Participation Conditions, Disclaimer and Data Privacy Notice

A. Participation Conditions

1. The main target of the Fascia Research Expert Consensus and Liaison Statement (FRECLS) collaboration is a scientific publication to which eligible authors (>15,000) worldwide can contribute with an own content suggestion to one of several topics which are set up by the editors of the FRECLS Project and which are under debate in Fascia Research. Further, secondary, topics are (1) fostering Fascia Research in public perception and attracting people to this field of science and (2) to achieve a record in the Guinness Book by reaching, if so, a multi-authored, greatest possible "Consensus statement on critical issues in Fascia Research". Both, the main target and the further targets as mentioned hereabove, are hereinafter referred to as the "FRECLS Project".
2. The FRECLS Project will be organized by its main editors and its co-(section) editors. Each of the co(-section) editors will be responsible to prepare an appropriate research question in one of the main topics of Fascia Research as selected by the main editors and to draft a final text for submission to the journal.
3. The prepared research questions will be sent out to interested researchers for comments to their relevant section, provided (a) they will have declared their interest to participate in the FRECLS Project and in the respective field of Fascia Research they will be assigned to by the main editors, (b) they have expressly consented to the data privacy clause and the disclaimer as set herein (see clause B. and C.), and (c) they will have proved by the main editors and/or by the co-(section) editors as eligible for participation in the FRECLS Project as per the eligibility criteria. Interested researchers who fulfil the conditions of (a) to (c) as set herein will be entitled to participate in the FRECLS Project (hereinafter then referred to as "Participating Authors").
4. The FRECLS Project is a non-profit scientific collaboration between researchers. A participation in the FRECLS Project will be voluntary, not remunerated and can be withdrawn by the interested researcher or the Participating Author at any time. However, all Participating Authors will be aware that they have to adhere to specific deadlines, formatting guidelines, e.g. limits of words and references of their own text contribution or similar, as set up by the main editors and/or co-(section) auditors and to give their permission to the final text of their relevant section in time, that is within the deadline as set by the main editors and/or co-(section) editors. Otherwise, the main editors and/or co-(section) editors are entitled to exclude the respective Participating Authors from the authors list.
5. All participating Authors will have the possibility to answer to the research question set up by the co-(section) editor on a specific topic of Fascia Research they individually are assigned to. This can be done by contributing comments to the research question, submitting own text proposals and amendments of the text in production as well. Responsible for drafting a text of roughly 400 words (depending on the publishing journal) will exclusively be the respective co-(section) editor. At the end of the text production process all Participating Authors have expressly to consent to the final text of the specific topic. In case this consent will not given or not given within the set deadline, the respective Participating Authors will be excluded from the authors list (see para. 4 hereabove).
6. After having finalized all texts on the topics a submission to a scientific, peer-reviewed, journal will take place. The submission process to the journal is exclusively subject to the journal`s policy, in particular to its specific authors` guidelines.
7. The Participation Conditions will be supplemented by the disclaimer (hereinafter referred to as "Disclaimer") and the data privacy clause (hereinafter referred to as "Data Privacy Clause"). The Disclaimer may correspond to the Participation Conditions particularly with respect to the editorial control- and freedom of the collaboration`s editors and the Participating Authors` contributions and the review process. Both documents, as stated in the following para. B. and para. C. will be essential parts of these Participation Conditions which again will be essential part of the relationship between the editors of this collaboration and the interested researchers/Participating Authors.

B. Disclaimer

1. The engagement of all participating parties in the FRECLS Project consists of two parts: (1) a collaboration prior to publication of the joint work in a journal (hereinafter referred to as ?Collaboration Phase?) and (2) the publication process with the journal (hereinafter referred to as ?Publication Phase), which follows its own rules according to the journal`s own policy (see A. para. 6 hereabove).
2. As already outlined under A. para. 4 the FRECLS Project is a non-profit scientific collaboration between interested researchers. Thus, neither the editors of the collaboration nor the interested researchers/Participating Authors will be entitled to claim any financial compensation or royalties/license fees arising from their work during the Collaboration Phase nor from publication (Publication Phase). The same applies for any copyrights or intellectual property rights for both the editors(co-(section) editors of the collaboration and/or the interested researchers/Participating Authors.
3. The researchers collaborating in this FRECLS Project, i.e. interested researchers/Participating Authors and editors/co-(section) editors in the Collaboration Phase, are aware that the participation in this collaboration is entirely voluntary and that each interested researcher/Participating Author has the right to withdraw from the FRECLS Project at any time, however, by notifying the editors of the FRECLS Project in writing. Consequently, in case of a withdrawal from the FRECLS Project, the withdrawing Participating Author cannot raise any kind of direct or indirect compensation or damages for his work during the Collaboration Phase or any claims to become co-author of the final draft prior to submission or the later publication. Moreover, the editors/co-(section) editors are entitled to remove the withdrawing Participating Author`s name from the authors` list.
4. All Participating Authors may contribute to one specific topic of Fascia Research, to which they will be assigned to by the editors of the collaboration as per the eligibility criteria. Such contribution may range from answering to the initial research question until the co-working on the final text ready for submission to the journal. The editors and the co-(section) editors will do their utmost to consider the contributions and other work of the Participating Authors in order to find the best consensus finally reflected by the co-(section) editors` final texts. However, the Participating Authors must be aware that their individual work may be not or only in part or in a revised or shortened form be considered and reflected in the final text. Thus, it is completely up to the co-(section) editors to what extent the Participating Authors` contributions to the FRECLS Project will be considered or not considered as described hereabove. The individual contributions delivered by the Participating Authors will be kept confidential during the review process during the Collaboration Phase.
5. All Participating Authors acknowledge that they participate in a collaboration, and that each will be responsible for the accuracy, originality, reliability and global ethical standards of integrity/compliance (according to the international COPE guidelines) of their individual contributions. They assure to avoid plagiarism, any kind of conflict of interest or the use of artificial intelligence-tools used for their individual contributions, unless disclosed in time when submitting the contributions with the co-(section) editors. Consequently, both the editors and co-(section editors), cannot be held liable for any issues arising from the Participating Authors` individual contributions and will be released (by the Participating Authors) from any possible claims of third parties with regard to the content of the Participating Authors` individual contributions or regarding their misconduct related to such individual contributions as described hereabove.

C. Data Privacy

1. As part of the collaboration in the FRECLS Project, personal data of interested researchers and Participating Authors will be collected, stored and processed. Such personal data may be any information that can directly or indirectly identify an interested researcher or a Participating Author, and may include, but are not limited to, their name, postal address, email address, academic affiliation, education, and professional experience.
2. By agreeing to participate in the FRECLS Project, all interested researchers and Participating Authors herewith expressly consent to the collection, processing and storage of their personal data for the purposes described hereunder in para. 3.
3. The personal data will be exclusively used for the purpose of preparing the final text in the Collaboration Phase of the FRECLS Project and for submitting the joint scientific work to and publishing the joint work in a scientific journal during the Publication Phase.
4. The editors or co-(section) editors will take no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the personal data provided by the interested researchers or Participating Authors.
5. The personal data will be made accessible to and be securely stored by the editors and co-(section) editors of the FRECLS Project and, if so, by other authorised individuals (to be named by the editors or co-(section) auditors), provided they are directly involved in the editing and finalising of the Participating Authors` text contributions. Each interested researcher and Participating Author will have the right to review, modify, or delete their personal data at any time by contacting the editors or co-(section) editors.
6. The personal data will be stored only for the duration of the FRECLS Project and as long as necessary to foster the final publication in the scientific journal. Once the joint work will be published and any associated activities herewith will be concluded, the personal data will be fully deleted, except where required by law to retain such data in full or in part for longer time periods. Furthermore, personal data of a Participating Author will be deleted, if he withdraws from the FRECLS Project, what will be possible at any time of the FRECLS Project.
7. Rights of the interested researchers and Participating Authors (collectively named hereinafter as ?Data Subjects?):
   • Right to Access: Data Subjects` right to obtain information about which personal data is stored about them and how it is being used.
   • Right to Rectification: Data Subjects may request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
   • Right to Erasure: Data Subjects have the right to request the deletion of their personal data, provided there are no legal retention obligations.
   • Right to Restriction of Processing: Data Subjects may request the restriction of the processing of their data under certain circumstances.
   • Right to Data Portability: Data Subjects have the right to receive their data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transfer it to another organization.
   • Right to Object: Data Subjects may object to the processing of their data, particularly for direct marketing or profiling purposes.
8. The Data Controller for the FRECLS Project are the main editors of the Project.

D. Applicable Laws and Place of Jurisdiction

1. The material German laws will be exclusively applicable to the Participation Conditions (A.), the Disclaimer (B.) and the Data Privacy Clause (C.).
2. Place of jurisdiction will be Munich, Germany.