Terms of Use of Your IEEE Personal Digital Library Subscription

by Sari Frances (Manager,  Digital License Compliance, IEEE)

This is a general reminder to all subscribers to one of IEEE's digital libraries that IEEE personal digital libraries are designed for your personal research, keeping you up-to-date in your field, and help you develop personal patents; however, organizational or shared use is prohibited.

Beginning in 2012, the guidelines to help to distinguish misuse of IEEE personal digital libraries, has been updated. Please be informed that when accessing your subscription the following terms apply:

Recommended Use:

• Download documents at work for your personal use.
• Use the documents downloaded via your subscription for further research, patent development and other functions related to your job responsibilities.
• Cite downloaded documents in a research paper or patent you are developing for yourself or your employer.
• Print or photocopy downloaded documents for your individual use.

Prohibited Use:

• Sharing your password or online subscription access with others.
• Sharing your electronic or printed versions of downloaded documents with others.
• Downloading more than 75 articles a week, or 350 a month.
• Accessing your digital library from more than five IP (Internet Protocol) addresses in any 24 hour period.
• Posting any downloaded documents to an organizational or peer-to-peer web site.

As an IEEE subscriber, you are welcome to use your digital subscription for yourself in your personal and professional activities. If your colleagues also require access to IEEE documents, or you need additional IEEE information, then a personal subscription may no longer be the best option. Organizational subscriptions are available for shared use. For more information on organizational-wide options, please log on to www.ieee.org/digitalsubs, or contact mypersonalsub@ieee.org.