Terms of Service

Last updated: February 9, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the ScholarAPI website (https://scholarapi.net), application programming interface (API), or any related services (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and the operator of ScholarAPI website ("ScholarAPI", "Company", "we", "us", or "our"). If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms. The Privacy Policy is an integral part of these Terms and is incorporated by reference.

2. Description of Service

ScholarAPI provides programmatic access to metadata, abstracts, and full-text content of academic publications sourced from Open Access journals and repositories. We aggregate this content to facilitate research, analysis, and the development of derived applications.

Data Accuracy and Availability: We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, validity, or currentness of the metadata, texts, URLs, or other content provided by the API. Information that was accurate at the time of indexing (including source links) may later become outdated, unavailable, or changed by third parties. The collection is aggregated from various sources and may contain duplicates or errors. We reserve the right to remove, update, or modify selected records or publications from our database at any time without prior notice.

Disclaimer: ScholarAPI does not claim ownership of the scholarly content indexed by the Service. All publications, articles, and metadata remain the intellectual property of their respective authors and publishers. We provide access to this content strictly under the principles of Open Access and fair use/fair dealing where applicable.

3. User Accounts and Security

  • Registration: To access the API, you must register for an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during the registration process.
  • One Account Per User: You may only create and maintain one account for your personal or organizational use. Creating multiple accounts is prohibited and may result in the termination of all the accounts.
  • API Keys: You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your API keys. You agree not to share your API keys with third parties. Any activity that occurs under your API key is your responsibility.
  • Account Security: You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or API key. You must also immediately change your password or rotate your API key to prevent further unauthorized access. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your credentials.
  • Refusal of Service: We reserve the right to refuse to create, maintain, or operate an account for any user for any reason at our sole discretion.

4. Acceptable Use and Restrictions

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You shall not:

  • Use the Service to infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.
  • Redistribute, sell, or license the raw data or content obtained via the Service in bulk to third parties without significant value-added modification or analysis.
  • Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any aspect of the Service.
  • Use the Service in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair our servers or networks (e.g., Denial of Service attacks).
  • Scrape or crawl the API in a manner that exceeds the rate limits or bypasses any restrictions we have implemented.
  • Use the Service to generate spam, phish, or distribute malware.
  • Violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

Our IP: The ScholarAPI Service, including its code, documentation, API design, structure, and organization, is the property of ScholarAPI and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.

Third-Party Content: The scholarly articles, abstracts, and metadata accessed through the Service are the property of their respective copyright holders. Your use of such content is subject to the licenses granted by those rights holders (e.g., Creative Commons licenses). It is your sole responsibility to verify and comply with the specific license terms of each publication you access.

6. Credits, Fees, and Payment

The Service operates on a credit-based system.

  • Purchases: You may purchase credits via our payment processor (Stripe) or other agreed-upon methods. All fees are exclusive of taxes unless otherwise stated.
  • Credit Availability: Credits are added to your account only after full payment is received and confirmed. For invoice-based payments (e.g., Stripe Invoice), credits will not be available until the invoice is paid in full, regardless of when the invoice was created.
  • Credit Expiration: Credits expire 12 months after the date of purchase unless explicitly specified otherwise at the time of purchase. Unused credits are not refundable upon expiration.
  • Consumption and Chargebacks: Credits are consumed instantly upon API usage. Due to the digital nature of the Service, all consumed credits are non-refundable. You agree that any chargeback or dispute regarding consumed credits constitutes fraud and will be vigorously disputed. Chargeback may also lead to blocking the account.
  • No Refunds: All purchases of credits are final and non-refundable, except as required by applicable law. Credits have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash.
  • Pricing Changes: We reserve the right to change our pricing or credit usage rates at any time. Notice will be provided on the website.
  • Taxes: You are responsible for all applicable taxes arising from your use of the Service.

7. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at our sole discretion, without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to a violation of these Terms or prolonged inactivity. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SCHOLARAPI DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (B) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE; (C) THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR (D) THE QUALITY OF ANY DATA OR CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL SCHOLARAPI, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, MEMBERS, OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM:

  • YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE;
  • ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE;
  • ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICE; OR
  • UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE, OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US, IF ANY, IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS FOR THE SERVICE GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ScholarAPI and its officers, directors, shareholders, members, owners, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of any third-party right.

11. Copyright Complaints

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any content on the Service infringes upon your copyright, please notify us in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). To file a copyright infringement notification, please send a written communication to support@scholarapi.net that includes:

  • A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled.
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and an electronic mail address.
  • A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

12. Modifications to Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. If we do so, we will post the modified Terms on this page and update the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at support@scholarapi.net.