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Terms and conditions

Terms and conditions of membership for universities and research institutes

These terms and conditions govern your membership with us.

  1. Membership

    1. You will be a ‘Full General Member’ of COPE. Provisions relating to this category and any sub-categories of membership shall be contained in COPE’s Regulations and Articles of Association.
    2. Members will be research universities or institutions where original research is conducted and where the results are disseminated through standard scholarly channels. Membership is at the discretion of the Trustee Board.

  2. Membership application and acceptance

    1. The membership contract will come into effect when the University and Research Institutes Administrator of COPE contacts the applicant to inform them that membership has been accepted and when payment has been cleared in our account
    2. The documents that govern our agreement (other than these terms and conditions) are: COPE’s Articles of Association and Regulations and our Privacy Policy, all as amended from time to time at COPE's discretion.
    3. The agreement is entered into with the university or research institute.
    4. COPE will communicate directly with the research integrity officer (or equivalent) who handles ethics issues and is named as COPE’s point of contact.
      1. COPE takes privacy seriously. To understand how COPE fulfils its responsibilities under GDPR, please read the COPE Privacy Policy; it explains the lawful basis for processing your information (primarily legitimate interest), your rights, and what to do if you have any questions or concerns about your data or that of your relevant colleagues

  3. Member obligations

    1. Becoming a member of COPE includes an agreement to the following obligations:
      1. having clear statements on expectations of professional (ethical) conduct and behaviour of researchers, such as honest authorship, sound data/records management, ethical peer review, and not engaging in or promoting data fabrication or falsification, or plagiarism
      2. having a policy for disclosing conflicts of interest (competing interests), including study funding
      3. having clear statements on ethical research standards and practices, such as approval for and ethical conduct of human and animal research, and informed consent and confidentiality in human research
      4. having a reporting process for claims of breaches of ethical standards
      5. having a process for the timely investigation of alleged ethical breaches, along with definitions of standard ethics issues
      6. having a process for appealing institutional decisions arising from ethics investigations
      7. training in research ethics and research publication ethics
      8. abiding by COPE’s code of conduct for COPE meetings and events.

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  4. Member benefits

    1. Membership of COPE entitles the COPE’s point of contact and their team  (up to a maximum number of 20) to benefits including:
      1. the ability to present cases to COPE
      2. stand for election to the Trustee Board or COPE Council
      3. be listed in COPE’s membership database to confirm their status as a member of COPE to the community
      4. use the COPE logo on their website
      5. attend COPE meetings, webinars, and seminars free of charge
      6. access the COPE eLearning course on publication ethics and the members area of the website
      7. receive regular updates and advice from COPE through a bimonthly member-only newsletter.

  5. Membership term and payment

    1. At the beginning of each subscription year we will send you an invoice for that subscription year which, if paid (and subject to clause 9 below), will amount to a further contract for the new subscription year.
    2. Membership of COPE and access to member benefits is conditional upon the payment of the appropriate subscription fee. The fees are valid for that subscription year and may increase each year by an annual measure of inflation being the UK’s Retail Price Index (RPI) or such other measure as the Trustee Board determines appropriate.  

  6. Membership renewal

    1. To renew your membership, you must pay your subscription fee within 60 days from the receipt of invoice.
    2. Where any subscription payable by the member to COPE is not paid, your membership shall be deemed to have lapsed. The member will be served with notice allowing the member 28 days from the date of the last reminder to make the necessary payment (the 'grace period').
      1. During the grace period, the member will remain a full member of COPE.
      2. At the expiry of the grace period, any membership for which membership fees have not been received in full by COPE shall be terminated and the member will lose the right to consider themselves a member of COPE.
      3. Members are not entitled to a refund of any subscription fees paid following termination or cancellation of membership.

  7. Right to cancel membership

    1. Members shall have a right to cancel their membership within 14 days of receipt of their acceptance letter and receive a full refund (if applicable). For further information, please contact COPE.

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  8. Termination of membership

    1. A member shall cease to be a member:
      1. on notification by the member that they will not be renewing their membership in the subsequent subscription year.
      2. if any subscription or other sum payable by the member to COPE is not paid by the due date and remains unpaid 28 days after notice has been served on the member by COPE informing the member that membership will be terminated if it is not paid (see clause 5.b)
      3. if the Trustee Board resolves that the member be expelled according to the process set out in COPE’s sanctions policy.

  9. Liabilities

    1. Ultimately all decisions taken by the member are at the member’s risk, and COPE (including its Trustee Board, Council, and subcommittees) does not accept any liability arising from its recommendations or decisions, save as to where this causes death or personal injury caused by negligence or caused by fraudulent misstatement.
    2. To the fullest extent permitted by law, all direct and indirect losses, claims, proceedings or demands which arise as a result of any information it provides or guidance or decisions that it makes are excluded.
    3. It is agreed that no third party may enforce the terms and conditions of this agreement and the operation of the contracts (Rights of Third Parties Act) 1999 is hereby excluded.

  10. Governing law

    1. This agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the Laws of England and Wales whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

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Related pages

Membership: universities and research institutes 

Page history

Page last updated: 27 May 2022