The American Foundry Society (AFS) produces and maintains significant amounts of technical and management information for the benefit of the Society’s membership. The below policy has been adopted by the AFS Board of Directors.
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Scope of Coverage. This policy covers all AFS written, printed and/or copyrighted materials including but not limited to the Peters-Robison Technical Library, AFSINC.org, Moderncasting.com, Castingsource.com, articles in AFS publications, the International Journal of Metalcasting, Casting Connection, as well as meeting agendas and minutes.
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Concurrence with Policy. Anyone who accesses or otherwise uses any AFS article, publication, website, or other resource agrees to abide by this Copyright policy, terms of use, and prohibition of the use of generative AI.
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Resources for the Expressed Use of AFS Members.
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AFS provides access to a vast array of technical and management knowledge through its publications, articles, websites, Technical Library, and Casting Connection. These are provided as exclusive member benefits, and limited to use by current members during the period in which they are active members of the Society. Materials and documents that are copyrighted by AFS may be reproduced only with the expressed, written consent of the American Foundry Society, 1695 N. Penny Lane, Schaumburg, IL, 60173.
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Employees whose memberships lapse for any reason shall not retain any AFS member benefits. A former member shall be entitled to retain only material published during the time frame that the membership was active. Otherwise, former members and non-members may not access AFS materials unless purchased, openly published, or with written permission when the membership is expired.
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Use of Generative AI with AFS Resources Is Prohibited.
- Generative AI is a formidable technology in terms of research, data aggregation, knowledge management, document generation, as well as design and creative processes. AI also poses a threat to copyright holders because the material put into AI models can become part of the learned resources of the model, opening the possibility that the materials could be distributed outside of the AFS membership.
- Therefore, for AFS members and non-members alike, users of AFS resources, websites, and publications may not use any contents of those resources, websites, or publications, including text, graphics, photographs, or other documents as input into any Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) system or cause any AI system to access this content without the express written consent of AFS. Nor may any person share AFS log-in credentials or passwords with non-members or with any AI system.
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Intellectual Property
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All copyrights, trademarks or logos associated with AFS materials and resources are and remain AFS property. No licenses or other rights are granted. AFS articles, publications, websites, and other resources may contain other proprietary notices and copyright information. Terms must be observed and followed without exception.
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Individuals or organizations seeking to link to AFS digital resources must receive written consent before doing so. They may not misrepresent their relationship with AFS and must comply with all aspects of this notice.
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- Authorship and Publishing
- A separate policy regarding authorship and publishing at AFS and the use of generative AI and large language models (LLM) exists as well. Please consult both the Author’s Guide and the Authorship Criteria documents to identify what is permissible in authoring or publishing within AFS.