Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions constitute a binding contract between the “Customer”
and the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (the “Institute”) and are referred
to herein as either “Terms and Conditions” or the “Agreement.” Customer accepts
these Terms and Conditions by registering or placing an order on the SPENVIS
website (the “Site”). These Terms and Conditions are subject to change without
prior notice, except that the Terms and Conditions posted on the Site at the
time Customer places an order will govern the order, unless otherwise agreed in
writing by the Institute and Customer.
Jurisdiction and applicable right
The current Terms and Conditions are subjected to Belgian law. Any contention
with regard to the present contract, its conclusion, its execution or
termination is submitted to Belgian law. In case of disputes, only the courts of
Brussels (Belgium) are sole qualified.
Service Provider
The Contractor is the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (the “Institute” or
“BIRA-IASB”), its legal denomination is either “Belgisch Instituut voor
Ruimte-Aëronomie” or “Institut d'Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique.” The Institute
is located at Ringlaan 3 Avenue Circulaire, 1180 Brussels (Belgium). The
Institute is a governmental research centre depending on the Belgian Federal
Science Policy. The Institute is exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT).
Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer
The Space Environment Information System (“SPENVIS”) is an engineering
Operational Software of the European Space Agency (the “Agency” or “ESA”). The
Agency owns all Intellectual Property Rights of the SPENVIS software. An
irrevocable worldwide license to use SPENVIS for peaceful purpose is granted by
the Agency to the Institute. Nevertheless sub-license or transfer of the SPENVIS
software to an entity not located in an ESA Member State or to any international
organization are subject to the veto of the Agency Technology and Product
Transfer Board.
All the material of the Site (pages, concepts, help files, documentation, etc.),
except the models developed by other institutions, is the property of the
Agency. The Customer should not copy (except for personal use) or sell this
material without the permission of either the Institute or the Agency.
Effectiveness of the Agreement
The Agreement becomes effective on the date on which the Institute activates the
requested Services. The Institute reserves the right to refuse access to the
Services, for any of the following reasons:
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if the Customer refuses to provide the required information, or if the
Customer has given incorrect or false details;
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if the Institute has proof
or serious suspicions of non-payment, fraud or purposes that do not comply
with the Agreement, are illegal or against statutory regulations;
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if the
Customer is subject to embargo by the Agency.
Obligations of the Customer
The Customer commits himself or herself
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to keep a valid postal address as well as a functional email address at
all times and consult them regularly (the Site includes an electronic
administrative console to manage this data, under
http:// www.spenvis.oma.be/ user_account.php );
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to use the Services in
conformity with the provisions of the Agreement and all laws and regulations
that are in force;
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to respect intellectual property rights of any third
parties;
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to request permission of the Institute or the Agency to use
SPENVIS for commercial purposes (only the interpretation of the results of
the models and the user inputs entered are the property of the Customer and
could be used in a commercial way);
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to properly acknowledge the service in
all publications and presentations using results obtained with the SPENVIS
system.
It is the responsibility of the Customer to make backups of useful information
such as model inputs and outputs (the Site includes a backup utility in the
electronic project console, under
http:// www.spenvis.oma.be/ htbin/ spenvis.exe? %23resetToPrevious%28project.html%29 ).
Performances and liability
The Institute will provide the Customer with all necessary information with
regard to the Services. The Institute commits itself to undertake all that is
necessary, for providing access to the Services in an optimal manner. The
Institute makes a resource commitment.
Both parties agree that the Internet may have various transfer capacities and
its own usage policy, and that nobody can guarantee a flawless and continuous
operation of the Internet as a whole. The Customer is aware of the fact that
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the transfer of information through the Internet is only relatively
trustworthy;
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the information that is dispersed through the Internet is not
protected against possible alterations.
The Institute will not be liable in case of technical problems against its will,
such as power cut, power breakdown or technical breakdown. The customer will not
be able to claim any damages nor repayment resulting from any technical problem
encountered. The Institute cannot be made liable for damages
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in case of technical problems against its will or Force Majeure (e.g.
power cut, technical breakdown, natural disasters);
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in case of suspension
or termination of a Service in conformity with the Agreement or at the
explicit request of an authorized administrative or judicial institution;
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when the Customer has not provided required information or has provided
incorrect information.
The Institute, the Agency or the model and data providers are not to be held
responsible for the contents or the accuracy of the models in SPENVIS and the
use of the results. It is the responsibility of the Customer to verify that the
outputs are appropriate for his or her application.
Personal information
The Institute does not gather any personal information unless it is provided on
a voluntary basis. By completing and sending a registration form, the
Customer grants the Institute permission to save his or her personal information
in a database for the purpose of automated user profiling, customer management
and market research. The information provided can be transferred for these
purposes to the Agency and to companies contractually connected with the
Institute in the framework of SPENVIS. The Institute may call upon third parties
to provide it with data relating to the Customer, either with the aim of
ensuring the exact and complete character of the information contained in its
databases, or in order to carry out market research. The Customer has the right
to review his or her relevant personal information and make corrections if
applicable.
The Institute also collects anonymous or aggregated information of a
non-personal nature, such as browser type, IP address and operating system used
by the Customer.
Passwords and secure areas of the site
The Customer needs a password to access certain parts of the Site. Entering
these parts without a password is strictly prohibited. The Customer must keep
his password secret and confidential. Each use of services made after valid
identification using the Customer's password shall be deemed to be committed by
the Customer himself. If the Institute has reason to believe that the safety of
the site is in jeopardy, the Institute can change the Customer's password
without prejudice to its other rights.
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