General Policy
The Indian Crop Phenome Database (ICPD) is an open-access repository for archiving, managing, and sharing the diverse types of crop phenomics data generated across India, fostering scientific discovery and advancing agricultural research. ICPD ensures rigorous data curation practices in compliance with international standards, including MIAPPE, ensuring data accuracy, integrity, and interoperability. ICPD adheres to the Biotech-PRIDE Guidelines established by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to promote responsible and ethical sharing of crop phenomics data. By submitting data to ICPD, contributors agree to comply with these guidelines, ensuring data interoperability, security, and regulatory compliance.
1. Data Access and Usage
Data Access: The data hosted by ICPD is freely available to all users, subject to the terms and conditions outlined in this policy. The database supports two access modes:
- Open Access: Immediate and unrestricted access.
- Managed Access: Data may be placed under an embargo for up to two years before being made publicly available.
Attribution and Licensing: All data submitted to ICPD is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA).
- BY (Attribution): Credit must be given to the data creator.
- NC (Non-commercial): Data may only be used for non-commercial purposes unless explicit permission is granted by the data owner.
- SA (ShareAlike): Any adaptations must be shared under the same license.
Non-Commercial Use: Users are encouraged to use ICPD data for non-commercial research, education, and scientific purposes. Commercial use requires explicit permission from the data owner or the relevant authority.
Citing ICPD Submissions: When using ICPD data in publications, users must cite the dataset appropriately to ensure transparency and data accessibility. Suggested citation format:
"The data discussed in this publication have been deposited in IBDC’s Indian Crop Phenome Database and are accessible through ICPD PhenoProject accession number PPJ_10000X (https://ibdc.dbtindia.gov.in/icpd/)."
Authors should cite their study accession number (e.g., PST_10000X) also where specific mention is required.
2. Privacy and Data Protection
Personal Data: ICPD is committed to protecting user data in compliance with Biotech Pride Guidelines.
Session Management: ICPD does not store cookies; instead, user sessions are created to manage authentication and user activity within the database.
Data Security: ICPD implements robust technical and organizational measures to protect data. However, ICPD is not liable for security breaches caused by third parties.
3. Data Contribution and Curation
Contributor Responsibilities: Contributors must ensure they have the legal rights and necessary consents to share data publicly. The data should comply with applicable intellectual property laws, biodiversity regulations, and benefit-sharing agreements.
Data Ownership: Contributors retain ownership of their submitted data. However, by contributing, they grant ICPD the right to make it publicly available under the agreed access conditions.
Data Curation: ICPD follows strict curation protocols to standardize, validate, and annotate data before it is made publicly available. This ensures data quality, completeness, and adherence to MIAPPE guidelines. Curation includes the use of standard crop ontology terms for trait, tissue, method, and developmental stage to ensure consistency and interoperability across datasets.
Data Template-Based Submission: ICPD requires data submission through structured templates that align with metadata standards. This approach ensures uniformity, facilitating easy data integration, retrieval, and reuse by the scientific community.
4. Limitation of Liability
No Warranty: ICPD does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the data and resources provided. All content is made available "as is."
Liability Disclaimer: ICPD is not responsible for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages resulting from data usage. Users must ensure their use of the database complies with legal regulations, including intellectual property and privacy laws.
5. Updates and Modifications
Policy Updates: ICPD reserves the right to update these terms at any time. Changes will be reflected on this webpage, and users are encouraged to review the Terms of Use regularly. Significant changes will be announced with reasonable notice.
6. Compliance with Legal Frameworks
Issues of intellectual property, re-identification of individuals, and legal compliance are elaborated in the Biotech-PRIDE Guidelines.
7. Contact and Further Information
For inquiries regarding the ICPD Terms of Use, please contact: icpdsupport@ibdc.rcb.res.in
Acknowledgment
The Indian Crop Phenome Database utilizes ontology terms from the Crop Ontology and Planteome for metadata annotation and curation of phenotype studies.