Terms and conditions
This website (“Website”) is provided by New Scientist Limited, incorporated in England & Wales with its registered office address at Northcliffe House 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London, England, W8 5TT (company no: 10644366) (‘we’, us’ etc).
The following terms and conditions (“Terms”) apply to the use of our Website and any goods or services provided by us, including subscriptions offered by us from time to time (together the “Services”). They also govern all materials and information associated with the Services (“Materials”). Please note that other services (for example our app) may be governed by specific terms or privacy information.
These Terms contain important information about how our Services operate, restrictions on how you can use them, and who to speak to if you have a problem. Please read them carefully as, by using our Services, you agree to these Terms.
We may revise these Terms from time to time (including by amending this page), so please check back regularly, as the latest version will always apply.
To help you navigate these Terms, we have broken them down into the following sections: General Terms; Subscription Terms; and Privacy & Cookies Policy.
General Terms
1. USE OF THE WEBSITE AND OUR SERVICES
1.1. By using the Services, you signify your agreement to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to accept these Terms, you should not use the Services.
1.2 We reserve the right to change these Terms at any time and you are advised to review the Terms regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes. Your continued use of the Services after such changes are posted will be deemed agreement on your part to these Terms, as amended.
1.3 Please also read our Privacy and Cookies Policy, which explains how we may collect and use information about you via the Services.
1.4 If you subscribe to a print or an app + web subscription via our Services, the Subscription Terms (below) will govern that subscription.
2. ACCESSING OUR WEBSITE
2.1 Access to our Website is permitted on a temporary basis and we reserve the right to suspend, withdraw, discontinue or change all or any part of our Website without notice. We will not be liable to you if for any reason our Website is unavailable at any time or for any period.
2.2 We may update our Services from time to time and may change the content on our Services at any time. The content on our Services is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our Services or any Materials.
2.3 Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information available via our Services, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on our Services is accurate, complete or up-to-date.
2.4 If we permit you to post or provide any information on or via our Services, you must ensure that such information does not contravene any applicable laws or infringe any person’s legal rights. We do not monitor or edit documents or files posted or provided to us by third parties and accordingly we do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss you may suffer.
2.5 We may add to or remove Materials and features from the Services without notice, save that if we make changes to the Subscription Terms (see below) which we deem are material, we will notify you.
2.6 You agree that you will not:
2.6.1 attempt to decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise access any of the software programmes, databases or other systems used by us to provide the Services or to derive source code from our Services;
2.6.2 tamper with, hinder the operation of, make unauthorised modifications to our Services including attempting to interfere with the access of any user, host or network;
2.6.3 use the Services, or any of the facilities available on them, for any activities which breach any laws or regulations or infringe any third party rights, send or post or allow any posting of information which is defamatory or obscene or which violates the legal rights of others, nor use the Services to send any unsolicited promotional or advertising material or any volume messages which may interfere with the provision of the Services or the use of the Services by others;
2.6.4 remove, obscure, or alter any copyright notices, trademarks, or other proprietary rights notices of ours or any third party;
2.6.5 use the personal information of another person in order to access or use our Services;2.6.6 transmit any bug, virus or other disabling feature to or through the Services;
2.6.7 abstract, download, store, reproduce, transmit, display, copy, distribute or use the Materials other than as permitted by these Terms;
2.7 Where you are provided with a log-in, username, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures you must treat such information as confidential and you must not disclose it to any third party. The right to use the secure areas of the Services is personal to you, and you may not allow other people to use your log-in details.
2.8 You are responsible for all activity and for the accuracy of all information and requests sent using your username, password or any other personal identification implemented to identify you.
2.9 You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account, or other account related security breach of which you are aware.
2.10 If you inform us, or if we have reason to believe that, unauthorised use is being made of the Services (whether by you or through your account) then, without prejudice to our other rights and remedies, we may suspend or terminate your access to the secure areas of the Services immediately (and without notice to you).
2.11 As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
3.1 We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights and other rights in our Services, and in the material published on them (whether in machine readable or printed form). Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.
3.2 You acquire no proprietary interest in the Service or Materials except as expressly permitted by these Terms, and you may not use the Service or the Materials in any way that infringes the intellectual property rights in them.
3.3 Please see clause 9 (in our Subscription Terms) for permitted usage and licence restrictions regarding the Materials.
4. LIABILITY
4.1 We provide the Services on an “as is” and “as available” basis and to the fullest extent permissible by law we do not guarantee that our Services will meet particular requirements, or be available, accessible, uninterrupted, timely, secure or operate without error, or that it will be free from viruses, worms, Trojans or other harmful elements. We recommend that you protect your equipment by having appropriate anti-virus software in place.
4.2 Where our Services contain links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, so we assume no responsibility for the content of such sites. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsement by us of those linked sites. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.
4.3 To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other Terms which may apply to our Services or any content on them, whether express or implied.
4.4 To the full extent permissible by law, we will have no liability in contract, tort (including negligence and breach of statutory duty) or otherwise for any indirect, special or consequential loss, including indirect loss of profits or business opportunity (whether or not reasonably foreseeable and even if it had been advised of the other incurring the same), however it arises, resulting from the use of or inability to use the Services or any Materials on it or from any action or decision taken as a result of using the Service or any such Material.
4.5 Our total liability to you under these Terms shall not exceed the greater of: (a) £50.00 (or local currency equivalent); or (b) the total amount paid by you for access to the relevant Service during the 12-month period prior to the date of your loss.
4.6 Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or limit any liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law.
5. LINKING TO OUR WEBSITE OR OTHER SERVICES
5.1 We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to prohibit any link from another site to materials or information on our Services without notice.
5.2 Any link to material or information on our Services must be neither misleading nor deceptive and must fairly indicate our Services as the destination of the link. You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.
6. EVENTS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL (FORCE MAJEURE)
6.1 We will not be liable or responsible to you for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations to you that is caused by any event outside our reasonable control (“Force Majeure Event”). A Force Majeure Event includes the following (without limitation):
- strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action;
- civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanctions;
- any Acts of God, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, disease, epidemic, pandemic or other natural disaster;
- nuclear, chemical or biological contamination or sonic boom;
- prohibitions on the use of public or private telecommunications networks or parcel delivery services;
- the acts, decrees, legislation, regulations or restrictions of any government, including without limitation imposing an export or import restriction, quota or prohibition, or failing to grant a necessary licence or consent; and/or
- high winds or any other extreme weather conditions which necessitate the closure of any event locations for the safety of our staff and customers.
6.2 Our performance under these terms and conditions is deemed to be suspended for the period that the Force Majeure Event continues, and we may at our discretion extend time for performance for the duration of that period.
6.3 We will use our reasonable endeavours to minimise the disruption caused by any Force Majeure Event, including (in our absolute discretion, and subject to availability) offering alternative products and services for those elements of a subscription directly affected by a Force Majeure Event.
6.4 Please check our website regularly for any service updates, including potential Force Majeure Events.
7. GOVERNING LAW
7.1 Subject to clauses 7.2 and 7.3 below, these Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by and construed in accordance with English law and will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
7.2 If you are a consumer and your use of the Services gives rise to a potential dispute or claim when you are a resident of:
- Ireland, these Terms are subject to Irish law and to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts;
- Scotland, these Terms are subject to Scottish law and to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish courts; or
- any other country other than those listed above, you will also benefit from any mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which you are resident (including any rights you have to bring action in your home country).
7.3 Nothing in these Terms, including this clause 7, affects any consumer rights you may have under any mandatory local laws of the country in which you are a resident.
8. CONTACT/COMPLAINTS
8.1 If you have a complaint about any of our Services or about something that appeared in New Scientist, please contact our Customer Care team. Please provide details of your complaint including copies or any correspondence or documents relating to your complaint. We will try to resolve any complaint with you quickly and efficiently in accordance with our Complaints Policy.
8.2 If we are unable to resolve any complaints in accordance with our Complaints Policy, or you are unhappy with the outcome, you may request that alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) is used. ADR is process for resolving disputes between you and us that does not involve going to court. We will provide you with the name and website of an ADR provider that would be competent to deal with your issues. If you make a request for the complaint to be settled by ADR, we will consider whether or not we wish to participate in ADR, but we are not obliged by law to participate.
8.3 If you do not wish to use ADR, or you are unhappy with the outcome of ADR, you can still bring court proceedings in accordance with clause 7 of these Terms.
8.4 If you have a specific question relating to your subscription, please check the FAQs here before contacting our subscriptions teams. Otherwise please contact us using the contact details.
Subscription Terms
In these Terms, “Subscriber” means an individual subscriber and “Authorised User” means an employee duly authorised by an organisation who is a Subscriber or any other person expressly authorised by New Scientist Limited. “Unauthorised Person” means any person who is neither a Subscriber nor an Authorised User.
9. LICENCE AND RESTRICTIONS ON USE
9.1 As an Authorised User or Subscriber, you may use the Materials that appear in any subscription service we offer from time to time (“Subscription Service”) for your own private or business research. For this purpose:
- you may:
- display the Materials on screen;
- make printouts of items included in the Materials using the printing commands contained in the Subscription Service; and
- download and store in machine readable a single copy of insubstantial portions of the Materials primarily for one person’s exclusive use.
- you may not:
- make multiple printouts or copies of Materials for distribution to Unauthorised Persons;
- re-sell the Subscription Service or any part of the Materials to others;
- make the Subscription Service or any Materials available to Unauthorised Persons on a local area network, a wide area network or on any intranet or extranet;
- obscure or remove any copyright notices that appear on any Materials.
9.2 We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your subscription at any time, with or without notice or explanation, if we believe you are breaching, or have breached, these Terms in any way.
10. PASSWORDS AND SECURITY
If passwords are issued by us to access the Subscription Service;
- no password may be made available to any Unauthorised Person for the purpose of using the Subscription Service; and
- if we suspect (acting reasonably) that a password is being used by an Unauthorised Person the password may be cancelled.
11. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
11.1 You can subscribe to New Scientist via our subscriptions centre, or by contacting our subscriptions department.
11.2 In addition to these Subscription Terms, your subscription may be subject to any individual offer terms notified to you during the subscription process.
11.3 If you are subscribed to New Scientist under a Corporate or Educational subscription, these Subscription Terms will apply to your subscription to the extent relevant. Please contact your organisation’s subscription holder with any specific queries about your Corporate or Educational subscription or its duration.
11.4 Student subscriptions may also be available at discounted rates. Please see https://www.newscientist.com/subscribe/studentdiscount/ for further details including applicable terms and conditions.
12. SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS
12.1 New Scientist’s subscription options change frequently. Please check our subscriptions centre for up to date information and offers on subscription options. Our main subscription products are:
- New Scientist App + Web
- New Scientist Print + App + Web
- New Scientist Essential Guide Print
12.2 Your subscription term, your rights to cancel your subscription and/or your rights to receive a refund may differ if you used a voucher code or other offer. Further details will be set out with the relevant offer or its terms and conditions.
12.3 Newscientist.com has a limited amount of free content. Paid-for content is available to all magazine subscribers. If you are a subscriber please activate your subscription for full access to newscientist.com.
12.4 Please note that subscriptions purchased from iTunes, Google Play, Amazon or Zinio do not include full access to newscientist.com.
13. LENGTH OF SUBSCRIPTION
13.1 App + Web: your subscription will be activated once you complete the subscription process (at https://www.newscientist.com/subscribe or via our subscriptions department) and we authorise your payment details. We will arrange access promptly, but we cannot guarantee that your subscription will be activated by any specified time.
13.2 Print + App + Web: in addition to the process for App + Web above, you will be given the option to select a ‘Start Issue’ during the subscription process. We will endeavour to accommodate all requests and will send the next available print issue to your chosen delivery address.
13.3 The terms that govern your minimum subscription and any renewal will vary depending on the subscription chosen under the offer advertised. We will tell you your minimum subscription term before you agree to purchase your subscription, and this will be set out in your welcome email.
13.4 You may receive a ‘free trial’ or ‘introductory offer’ as part of your subscription. When the free trial or introductory offer period finishes your subscription will automatically continue at the price quoted on the site during the sign-up process, unless you cancel before the end of the trial or introductory period. We will send you a reminder notification (in accordance with your communication preferences) at least seven (7) days before any automatic renewal following a free trial or introductory period, including instructions on how to cancel, and details on the price and term of the recurring agreement.
14. SUBSCRIPTION COSTS
14.1 By submitting your payment and other subscription details, you are making an offer to us to purchase a subscription using the payment/billing details provided. Your offer will only be accepted by us and a contract formed when we have successfully verified your details, at which point we will send you a welcome email confirming your subscription. We reserve the right to reject any offer in our absolute discretion, including as a result of obvious pricing errors.
14.2 Offers and prices will vary from time to time and by country. Please check our subscriptions centre for up to date options on subscription (and available offers).
14.3 The cost of your subscription will be made clear to you when completing your subscription and confirmed in your welcome email.
14.4 You agree to pay the fees at the rates notified to you at the time you purchase one of our subscriptions. If you make a request to change your subscription, we will notify you of the change in cost and you agree to pay the new price confirmed in your updated welcome email.
14.5 We will notify you of any material changes to your subscription (see clause 17.2 below).
14.6 Promotional offers and incentives are subject to availability and may be changed at any time, subject to applicable laws.
15. SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENTS
15.1 Payment can be made using all major credit or debit cards and via PayPal. Direct Debit may also be available depending on your location. Please see payment details at subscription checkout for further information.
15.2 Payment types and subscription duration may be restricted for certain promotional offers. Please check the terms of the individual offer for further details.
15.3 By submitting payment details to us, you warrant that you are entitled to purchase a subscription using those payment details.
15.4 Direct Debit: A UK bank account is required for Direct Debit subscriptions. On acceptance of your direct debit subscription we will inform you of the date your subscription will begin. The subscription is deemed continuous and you will be charged at the beginning of your subscription and at the agreed frequency thereafter.
15.5 Continuous Card Authority: If you choose to pay for your subscription by continuous card authority, your subscription will be deemed continuous your debit/credit card will be debited at the beginning of your subscription and at the agreed frequency thereafter.
15.6 Transaction Fees: Depending on your location (i.e. outside of the US and UK), a transaction fee from your bank or card issuing company may apply. Please contact your bank or card issuing company with questions on applicable fees.
15.7 If you default on any payment, we recommend that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can discuss potential options. Where missed or failed payments persist, we reserve all our rights, including to suspend or terminate your subscription.
15.8 If your subscription has been terminated and you would like to re-subscribe to one of our subscriptions, please contact our subscriptions department. We reserve the right to require payment in full of any outstanding amount owed to us.
16. DELIVERY (PRINT ONLY)
16.1 We print editions of New Scientist in the UK, the United States, and Australia and have a global network for delivery. We print editions of New Scientist Essential Guide in the UK and have a global network for delivery. However, please check the availability of delivery to your country when subscribing or contact our subscriptions department.
16.2 A valid postal address (including postal / zip code) is required for a print subscription.
16.3 Although we do our best to ship print copies out to you as regularly as possible, supply cannot be guaranteed, and may be affected by events outside our control, especially in geographically remote areas. Please check our website regularly for any service updates, including potential Force Majeure Events (see ‘Events outside our control (force majeure)’ at clause 6 of the General Terms above).
16.4 Please make sure your delivery details are accurate and up-to-date. For any changes to your delivery preferences, please update your account at www.newscientist.com/myaccount or contact us using the contact details here.
17. CHANGES TO YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
17.1 By you
- Log in to your New Scientist account to update your account details. Click the green button at the top of the page that reads “Manage my subscription” and you will be redirected to “Manage my account”. Here you can view and amend your subscription details.
- If this does not work for you, please contact our subscriptions department.
17.2 By us
- We will notify you of any material changes to your subscription (including changes to the price of your subscription or the frequency of payments/billing period), together with your rights to cancel if you do not wish to continue with your subscription. If we do not hear from you, your continued payment will be taken as acceptance of any changes.
- Please contact our subscriptions department with any queries about changes.
18. CANCELLING A SUBSCRIPTION
18.1 If you want to cancel your subscription, please contact our customer service team using the contact details here.
18.2 If you cancel within fourteen (14) days of the start of your subscription (or any subsequent renewal), we will refund any payments received from you using the same method of payment that you used to purchase your subscription.
18.3 In all other cases, your subscription will continue until your current minimum subscription or payment term ends.
18.4 When cancelling your subscription, please have the following information ready:
- Your name and address;
- Your subscription information (including 8-digit subscription number).
19. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS
19.1 App + Web: To benefit fully from our subscriptions, you will need one or more of the following at a minimum:
- App requirements:
19.2 In addition to the subscription fees due to us, you are responsible for paying any internet connection or other telecommunications charges that you may incur by accessing the Subscription Service or using the services available on it. For example, your mobile network operator may charge you for data or roaming services.
Privacy & Cookies Policy
For full details of how we collect and use your personal information, please see our Privacy and Cookies Policy.