§ 1 Scope, Terms and definitions, General remarks
1. VDE Loop (www.vde-loop.com, hereinafter referred to as the “portal”) is offered by the VDE Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V., Stresemannallee 15, 60596 Frankfurt/Main (hereinafter referred to as “VDE”). The VDE offers the MVP users (hereinafter referred to as “users”) a beta test version of the portal (hereinafter referred to as “MVP” 1 ) as well as the corresponding documentation, materials and information, if necessary, for the purposes of receiving feedback on the quality and usability of the MVP. The use of the MVP is permitted exclusively through compliance with the following Terms of Use. Other terms and conditions of the user are not recognized, unless the VDE agrees to them explicitly in written form. The masculine form of names, occupations and other designations also refers to the feminine and the diverse form, where applicable.
2. The prerequisite to the use of the MVP is prior registration. At the time of registration, personally identifiable information is collected to verify authorisation, and then stored to ensure subsequent control of expired authorisations.
3. The VDE offers the MVP exclusively for the purposes of testing and evaluation (hereinafter referred to as “services”).
4. The VDE reserves the right to revoke the access authorisation by blocking the user data without the need to give reasons.
5. The services are made available to the user without warranty and in the manner in which they can be retrieved. The VDE particularly reserves the right to amend, limit, modify, delete and temporarily or permanently discontinue services and contents or parts thereof without prior notice. The VDE will attempt to provide the services and content offers without interruption as far as this is possible. There is, however, no obligation to guarantee constant availability and/or freedom from interruptions.
§ 2 Use of the portal; Role of the VDE
1. The portal and the contents thereof are the property of the VDE or its affiliated companies or are used by them under licence.
2. Subject to the user’s compliance with this contract and any legal provisions, VDE grants the user the limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable right to use the MVP exclusively for the purposes of testing and evaluation during the applicable test period.
3. Any other use – without the prior written consent of the VDE – is not permitted.
4. The user acknowledges and agrees that he will not be remunerated for evaluating the beta version of the portal or for providing any feedback, and that he will bear the full costs arising from the use of the beta version of the portal (e.g. mobile virtual network operator and data costs).
5. The portal also lists third-party products and services (usually of companies in the VDE Group). The contract that comes into effect with regard to these third-party products and services is concluded exclusively between the user and the respective third-party. In these cases, the VDE is not the contracting party and will not take over any responsibility for the respective contract. Furthermore, the VDE is not the representative of the third-party provider. The third-party provider is solely responsible for fulfilling the contract as well as for any user complaints and for all other issues arising from the contract between the user and the third-party provider.
§ 3 Feedback; Confidential information; User obligations
1. The users can make suggestions, pass comments or give any other type of feedback on the beta version of the portal (hereinafter referred to as “feedback”) including ideas for modifications and improvements. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the VDE may freely dispose of any feedback provided. The user confirms to the VDE that he has the necessary rights to provide feedback and to transfer the rights to the VDE.
2. The MVP and any information relating to the MVP (including its character, existence, feature and functionality) as well as any other information which the VDE discloses to the user in relation with the MVP shall be deemed confidential (hereinafter referred to as “confidential information”). Information that (i) legally becomes public without fault or breach of contract on the part of the user, (ii) was independently obtained by the user without the use of confidential information, (iii) was legally obtained from a third party who had the unrestricted right for transmission or disclosure, or (iv) is required to be disclosed due to a legally binding regulatory or court’s order is not considered confidential information. All confidential information remains the exclusive property of the VDE. The user commits himself to neither disclose confidential information nor to publish it or make it available to any third party, unless explicit permission has been given or has been agreed between the VDE and the user in written. The use of confidential information is only permitted for the purposes defined in this agreement.
3. The user commits himself to comply with the laws and legal provisions applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany when using the MVP.
4. It is the user’s obligation to ensure that his log-in details will not be made accessible to third parties.
5. The user is prohibited from misusing the services. Such misuse is considered, in particular – but not conclusively – the use, reproduction, dissemination or making available to the public of content protected by copyright without having the corresponding right of use. Furthermore, the publication or dissemination of illegal, defaming, obscene, racist, offensive, vulgar, pornographic, threatening or vile content constitutes misuse. In addition, the use of facilities or methods that will compromise or is likely to compromise the functionality of services constitutes misuse.
6. In the context of guest contributions such as comments, suggestions, questions, answers or articles in the expert community (hereinafter referred to as “contents”) it is the user’s obligation to publish only truthful and correct information on the portal (if necessary by including sources such as specialist literature) to the best of his knowledge and belief.
7. It is the user’s obligation to only post contents on the portal for which he holds the necessary copyrights and rights of use, in particular, and which do not infringe the rights of third parties. It is the user’s obligation to verify the ownership of the aforementioned required rights to the VDE upon request.
8. The user is restricted from advertising products and/or services on the portal or using data obtained from the portal to disseminate advertising (spam). This restriction does not include cases in which the presentation of products and/or services is indispensable for the understanding and comprehension of the information available on the portal and is presented in an abstract, factual and, in particular, non-promoting manner; the VDE explicitly reserves the right to restrict such presentations and to delete them, if necessary.
9. The VDE reserves the right to immediately delete illegal and/or abusive contents published by the user.
§ 4 No support and maintenance, No warranty
1. The VDE has no obligation to provide maintenance or technical support during the MVP phase of the portal. The VDE neither has the explicit nor the implicit obligation to announce or provide a final version of the MVP version of the portal. In the case a final version will be provided, it may comprise features that are different from those of the MVP version.
2. The MVP version is a version which may be incomplete and comprise errors or inaccuracies. The use of the MVP version is – as far as legally permissible – at the user’s own risk. The VDE provides the services and the confidential information without any warranty.
§ 5 Limitation of liability
1. VDE is liable to the user in all cases of contractual and non-contractual liability in the event of intent and gross negligence in accordance with the statutory provisions.
2. In other cases, the VDE shall only be liable – unless otherwise stated in paragraph 3 – in the event of a breach of a contractual obligation, the fulfilment of which is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the contract and on the observance of which users may regularly rely (cardinal duty), limited to compensation for the foreseeable and typical damage. In all other cases, liability of the VDE is excluded subject to the provision in paragraph 3.
3. The VDE’s liability for damages arising from injury to life, limb or health and under the Product Liability Act shall remain unaffected by the above limitations and exclusions of liability.
4. The limitations of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 also apply in favour of the legal representatives and subcontractors of the VDE if claims are asserted directly against them.
§ 6 MVP test data and data protection
1. Personally identifiable information is processed for the purposes of preparing, organising and performing the beta test of the MVP within the framework of the applicable data protection laws.
2. During the use of the MVP we will collect personal data (first name and surname, e-mail address, date and time of log-in, IP address, IMEI address) as well as aggregated and pseudonymised usage information (click heatmap, duration of stay, search behaviour), which we will use for the improvement of the portal (hereinafter referred to as “MVP test data”). We process MVP test data according to Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. a) DSGVO based on your agreement as well as according to Article 6 paragraph 1 lit. b) DSGVO. Therefore, data processing is according to law if it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the subject concerned is a party. The processing is carried out for the performance of the contract for beta testing the MVP between us and the user.
3. The MVP data will be deleted as soon as they are no longer required for the aforementioned purposes. Data may be retained for the period during which claims can be made by or against the VDE (statutory limitation period of three to thirty years). The usage information will be retained for one year.
4. For detailed information on data protection, in particular on the rights of the persons concerned, see our data protection information (available at www.vde.com/de/datenschutz).
§ 7 Final clause
1. The user may not assign or transfer his rights or obligations under these Terms of Use without the prior written consent of the VDE. The VDE may assign or transfer his rights and obligations to its affiliated companies (within the meaning of §§ 15 et seqq. of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG)) even without the user’s agreement, provided that the VDE informs the user thereof in advance.
2. These Terms of Use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.
3. If any provision of these Terms of Use, in whole or in part, is or becomes invalid, unenforceable or unlawful, the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby.
1 MVP: Minimum Viable Product
