Polyref Fair Use & Content Use Policy

Polyref is designed to help users discover, understand, and evaluate research, operating in accordance with applicable copyright laws, including fair dealing and text and data mining provisions where applicable, and making use of openly licensed data where possible.

1. How Polyref uses third-party content

Polyref may process scholarly content (including abstracts, metadata, and limited excerpts) to:

  • Index and search research materials
  • Generate summaries and explanations
  • Provide citation-backed answers
  • Enable discovery of relevant sources

Where possible, Polyref prioritises:

  • Openly licensed content (e.g. CC-BY, CC0)
  • Public domain materials
  • Metadata from trusted providers (e.g. OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar)

2. Content transformation

Polyref does not function as a content repository or substitute for original publications.

Our system:

  • Transforms source material into summaries, insights, and structured outputs
  • Uses embeddings and derived representations rather than raw redistribution
  • Is intended to present content in a way that supports research understanding rather than replicate original works

3. Limited excerpts and quotations

Where excerpts are shown, Polyref:

  • Limits output to short, relevant portions of source material
  • Is designed to avoid systematic reproduction of full abstracts or full-text content
  • Ensures excerpts are contextualised within a broader answer

4. Attribution and linking

Polyref provides attribution wherever reasonably possible, including:

  • Article title
  • Authors (where available)
  • DOI or source link

Users are encouraged to consult the original source for full context.

5. What Polyref does NOT do

Polyref does not:

  • Provide bulk access to copyrighted content
  • Intentionally reproduce full articles or systematically return full abstracts
  • Act as a replacement for journal platforms or publishers
  • Enable downloading or exporting of third-party copyrighted datasets

6. User responsibilities

Users agree not to:

  • Use Polyref to reconstruct or extract copyrighted works at scale
  • Attempt to bypass safeguards designed to limit content reproduction
  • Use outputs in ways that infringe third-party rights

7. Content sources and licensing

Polyref integrates data from multiple sources with varying licensing terms. Where content is:

  • CC0 / public domain: may be used without restriction
  • CC-BY or similar: attribution is preserved where feasible
  • Other metadata: used in accordance with the provider's terms of service

8. No warranty on rights

Polyref aggregates content from a variety of third-party sources. While we take reasonable steps to respect applicable licensing terms, we do not warrant or guarantee that all third-party content accessible through the Service is accurately licensed or free from rights restrictions. Users are responsible for verifying the rights status of any content they rely on or redistribute.

9. Removal requests

If you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used improperly, you may contact: support@polyref.ai

We will:

  • Review requests promptly
  • Remove or restrict content where appropriate

10. Jurisdiction and legal basis

Polyref operates from Ireland and is subject to applicable EU copyright law. Our primary data sources are openly licensed (e.g. CC0), and where third-party content is processed, we rely on applicable legal provisions, including the text and data mining exceptions under the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (Directive (EU) 2019/790), as transposed into Irish law.