Privacy Policy for Earth Notes
1. Scope
This Policy applies to all visitors, contributors, authors, and other individuals who submit content or provide information through the Earth Notes website. It covers the collection and use of information, article submissions, publication permissions, contributor responsibilities, editorial authority, liability, information retention, and related matters.
2. Purpose and Acceptance
Earth Notes is the environmental blog platform of the Environment Protection and Climate Change Department (EPCCD), Government of the Punjab. This Privacy Policy governs the collection and use of information, article submissions, editorial decisions, and publication permissions. By submitting material, you confirm that you have read and accepted these terms.
3. Information Collection and Use
Earth Notes may collect names, email addresses, designations, affiliations, biographies, photographs, profile links, articles, supporting documents, and correspondence, etc. Technical information about website usage may also be processed where available.
EPCCD may use this information for submission management, editorial review, verification, communication, publication, promotion, recordkeeping, website administration, security and other departmental purposes. Information may be shared with authorised departmental personnel, reviewers and service providers where reasonably necessary, or disclosed where required by law.
Reasonable safeguards will be used to protect information. However, absolute security of online systems cannot be guaranteed.
4. Grant of Publication and Usage Rights
By submitting an article, photograph, document or other material, you grant EPCCD, through Earth Notes, a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to reproduce, edit, revise, shorten, translate, adapt, format, publish, republish, distribute, publicly display, archive and promote that material through Earth Notes, official websites, social media, newsletters, presentations and other departmental communication channels.
This licence includes the use of your submitted name, biography, photograph and professional details in connection with your contribution. You authorise the department to make editorial changes, correct errors, update content and determine how submitted material is presented, subject to applicable law.
The licence continues for material already published or archived, even if the contributor later requests removal, unless removal is required by law or approved by the department. You retain ownership of your original work, subject to the rights granted above.
5. Contributor Responsibility and Indemnity
You are solely responsible for the originality, accuracy, legality and integrity of your submission. You must ensure that your work does not infringe copyright, confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property or other rights; contain unlawful, defamatory or misleading material; or include unauthorised personal information.
You must obtain all necessary permissions for third-party text, photographs, graphics, data and other materials. You must disclose relevant sources and any material use of artificial intelligence when requested under the submission guidelines.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless EPCCD, the Government of the Punjab and their authorised personnel against third-party claims, losses, damages and reasonable legal expenses arising from your breach of these terms, infringement of third-party rights, unlawful content or material misrepresentation. This clause does not apply to the extent a loss results from conduct for which such protection is prohibited by law.
6. Editorial Authority and Disclaimer
Earth Notes reserves the right to accept, reject, revise, withhold, suspend, archive or remove any submission or published article, with or without prior notice where appropriate. Submission does not guarantee publication, payment, continued availability or endorsement.
Contributors’ opinions are their own and do not necessarily represent the official position of EPCCD or the Government of the Punjab. Publication does not amount to departmental verification or endorsement of every statement.
7. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, EPCCD disclaims warranties concerning uninterrupted website availability, error-free operation and the accuracy of contributor-supplied information. The department shall not be liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from third-party conduct, external services or circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
Nothing in these terms excludes liability or statutory obligations that cannot lawfully be excluded.
8. Retention, External Links and Changes
Information may be retained for editorial records, publication history, administration, security and legal or official recordkeeping requirements. External websites operate independently under their own policies. Earth Notes may update these terms, when necessary, with the revised version published on the website.
For privacy enquiries or requests concerning submitted material, contact the Earth Notes Editorial Desk through the website’s Contact page.
By submitting your work, you acknowledge these terms and grant the permissions described above.