Throwaway account.

I’m trying to download the Multi-PIE dataset, which has a license fee for academic use. Since it’s a large dataset (309GB), the only way provided to obtain it is through shipping a hard-drive. The total fee is 350,00 USD, which includes the dataset license + a hard-drive + international shipping. That is quite expensive for my country standards, so if I could pay only for the dataset license, then I could download it instead of paying the hard-drive + international shipping fees.

I’ve contacted the staff if it’s possible to buy only the license fee, however they haven’t answered yet if it’s possible and for what price. If it’s possible and I could find a kind soul that could share the dataset with me, it would be really helpful. As the dataset was released in 2009, I understand the reasoning behind shipping a hard-drive. Nowadays, 309GB is still a lot, but more feasible to download.

I’m reaching you out because I’m not seeing alternative ways to obtain the dataset. The current prices were changed to the current value in 2016 (as much as I can’t tell from the WebArchive). It’s been 10 years since the dataset was published. If they haven’t offered an alternative until now, it seems unlikely they will change it anytime soon. In their FAQ, you can see this is requested occasionally:

Can the database just be downloaded?

Since the dataset is so large (308 GB), it has to be shipped on a dedicated USB-attached hard drive.

Just making clear, they are in their right to license their dataset, and I want to give them their fair share for their work. I’m just in a tough spot in which I need the dataset to compare with other approaches in the literature and there isn’t a less expensive alternative to obtain it (nor response from the staff).