General Terms and Conditions – OpenGeoHub Foundation: Connect | Create | Share

OpenGeoHub is a not-for-profit research foundation with headquarters in Wageningen, the Netherlands (KvK-nummer: 71844570). OpenGeoHub mission is fourfold:

Promote best practices: Our aim is to create and maintain a community that identifies, promotes and adopts best practices for the analysis of spatial and temporal data and the distribution and use of spatial data products.
Promote Open Data: It promotes and actively support the production, sharing and use of Open GeoData (based on the Open Knowledge Foundation licenses). It provides platforms, tools, standards and training to encourage and support Open Geodata and reproducible research shared using open web services and open standards.
Provide training and networking: it help researchers grow by connecting them with peer networks, helping them improve their programming skills, and helping them to make their research more open and reproducible. It aims especially to encourage and empower under-represented researchers (e.g. those from ODA recipient countries and female researchers).
Serve decision makers: It aims to provide all users (governmental and non-governmental organizations, private sector companies and the general public) with easily accessible and trustworthy Open Geographical Environmental Data, fully documented, peer reviewed and reproducible.

The following terms and conditions govern all use of the OpenGeoHub foundation and all content, services and products available at or through the website (collectively, “the Website”). The Website is owned and operated by OpenGeoHub foundation (“Stichting OpenGeoHub”). The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, OpenGeoHub foundation’s Privacy Policy) and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Site by OpenGeoHub foundation (collectively, the “Agreement”).

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Website. By accessing or using any part of the web site or OpenGeoHub materials and services, you agree to become bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the Website or use any services. If these terms and conditions are considered an offer by OpenGeoHub foundation, acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Website is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.

Your OpenGeoHub.org Account and Content. If you create content on the Website, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and content, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account and any other actions taken in connection with the content. You must not describe or assign keywords to your content in a misleading or unlawful manner, including in a manner intended to trade on the name or reputation of others, and OpenGeoHub foundation may change or remove any description or keyword that it considers inappropriate or unlawful, or otherwise likely to cause OpenGeoHub foundation liability. You must immediately notify OpenGeoHub foundation of any unauthorized uses of your content, your account or any other breaches of security. OpenGeoHub foundation will not be liable for any acts or omissions by You, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.
Responsibility of Contributors. If you post material to the Website, post links on the Website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Website (any such material, “Content”), You are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:

the downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;
if your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;
the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content;
the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);
the Content is not pornographic, does not contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;
your Profile is not getting advertised via unwanted electronic messages such as spam links on newsgroups, email lists, other blogs and web sites, and similar unsolicited promotional methods;
your Profile is not named in a manner that misleads your readers into thinking that you are another person or company. For example, your profile’s URL or name is not the name of a person other than yourself or company other than your own; and
you have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether requested to do so by OpenGeoHub foundation or otherwise.

Use of content. By submitting Content to OpenGeoHub foundation for inclusion on your Website, you grant OpenGeoHub foundation a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting your blog. If you delete Content, OpenGeoHub foundation will use reasonable efforts to remove it from the Website, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable.
Removal of content. Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, OpenGeoHub foundation has the right (though not the obligation) to, in OpenGeoHub foundation’s sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any content that, in OpenGeoHub foundation’s reasonable opinion, violates any OpenGeoHub foundation policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to any individual or entity for any reason, in OpenGeoHub foundation’s sole discretion. OpenGeoHub foundation will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.
Responsibility of Website Visitors. OpenGeoHub foundation has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, posted to the Website, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material’s content, use or effects. By operating the Website, OpenGeoHub foundation does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Website may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Website may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. OpenGeoHub foundation disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Website, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted.
Content Posted on Other Websites. We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and webpages to which OpenGeoHub.org foundation links, and that link to OpenGeoHub.org foundation. OpenGeoHub foundation does not have any control over those non-OpenGeoHub.org foundation websites and webpages, and is not responsible for their contents or their use. By linking to a non-OpenGeoHub.org foundation website or webpage, OpenGeoHub foundation does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. OpenGeoHub foundation disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-OpenGeoHub.org foundation websites and webpages.
Copyright Infringement. As OpenGeoHub foundation asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by OpenGeoHub.org foundation violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify OpenGeoHub foundation. OpenGeoHub foundation will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. OpenGeoHub foundation will terminate a visitor’s access to and use of the Website if, under appropriate circumstances, the visitor is determined to be a repeat infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of OpenGeoHub foundation or others. In the case of such termination, OpenGeoHub foundation will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to OpenGeoHub foundation.
Intellectual Property. This Agreement does not transfer from OpenGeoHub foundation to you any OpenGeoHub foundation or third party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with OpenGeoHub foundation. OpenGeoHub foundation, OpenGeoHub.org foundation, the OpenGeoHub.org foundation logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with OpenGeoHub.org foundation, or the Website are trademarks or registered trademarks of OpenGeoHub foundation or OpenGeoHub foundation’s licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any OpenGeoHub foundation or third-party trademarks.
Advertisements. OpenGeoHub foundation reserves the right to display advertisements on all site Content and Profiles.
Changes. OpenGeoHub foundation reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Website following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. OpenGeoHub foundation may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Termination. OpenGeoHub foundation may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your OpenGeoHub.org foundation account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. OpenGeoHub foundation can terminate the Website immediately as part of a general shut down of our service. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
Disclaimer of Warranties. The Website is provided “as is”. OpenGeoHub foundation and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither OpenGeoHub foundation nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that the Website will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, the Website at your own discretion and risk.

Limitation of Liability. In no event will OpenGeoHub foundation, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to OpenGeoHub foundation under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. OpenGeoHub foundation shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
General Representation and Warranty. You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the OpenGeoHub foundation Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of the Website will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless OpenGeoHub foundation, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Website, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.
Courses and events. OpenGeoHub collects registration fees and course fees for training, workshops and similar events. Printed invoices are provided to participants during the course. Full name of the institution, address, and VAT number needs to be provided where applicable. Course fees and similar registration fees are usually collected in advance. Registered users (“Applicants” for OpenGeoHub events) that have paid the registration fees are referred to as the “Participants”. All information provided by the participants of the OpenGeoHub events is treated confidentially by the institute, its employees and the teachers, for instance by using non-disclosure agreements for confidential information about businesses, work processes, markets, strategies, etc. All materials provided at the OpenGeoHub events, if not indicated differently, are distributed under the Open Knowledge International licenses (http://opendefinition.org/licenses/). Invited lecturers and workshop moderators are responsible for maintaining their content and assigning the applicable copyright / license. Video and audio recordings of the events are managed by signing a license agreement between OpenGeoHub and the lecturers (see sample agreement).
Conditions under which the course may not be offered. OpenGeoHub events might be cancelled under special conditions which include emergency, illness or death of a lecturer or immediate family member or similar tragic accident (not caused by the lecturer or event moderator). In the case of cancellation of the whole event the organizers may refund the complete fees to all participants and parties involved.
Cancellation conditions and refund options. All cancellations for the courses and events organized by OpenGeoHub must be sent in writing via e-mail via the course Website. Confirmation of your cancellation is provided within 14 days from receiving your e-mail. In principle, no refunds will be issued for cancellations within 8 weeks of the beginning of the event. However there is a 14 day grace period after sign-up where you can cancel at no cost.
Privacy. All information provided by participants is treated confidentially by OpenGeoHub, its employees and the teachers, as mentioned in the privacy policy.
Copyright. Lecturers shall sign the Recording License Agreement before participation, to allow OpenGeoHub.org to record and publish their presented work. As mentioned in the Recording License Agreement, lecturers shall retain any copyrights they may have in their presentations. Stichting OpenGeoHub shall not limit lecturers’ rights to publish or use the Presentation as they see fit. Lecturers agree that OpenGeoHub.org will own the Recordings and all copyrights and other rights therein. The full Recording License Agreement can be found here.
Property right owner of course materials. Owners of all of the course materials provided shall retain their property rights.

Complaints procedure. The following procedure for complaints is followed:

If you have a complaint, please contact the OpenGeoHub Management Board as soon as possible. Describe your problem as clearly as you can. That way we can help you best.
You’ll receive a reply from us within two weeks at the latest. We’ll either help you right away, or we’ll tell you how long we need to fix your issue and why it will take us longer.
If no satisfying conclusion can be reached, there is the option of appeal to Mediators Collectief. The appeal body’s verdict is binding for Stichting OpenGeoHub; Stichting OpenGeoHub is to take any measures required and to do so promptly.
Complaints are always treated confidentially.
Complaints and their handling are recorded; these records are kept for at least a year.

Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between OpenGeoHub foundation and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of OpenGeoHub foundation, or by the posting by OpenGeoHub foundation of a revised version. Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement, any access to or use of the Website will be governed by the laws of the Netherlands, excluding its conflict of law provisions, and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be governed by the laws of The Netherlands. Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be settled in accordance with Mediators Collectief. The arbitration shall take place in The Netherlands, in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court (see the complaints procedure in section 20 of this document). The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; OpenGeoHub foundation may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

This Terms of Service document is an adaptation of the Terms of Service on WordPress.com, available under a Creative Commons Sharealike license.