1. Scope
This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") applies to all users of the Scoville Splice website (scovillesplice.farm), the Capsaicin Design Platform (platform.scovillesplice.farm), all genetic construct files licensed or downloaded from Scoville Splice, and any derivatives of those constructs. It supplements and is incorporated into the Terms of Service and all License Agreements.
2. Absolutely Prohibited Applications
Regardless of license type, the following uses are strictly prohibited:
- Weaponization: Any application intended to produce organisms that could be used as biological weapons, enhance pathogen virulence, or increase transmission in humans, animals, or plants.
- Dual-use research of concern (DURC): Any research meeting the definition of DURC under U.S. federal policy (42 CFR Part 3), including experiments that would enhance the transmissibility, pathogenicity, or immune evasion of select agents or potential pandemic pathogens.
- Human germline modification: Any application involving modification of human embryos, gametes, or germline cells intended for reproduction.
- Non-consented human subjects: Any application involving introduction of genetic material into living humans without proper IRB/ethical approval and informed consent.
- Environmental release without authorization: Deliberate environmental release of any organism containing Scoville Splice constructs without USDA APHIS, EPA, and/or other applicable regulatory approval.
- Non-Capsicum mammalian expression: Expression of capsaicinoid pathway genes in mammals or human cell lines for any purpose not explicitly approved under a separate written agreement with Scoville Splice.
- Controlled substance precursors: Any construct designed to produce a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance as defined by the DEA, or analogues thereof.
- Unauthorized commercialization: Any commercial use, product development, or revenue-generating activity under a Research-Use-Only (RUO) license.
3. Biosafety Requirements
All users working with constructs in physical laboratory settings must:
- Operate under a valid Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) or equivalent authorization for the relevant biosafety level (BSL).
- Comply with all applicable NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules.
- Maintain appropriate biosafety level containment (minimum BSL-1 for standard Capsicum constructs; your IBC may require higher containment).
- Report any unintended release, exposure, or adverse event to your IBC and to scovillesplice@gmail.com within 24 hours.
- Destroy all construct materials by autoclaving, incineration, or chemical treatment when work is complete or licenses expire.
4. Transfer and Distribution Restrictions
You may not: transfer, sublicense, share, or distribute construct files or physical materials derived from Scoville Splice constructs to any third party without a separate written agreement authorizing such transfer; post construct sequences derived from Scoville Splice IP to public databases (GenBank, Addgene, etc.) without prior written consent; publish construct sequences in scientific papers or patents in a manner that would create prior art against Scoville Splice's pending or future patent applications — contact us to discuss a research publication agreement.
5. Platform Tool Restrictions
The Capsaicin Design Platform may not be used to: systematically scrape, download, or export construct sequence data in bulk; train machine learning models on Scoville Splice proprietary sequence data without a separate data-licensing agreement; attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract proprietary algorithms from the platform; probe for security vulnerabilities without written authorization from Scoville Splice; create automated accounts or use the platform via bots or scripts without prior written consent.
6. Reporting Violations
If you become aware of any use of Scoville Splice constructs that may violate this AUP or applicable biosafety regulations, please report it immediately to scovillesplice@gmail.com. We take all reports seriously and will cooperate with regulatory authorities where required.
7. Enforcement
Violation of this AUP terminates all licenses granted to you immediately and without notice. Scoville Splice reserves the right to seek injunctive relief, damages, and other legal remedies for AUP violations. For violations involving potential public safety risks, Scoville Splice will notify and cooperate with relevant regulatory authorities including the CDC, USDA, FBI, and/or local law enforcement.
8. Questions
Questions about whether a specific use is permitted under this AUP should be directed to scovillesplice@gmail.com before beginning that use.