Website terms and conditions of use

Notice

This legal notice applies to the entire contents of the website under the domain name 'www.nhm.ac.uk' and any subdomains, and to any correspondence between you and us and to any newsletters or publications downloaded by you or sent to you by us (the 'Website').

The website is operated by the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, whose principal place of business is at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD (the 'NHM').

In consideration of the NHM allowing you access to the Website, you are deemed to accept our terms of use. Please read them carefully. If you do not accept these terms of use, do not access, use and/or contribute to the Website.

Our website terms of use may be changed from time to time. Please review them regularly. If you continue to use the Website after a change has been made to the terms of use, you are deemed to have accepted it.

Definitions

In these Terms of Use:

'Marks' means the trade marks or service marks, logos or brands for the time being and from time to time properly used or adopted by and belonging to the NHM or a third party. The term 'trade marks' shall where the context admits be deemed to include all logos and service marks.

'Information' means information, to the extent it is protected by copyright or related rights, and is not expressly marked as belonging to a third party, including all or any part of any text, image, audio, video or any other type of media in any format contained and comprised in the Website. 'Information' does not include 'Marks'.

Third Party Intellectual Property means all or any part of any Marks, text, image, audio, video or any other type of media in any format contained and comprised in the Website and expressly marked as the belonging to a third party.

'We', 'our', 'us' and 'NHM' mean The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London or as the context requires the Natural History Museum Trading Company Limited.

'Website' means our website at www.nhm.ac.uk/ and any sub-domains including any correspondence between you and us and to any newsletters or publications downloaded by you or sent to you by us.

General

You may not use the Website:

for the posting, uploading, emailing or other transmission of any material, the publication, dissemination, use or possession of which infringes the rights of any person or which is unlawful in any other respect

in any way which is abusive, defamatory or obscene or which will harass, distress or inconvenience any person or which might restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of the Website by any person

  • for the posting, uploading, emailing or other transmission of any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising, promotional materials, 'junk mail,' 'spam,' 'chain letters,' 'pyramid schemes' or any other form of solicitation or commercial exploitation
  • for the posting, uploading, emailing or other transmission of any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, restrict, destroy, limit the functionality of or compromise the integrity of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment
  • in such a way so as to remove the copyright or trade mark notice(s) from any copies of any Materials made in accordance with these terms; or
  • in any way that might bring NHM, any of its employees, volunteers or affiliates into disrepute.

Intellectual Property

The NHM or its licensors or contributors own the copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the Marks and Information on the Website.

Use of Marks

Nothing contained in the Website shall be construed as granting any licence or right to use our Marks or those comprised in any Third Party Intellectual Property displayed on our Website without our prior written permission or that of any third party owner. Your misuse of the Marks on our Website is strictly prohibited.

Use of Information

The NHM will comply with all relevant applicable law with regards to the reuse of our Information including the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

Requests to re-use Information from our website, exhibitions, collections data or other information should be sent to info-reuse@nhm.ac.uk. Please include details of the Information you wish to use and how you would like to use it. We will respond as soon as possible.

The NHM recognises that the law permits some limited uses of Information without the need for authorisation from the rights owner. Nothing in these terms is intended to override those Acts Permitted in law.

Any use of Information from the Website should be accompanied by appropriate attribution to the copyright owner and source of the Information, and, where relevant, details of the licence under which it is used.

Third Party Intellectual Property

The NHM is unable to license third party intellectual property on the Website. Requests to re-use third party intellectual property should be directed to the rights holder(s) concerned.

Material you share with us

You hereby grant the NHM a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual and worldwide licence to republish any material you submit, post, upload, email or otherwise transmit to them or to the Website in any format including (without limitation) print and electronic format.

The NHM may publish any material you submit, post, upload, email or otherwise transmit to it or to the Website at its sole discretion and it shall be entitled to make additions or deletions to any such material prior to publication. All such material shall be regarded as 'Information' and the terms contained in this document shall apply to them.

You hereby waive all of the moral rights that you have under Chapter IV of the of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 in respect of any material you submit, post, upload, email or otherwise transmit to the NHM or to the Website.

Removal of material and access to the Website

The NHM shall have the right to refuse to allow you access to the Website or any part of it at any time and for any reason without giving you any advance notice.

The NHM shall have the right at any time and for any reason to remove from the Website any material posted, uploaded, emailed or otherwise transmitted by you without giving you any advance notice.

Viruses

Whilst effort has been taken to ensure that the Website is free from viruses, the NHM gives no warranties that it is indeed free from viruses and you are responsible for ensuring that you have installed adequate virus checking software.

The NHM shall not be responsible for any viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, restrict, destroy, limit the functionality of or compromise the integrity of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment or other material transmitted with or as part of the Website or any other internet site.

Links

Some of the pages on the Website include links to external websites. These are for your convenience only. The NHM does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of these external websites.

Personal information

You agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself in any registration or subscription form you complete ('the Registration Information'). You agree to maintain and promptly update the Registration Information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete.

The NHM will process your personal data in accordance with data protection legislation.

For more information please read our privacy notice.

Laws governing the use of website cookies and similar technologies for storing information came into effect in the UK on 26 May 2012. To understand how this affects your visit to the NHM website, please read our information about cookies.

Liability

Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the Information on the Website, no warranty is given as to its accuracy or completeness.

The NHM cannot guarantee that you will have uninterrupted access to the Website.

Notwithstanding anything else in these terms of use, to the fullest extent permitted by law the NHM excludes all warranties (whether express or implied) and all liability to you in respect of the Website, its content and your use of it.

Law and jurisdiction

These terms and conditions of use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising in relation to the Website shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If any of these terms or conditions of use should be determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, it shall be deemed deleted and the remaining terms and conditions of use shall survive and continue to be binding and enforceable.

Comments and complaints / Notice and Takedown

If you have any comments or complaints to make about the Website, please send them to Customer Services, the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD or email customer services.

Notice and Takedown

Every effort has been made to ensure that content on the Website does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you are concerned that you have found material on our website, for which you have not given permission, contravenes privacy laws, is obscene / defamatory and in terms of copyright law is not covered by a limitation or exception, contact us in writing stating the following:

1. your contact details

2. the full details of the material

3. the exact and full URL where you found the material

4. if the request relates to copyright, provide proof that you are the rights holder and a statement that, under penalty of perjury, you are the rights holder or are an authorised representative

5. the reason for your request including but not limited to copyright law, privacy laws, data protection, obscenity, defamation etc.

On receipt of your notice, staff will:

1. make an initial assessment of its validity

2. acknowledge receipt of the complaint by email

3. for all but spurious complaints, suspend access to the content that is subject to complaint

4. refer the complaint to the Museum’s Legal Advisor for comment and advice

5. seek to verify your identity and authority as complainant.

If the NHM verifies the authenticity of your complaint and determines that it is ostensibly legitimate, the content concerned will be removed from the Website.

If the Legal Advisor confirms that the content does not breach any law the content will be reinstated.

Last updated: 10 October 2022