1. Introduction
This ORCID Dispute Procedures document (the “Procedures”) describes how to verify and correct data in the ORCID Registry which you believe to be inaccurate and which you are not able to fix yourself through ORCID record management tools. These Procedures are part of the ORCID Terms and Conditions of Use and are incorporated therein. All capitalized terms used in this document are defined in Section 2 or in the Terms and Conditions of Use. By using the ORCID Website and/or Registry (whether by searching, depositing and/or permitting the deposit of data on or through the Registry), you agree to resolve all disputes regarding the accuracy of data and identifiers in the Registry as set forth in these Procedures.
ORCID offers tools for storing and managing data in the ORCID Registry. ORCID does not edit or curate data; that is the responsibility of individual Record Holder and Members. While ORCID does not control the data in the ORCID Registry or individual records, it is committed to supporting a transparent and accurate data environment. To that end, ORCID maintains a log of when and by whom data in the Registry are added, edited, or deleted. Record Holders have the right to see this log as it pertains to their record. Please contact the Help Desk at https://orcid.org/help/contact-us if you have questions about data in your own ORCID Record and would like to see the log pertaining to your ORCID Record. If you have concerns about the data in another person’s ORCID Record or the indent of a person associated with an ORCID ID, please contact that person directly. If you are not able to work out your concerns through direct contact with the person, ORCID has developed these Procedures as an orderly mechanism to resolve questions about data accuracy.
2. Definitions
Claimant: An individual submitting an ORCID Data Report. Under these Procedures, a Claimant need not be a Record Holder.
Counter Report: A signed statement delivered to ORCID by a User responding to Claimant’s assertion that data in an ORCID Record is inaccurate.
Good Faith: Belief to the best of the person’s knowledge after due diligence that the information submitted is true and correct.
Member: An organization that has entered into a fee-based Membership Agreement with ORCID.
ORCID Data Report: A Web form completed by a User indicating that the User believes in good faith that data in a Record is inaccurate. ORCID Data Reports are processed by the ORCID Help Desk.
Record Holder: An individual with an ORCID identifier and associated record.
User: An individual or Member using the ORCID Registry.
3. Initial Complaint
Through ORCID’s Terms and Conditions of Use and Membership Agreement, Users agree that to the best of their knowledge, data they deposit in the ORCID Registry is true and correct at the time of deposit. In addition, Users agree to correct and/or make known to ORCID any data they later discover to be incorrect. If a User believes in good faith that data in a record is not accurate and cannot fix it her/himself through the ORCID record management tools or contacting the Record Holder directly, s/he may report the inaccuracy using an ORCID Data Report. The ORCID Data Report must be submitted in Good Faith, indicating in precise terms the nature of the dispute and the evidence supporting the claim. The ORCID Help Desk will receive and vet ORCID Data Reports. ORCID will work with the Claimant, the Record Holder (if different from the Claimant), Members, and third parties to help identify the source of the inaccuracy and will provide the Claimant with an email response of its finding.
In most cases, ORCID expects these inaccuracies to be unintentional errors that are possible to resolve in a collaborative manner. Those Data Reports that cannot be resolved by the Help Desk will be escalated to the ORCID Ombudsperson for dispute resolution (Section 4).
4. Escalation
If the issues in the Data Report cannot be resolved by the Help Desk, the Claimant may request that the ORCID Data Report be escalated to the ORCID Ombudsperson (The Help Desk may also decide at any time to escalate Data Report to the ORCID Ombudsperson.) Any escalation request form must be submitted in Good Faith. Escalation may occur for the following claims:
(a) false or manufactured research activity data;
(b) a wrongfully claimed ORCID identifier, whether through (i) registration using a false name or (ii) use of false pretenses to claim another person’s record.
5. Procedures for Escalated Complaints
Upon receipt of an escalation request, the ORCID Ombudsperson will apply the following procedures, which reflect no opinion or determination on the part of ORCID concerning the dispute.
(a) ORCID Ombudsperson will forward the Claimant’s evidence submitted under Section 4 of these Procedures to the relevant Record Holder or other User(s) via email and mail.
(b) The Record Holder or other User(s) will have 30 days from the date of the Ombudsperson’s notice to submit a Good Faith Counter Report, with satisfactory evidence of any of the following:
(i) the User’s correction of the data in question, to reflect the correction suggested by the Claimant or an alternate correction proposed by the User;
(ii) the User’s declaration and evidence that the data in question are correct as listed;
(iii) evidence of identity theft by Claimant or evidence suggesting genuine confusion between the identity of two people (e.g., due to same or similar names).
(c) If ORCID receives the satisfactory evidence described in (b)(ii) supporting the factual accuracy of the data in the Record from the User within 30 days of the ORCID Ombudsperson’s email, ORCID will take no further action on the Claimant’s request. In the case that the Record Holder provides an alternate correction under (c)(i) or raises a genuine question about identity under (c)(iii), the Ombudsperson will provide such information to Claimant via email and Claimant will have 30 days to respond. If the dispute cannot be resolved within such additional 30 day period, the Ombudsperson may elect to extend the dispute period for internal resolution by Claimant and User if progress is being made, or declare that the matter cannot be resolved internally.
(d) In the case of ambiguity or alleged theft of the identity of the Claimant, the Record Holder or Claimant may request the registration of a new ORCID identifier. Such request must be made within 30 days of escalating the dispute in the case of Claimant or ORCID Ombudsperson’s notice to the User (except in the event of (c)(iii), in which case the period will be extended to 60 days. In such event, ORCID will assist the Record Holder or Claimant with registration, and when appropriate splitting existing data and/or deprecating identifiers. ORCID will allow the Record Holder to maintain both identifiers simultaneously for up to 30 calendar days to allow an orderly transition to the new identifier. At the end of the 30-day period of simultaneous use, ORCID will disable the disputed identifier, pending resolution of the dispute. By disabling the disputed record(s), no additional data may be added or existing data viewed or edited, pending resolution of the dispute. Such disabled records will be flagged in the Registry as a disputed record.
(e) Where the User fails to respond within 30 days of the ORCID Ombudsperson’s email by taking one of the actions in 5(b) or (d) above, ORCID will disable the disputed record. Disabled records will be flagged in the Registry as subject to dispute. The User’s failure to respond accordingly will be deemed to be a breach of the User’s obligation to provide correct and updated particulars under the Terms and Conditions of Use.
(f) ORCID will reinstate the suspended record status:
(i) if ORCID receives satisfactory evidence from the parties of the resolution of the dispute,
(ii) the Claimant requests that the identifier and record not be disabled, or
(iii) upon receiving a properly authenticated mediation settlement, stating which party to the dispute is entitled to the identifier or record data.
6. Mediation
ORCID will notify the Claimant and Record Holder by email and mail as to its disposition of a claim. If a Claimant is not satisfied with the disposition, the Claimant may resubmit a new ORCID Data Report with additional information or seek to mediate the claim with the Record Holder as set forth in this Section 6. A User involved in a dispute shall remain at all times subject to ORCID’s Terms and Conditions of Use.
If Claimant’s concerns cannot be resolved through ORCID’s internal process, Claimant may contact the New York office of the American Arbitration Association to mediate the dispute with the User. Such mediation will be conducted by telephone and email, and if it must be done in person, it will be conducted in New York, NY, if an alternate location cannot be agreed upon by the parties. The mediation will be conducted by one member of the American Arbitration Association, and under the rules of mediation of the American Arbitration Association. Claimant and User will bear equally the cost of arbitration (exclusive of legal fees and expenses). All decisions of the mediator(s) will be final and binding on both parties, and the Registry shall be updated to reflect the outcome of the mediation or the Record Holder may request that the Record be disabled.
The Claimant shall inform the ORCID Ombudsperson about his/her decision to mediate a dispute and the final outcome.
IN NO EVENT SHALL ORCID, ITS CONTRACTORS, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES, OR ITS OR THEIR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES BE NAMED AS PARTIES TO ANY SUCH MEDIATION, AND AS A CONDITION OF BEING ALLOWED TO USE THE ORCID REGISTRY, CLAIMANT AND USER AGREE TO HOLD ORCID HARMLESS IN THE EVENT OF ANY SUCH MEDIATION OR OTHER ACTION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH MEDIATION OR OTHER ACTION.
7. Notices
After the initial Data Report, all correspondence and notices related to escalated Data Reports should be in writing to the ORCID Ombudsperson email address ([email protected]) or ORCID Ombudsperson’s Office (Disputes), ORCID, Inc., 10411 Motor City Drive, Bethesda, Md. 20817. For purposes of calculating the time frames under these Procedures, notice will be considered given to the User upon email return receipt or seven (7) calendar days after deposit in the mail, whichever occurs first if delivered in accordance with the contact information the User has provided in the Data Report or ORCID Record.
8. ORCID’s Responsibilities and Rights; Limitation of Liability
The Procedures set forth are the only method by which ORCID shall be responsible for addressing questions of accuracy regarding the data in the ORCID Registry or the identity of individuals associated with an ORCID identifier. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, ORCID MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF THE ORCID REGISTRY OR RECORD DATA OR THE INTEGRITY OF IDENTIFIERS. AS SET FORTH IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE AND THE MEMBER LICENSE AGREEMENT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ORCID WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES OR CLAIMS (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, REVENUES OR DATA; FINANCIAL LOSSES, OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTAIL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNATIVE DAMAGES) RELATED TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS OR COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE REGISTRY OR THE POSSIBLITY OF IDENTITY THEFT. IN NO EVENT SHALL ORCID’S LIABILITY TO ANY USER BE GREATER THAN THE AMOUNT PAID BY AN INDIVIDUAL TO ORCID TO USE THE REGISTRY DURING THE PREVIOUS 12 MONTHS (IN THE CASE OF INDIVIDUAL USERS) OR THE AMOUNT PAID BY A MEMBER DURING THE CURRENT TERM (IN THE CASE OF MEMBERS), AND IF NO SUCH AMOUNT HAS BEEN PAID, IN NO EVENT SHALL ORCID’S LIABLITY EXCEED $20.00. For further information on ORCID’s representations, warranties, limitation of liability and governing law, please see the Terms and Conditions of Use, which all apply to these Procedures.
Notwithstanding anything else set forth in these Procedures, ORCID shall have the right in its sole discretion to immediately disable any disputed ORCID record(s). In addition, ORCID reserves the right to remove from the ORCID Registry and its servers any ORCID Record Data or disable access to parts of the ORCID Registry where ORCID learns or becomes aware that any ORCID Record Data or the distribution, transmittal, display or performance thereof, violates the privacy, publicity or other rights of any person, is the subject of a dispute, or for any other good cause, including without limitation, in any situation in which ORCID is advised by legal counsel that the retention of such Record Data poses a legal risk to ORCID. If ORCID takes an immediate action independent of the dispute procedures or arbitration described above to remove any data, freeze an account, or restrict access, we will notify the person and give them an opportunity to appeal as per the procedures outlined in this document.