1. The Società Italiana per lo Studio e la Conservazione delle Libellule ODV (hereinafter "ODONATA.IT"), aims to develop an archive of odonatological data (hereinafter the "ODONATA.IT Database") intended to advance knowledge and conservation of the species of the Italian fauna and their habitats. The ODONATA.IT Database is updated periodically and is kept in dedicated archives, also using cloud services.

2. Data provided to ODONATA.IT by individuals or institutions are to be considered co-owned by the Data Author (i.e., the person who produced and provided the data) and ODONATA.IT. The Data Author remains free to use the data for their own purposes without any authorisation and may request a full copy of the data they have contributed to the ODONATA.IT Database.

3. ODONATA.IT, represented by its Board, uses the data contained in the Database for its statutory purposes, within research, outreach and conservation projects directly promoted or endorsed by the association, including under agreements with bodies/associations. In any case, the use of the data is based on the principle that it must in no way put vulnerable species or sites at risk. The Board appoints one or more Database managers from among the association's directors; their term of office coincides with that of the Board itself.

4. Outside the institutional projects promoted by ODONATA.IT, data may be released only under the procedures set out below. Prior to any release of data, in any form or circumstance, the requester will be asked to sign an agreement accepting the rules and procedures laid down in this Regulation.

Data requests intended for scientific or outreach publications must be submitted to ODONATA.IT, proposing a detailed project that specifies the information to be extracted, the required degree of data aggregation, the reasons for requesting the data, and the people involved in the analysis. Requests will be evaluated by the Board (excluding any members who may be involved in the request), which will give a reasoned and unappealable decision. A contact person designated by the Board will be assigned to each approved request and will correspond with the requester and the Database managers. From time to time, considering the project and/or as indicated by the contact person, the Board will determine whether observers who have significantly contributed to the provision or management of data for a species or an area covered by the request should be consulted, in order to obtain their consent to the use of the data. Contacted collaborators must notify any wish to participate, as co-authors, in publications based on their data within 30 days. Requests for consent to data extraction will be sent by the contact person to the observers by e-mail.

ODONATA.IT may release site-specific data within projects with institutions (e.g., Ministries, Regions, Provinces, management bodies, etc.) aimed at protecting species in their habitats for the purposes stated in point 1, subject to the signing of a specific agreement, also against payment. Requests concerning topics covered by specific projects promoted within ODONATA.IT's institutional projects and not yet concluded at the time of the request are not admissible.

5. Final provisions

Data from the database may not be released for any for-profit initiative, except under agreements activated by ODONATA.IT with bodies, as set out in point 4. Data collectors or bodies that provided data to ODONATA.IT before the entry into force of this Regulation, or that will provide them later, may notify the secretariat by e-mail of their wish that the data they have provided not be released.

The Board of ODONATA.IT guarantees that the use of the data in the ODONATA.IT Database complies with this Regulation. Members of the Board, the managers appointed by it, and anyone with access to the data in the ODONATA.IT Database in any capacity are required to adhere to the rules set out in this Regulation.

Those who obtain data from the ODONATA.IT Database are expressly prohibited from transferring them to third parties or using them for purposes other than those specified in the request and in the agreement signed pursuant to point 4 of this Regulation. If a violation of the agreed terms and/or of this Regulation is detected, the Board reserves the right to take formal and legal action.

Any scientific or outreach products resulting from the use of ODONATA.IT data must explicitly state that the data were extracted from the Database of the Association ODONATA.IT ODV, and must acknowledge (e.g., in the acknowledgements) the role of the Data Authors, the Database managers and the Board's contact person who followed the procedure. The detailed citation of data of particular relevance (in volume or significance) will in any case be accompanied by an explicit citation of the Data Author who provided the data to ODONATA.IT. For projects with a mixed data origin (ODONATA.IT Database plus unpublished data collected by the requesters), such unpublished data must subsequently be provided to ODONATA.IT in order to enrich the Database, according to arrangements agreed with the Board.

To verify compliance with the agreed terms, at the conclusion of the work a copy of the scientific or outreach products must be sent to be kept in the ODONATA.IT association's library, and ODONATA.IT undertakes not to disclose it without the consent of its authors.

Data may be requested by sending a written request to the association's e-mail address, info@odonata.it, attaching a project with the details specified in point 4. Data will be supplied as they stand in the Database at the time of the request. The ODONATA.IT secretariat will keep a register of data use, available to all members and collaborators.

Perugia, 20 April 2024