Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Marginalia website at readmarginalia.com (“the Website”), operated by 4xxi Software Ltd. (“we”, “us”, “our”).

By accessing or using the Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website.

Marginalia is a platform for expert-curated scientific collections and digests. Expert curators select scientific articles, provide commentary, assign verdicts, and write notes based on their professional knowledge and experience. The Website uses content from publicly available academic databases for scientific and educational purposes, presenting it in structured, annotated formats.

All content on Marginalia, including paper selections, verdicts (Must Read, Worth Reading, Skim, Niche, Skip), difficulty ratings, expert notes, and digest commentaries, represents the subjective opinions and editorial judgment of individual expert curators.

This content constitutes protected expression of opinion. Expert curators exercise their right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and corresponding provisions of UK law. Their views are personal, may be influenced by their academic background, school of thought, or professional experience, and do not constitute professional, scientific, or academic advice.

You should not rely on Marginalia content as a substitute for your own research or professional judgment.

Marginalia uses artificial intelligence, specifically Large Language Models, in its content workflow. AI is used for:

• Monitoring, filtering, and selecting scientific manuscripts from public databases.
• Generating summaries, data extractions, and assessments of articles.
• Assisting with content preparation for collections and digests.

Some content published on the Website may be AI-generated or AI-assisted. Where possible, such content is reviewed by human expert curators, but this is not guaranteed for all published content. We make no warranty as to the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of AI-generated content.

We use third-party AI services, currently OpenAI, to power our AI features. Only publicly available article metadata (titles, abstracts, DOIs) and open access PDF text are sent to AI providers.

Article metadata displayed on Marginalia (including titles, author names, abstracts, publication dates, DOIs, and similar bibliographic information) is sourced from publicly available academic databases and APIs, including NASA ADS, OpenAlex, arXiv, CrossRef, Unpaywall, and others.

We use this data for academic and scientific purposes. We do not claim ownership of third-party bibliographic data. Full-text articles are not hosted on Marginalia unless published under open access licences permitting redistribution.

Links to external resources are provided for convenience. We are not responsible for the content, availability, or accuracy of external websites.

The original content created by Marginalia and its expert curators, including expert notes, commentaries, collection structures, digest editorial content, and website design, is owned by 4xxi Software Ltd. or its contributors and is protected by copyright under UK law.

You may share links to Marginalia content freely. You may not reproduce, republish, or commercially exploit our original editorial content without prior written permission.

When using the Website, you agree not to:

• Republish or redistribute our editorial content (expert notes, commentaries, verdicts) without attribution and permission.
• Use the Website for any unlawful purpose.
• Attempt to interfere with the Website's operation or security.

Registered users may subscribe to email updates about specific topics, collections, or all topics. Subscriptions are managed through your account. You may unsubscribe at any time using the links provided in every newsletter email, or by managing your subscriptions on the Website.

Free accounts are limited to a maximum number of active subscriptions as set by us from time to time (currently one). This limit does not apply to expert or administrator accounts. Premium accounts with unlimited subscriptions may be offered in the future.

We use Resend, a third-party email service, to deliver newsletter emails. Your email address is shared with Resend solely for the purpose of email delivery. We do not share your email address with any other third parties for marketing purposes.

Newsletter content is generated based on your subscriptions and consists of curated scientific content published during the relevant period. This content may include AI-generated or AI-assisted summaries as described in Section 4.

The Website is intended for users aged 18 and over. By using the Website, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old.

Nothing on the Website constitutes professional, academic, scientific, medical, legal, or financial advice. Marginalia is an editorial and informational service. Expert curators share their opinions to help you navigate scientific literature, not to replace your own judgment.

The Website and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that:

• The Website will be available uninterrupted or error-free.
• The content will be accurate, complete, or current.
• Any errors or defects will be corrected.

To the fullest extent permitted by the laws of England and Wales, 4xxi Software Ltd., its directors, employees, and contributors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Website.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “last modified” date. Your continued use of the Website after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

For any questions about these Terms:

Email: [email protected]