The Geological Society of London does not issue or require the agreement of a formal license for institutional access to content hosted on the Lyell Collection website. Rather, it has chosen to adopt a co-operative and collaborative approach as exemplified by the SERU (Shared E-Resource Understanding) approach to e-resource subscriptions. This approach recognises that the provision of timely, high quality materials and their protection is in the mutual interests of all parties, and offers savings in time and cost by enabling access within a framework of shared understanding and good faith.

• In the absence of a separate license agreement the Geological Society and the subscribing institution will follow the SERU guidelines as published at the NISO SERU website. For more details and answers to key questions visit the SERU website.

• Use of the Lyell Collection by those entitled to access by virtue of their relationship with the subscribing institution should read the terms of use for individuals.

• Use of the Lyell Collection content by those entitled to access by virtue of an open access read and publish license at a subscribing institution should read the terms of use for individuals.

• Payment of subscription or archive fees (direct or via an agent) implies acceptance of SERU.

• Text and Data Mining (TDM). Researchers affiliated with institutions with valid subscriptions are permitted use of those articles published under the subscription model for non-commercial TDM purposes only. Content published under the open access model with a CC BY licence can be utilised for commercial and non-commercial purposes in line with the licence terms. For the avoidance of doubt all rights under Article 4 EU Directive 2019/790 are reserved. Any user wishing to use TDM for commercial or Artificial Intelligence (AI) purposes must request this in writing and negotiate terms for such use. 

• Training of LLMs on Geological Society of London content is not permitted for any use or for any content.  

• Individuals at an institution may not post a typeset PDF of a GSL article on any website, repository or server unless it is published open access under either a CC BY or CC0 licence.

• Corporate subscribers should note that the subscription to the Lyell Collection entitles them to access on one site. Subscription arrangements for multi-site or global site access are subject to specific agreement with the Geological Society. An academic subscription authorizes use at a localized site. Corporate subscribers should contact the Geological Society by email for a quote and a description of any specific license terms.