “our”). By accessing or using any of our website, tools, or machine-generated outputs (collectively, the “Services”), you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use (“Terms”), that you are legally capable of entering into binding agreements, and that you accept any future updates posted to this page. If you do not agree, discontinue use immediately. Mandatory consumer protections under Australian law remain unaffected. The Literature is operated by an Australian sole trader under a valid ABN.

2. Scope of Services

The Literature provides machine-generated synopses of scientific literature, primarily derived from PubMed indexing, using large language model (“LLM”) technology supplied by third-party providers such as OpenAI. Outputs are automatically generated, may vary between identical queries, can contain inaccuracies, omissions, or fabrications, are not peer-reviewed or validated by domain experts, and may not reflect current scientific consensus. The Services are provided solely for informational, educational, academic, and research-support purposes and do not constitute medical, legal, financial, policy, or professional advice. The Literature is not affiliated with the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, any government entity, or any LLM provider.

3. Educational Purpose Only

3.1 The Services exist exclusively for education and research literacy.

3.2 You must not use the Services for clinical reasoning, diagnosis, treatment planning, or patient management.

3.3 No output is validated, accredited, or suitable for regulatory, clinical, or institutional decision-making.

4. Not a Medical Device

4.1 The Services are not a regulated medical device under Australian TGA law, EU MDR, UK MHRA, or US FDA rules.

4.2 The Services are not intended to generate patient-specific risk calculations, produce clinical recommendations, or be integrated into any workflow that influences patient care.

5. Absolute Prohibition on Patient Data

5.1 No personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), or case data relating to real patients may be entered into the Services.

5.2 All examples must be fully anonymised, non-traceable, and non-reidentifiable.

5.3 You accept full responsibility for compliance with privacy and confidentiality laws in your jurisdiction.

6. Data Handling, Privacy & GDPR / UK GDPR Compliance

6.1 The Literature follows a data-minimisation, non-retention design philosophy.

6.2 We do not store prompts, outputs, chat logs, uploads, or metadata.

6.3 We do not use any user material for model training, improvement, or analytics.

6.4 The only routinely collected analytics data is through Google Analytics, used solely for aggregate traffic metrics.

6.5 The Services are designed to align with key principles of GDPR and UK GDPR, including purpose limitation, storage limitation, data minimisation, and rights of access/erasure (noting that no user data is stored).

6.6 Some third-party LLM providers may process Inputs transiently to generate outputs; such processing is executed under the providers’ own privacy frameworks, which you should review.

6.7 Cross-border processing may occur due to the distributed nature of LLM infrastructure. By using the Services, you consent to such processing.

7. User Responsibilities & Acceptable Use

You agree to comply with all applicable laws, uphold academic integrity, avoid presenting AI-generated text as human-written or peer-reviewed, refrain from scraping, harvesting, reverse-engineering, or abusing API endpoints, not submit unlawful, infringing, defamatory, or confidential content, and avoid automated high-volume usage that burdens system performance. The Literature may suspend access for violations of these Terms.

8. AI-Generated Content & Reliability Notice

8.1 The Services rely on probabilistic algorithms; therefore hallucinations may occur, references may be inaccurate or fabricated, outputs may be inconsistent across identical queries, and no guarantee of accuracy, completeness, or currency is provided.

8.2 You are solely responsible for verifying information against original sources before citing or relying on it.

9. Intellectual Property & Licensing

9.1 Our Content. Our trademarks, branding, design elements, interface components, and original text are protected under Australian copyright law and may not be reproduced without permission.

9.2 Third-Party Rights. Journal abstracts, metadata, and content sourced from external providers remain governed by the rights of their owners.

9.3 Licence to AI Outputs. Subject to third-party rights, you receive a non-exclusive, worldwide licence to use AI-generated outputs for legitimate educational, academic, and research purposes, provided you retain source attributions, do not present outputs as human-written or peer-reviewed, and obtain prior written approval for commercial redistribution unless mandated by law.

9.4 User Inputs. Inputs are processed transiently and not retained. By submitting Inputs, you warrant they are lawful, anonymised, and do not infringe third-party rights.

10. Copyright & Takedown

The Literature complies with the DMCA, EU DSM Directive, UK copyright law, and Australian Copyright Act 1968. Report suspected misuse to dmca@the-literature.com with identification of the work, the exact URL/output, your contact details, a valid legal statement, and a digital or physical signature.

11. Privacy Policy

The Privacy Policy explains how analytics and third-party processors operate. By using the Services, you acknowledge those practices. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

12. Beta Features & Experimental Functionality

12.1 The Literature may release experimental, prototype, or beta features.

12.2 These features may be unstable, incomplete, inaccurate, or withdrawn without notice.

12.3 All beta tools must be treated as educational-only and non-reliable.

12.4 No warranties apply to beta features.

13. Third-Party Services & Links

The Services may link to external websites, APIs, or integrations. Use of third-party resources is entirely at your discretion and subject to their terms.

14. International Compliance & Export Controls

You must comply with applicable laws in your jurisdiction. You may not use the Services if you reside in a sanctioned country, appear on any sanctions list, or your jurisdiction prohibits use of LLM services.

15. Suspension & Termination

We may suspend or terminate access if you breach these Terms, engage in misuse, abuse, or unlawful activity, if required by law or third-party providers, or if continued operation becomes commercially or technically impractical.

16. Warranties Disclaimer

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available”, without any warranties of accuracy, completeness, fitness for purpose, or uninterrupted operation. Statutory guarantees under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) remain unaffected.

17. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted under NSW law, The Literature and its operator shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to the greater of AUD $150 or the amount paid in the preceding three months.

18. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify The Literature against claims arising from misuse of the Services, breach of these Terms, or violation of laws or third-party rights.

19. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Users submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of NSW courts. Where permissible, parties may agree to arbitration; however, this is optional and requires mutual written consent.

20. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms periodically. Posting updated Terms with a new date constitutes notice. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

21. Contact Information

General: info@the-literature.com
Copyright/DMCA: dmca@the-literature.com
Privacy: privacy@the-literature.com

22. Entire Agreement & Severability

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and The Literature. If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains valid.