Terms of Use

0. New features Kopiert!

15.04.2024 Added: 7.12-13 “Regulation for trademarks without OSS licensing”
15.04.2024 Added: 8.2-6 “Regulation for private support repositories”

1. Definitions Kopiert!

Open source software refers to any content that is licensed in accordance with the visible “License Compliance” requirements. This includes all components published under a license that complies with the Open Source Definition of the Open Source Initiative. A list of licenses whose license conditions have been checked can be viewed under “Open Source License List”.

Code of Conduct refers to the current version of the “Code of Conduct” document of the platform.

openCode refers to the entire platform with version management for the development of software and other content with the possibility of access, downloads and further development by platform users.

Compile is the collective term for all compiled code, executable files and other software development-related objects on the platform and their components.

Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) refers to the listing of the individual components of software, e.g. in SPDX 2.2.1 format.

“Knowledge” refers to the collaborative knowledge management of the openCode platform. The special purpose here is the central presentation of software projects in the so-called “software index”.

2. General information and purpose of the platform Kopiert!

1. These Terms of Use apply to the use of the openCode-Platform (hereinafter referred to as the “Platform”). The use of the platform and the associated services is only permitted if you as a user accept these terms of use. They form the contractual basis for the relationship with the operators of the platform and other users.
2. The platform serves to promote collaboration, reusability, legal certainty and transparency in software development by and for the federal, state and local public administration.
3. The platform is intended to serve as a place for collaborative development and can also be used to provide software solutions by and for the public administration.
4. The platform consists of several individual services, including the GitLab code repository, the software directory and a discussion forum. The platform can be used by both registered and non-registered users. The range of functions differs depending on the status of the user and is described in more detail in section 3.
5. The platform does not guarantee users that a defect in the operation or functionality of the platform will be rectified or corrected.

3. Status of users and roles Kopiert!

1. Visiting the platform is possible for both registered users and guests. However, the range of functions on the platform differs depending on the status of the user.
2. A distinction is made between the following user statuses:
   • Users who visit the platform without registering are assigned the status “guest”. Only a limited range of functions is available to them, as they only have read-only rights. It should be noted that this status cannot view all content, e.g. content intended exclusively for public administration is withheld.
   • "Registered users” status is granted to users who have registered with an account on the platform. They have access to an extended range of functions and read and write permissions. It should be noted that this status cannot view all content, e.g. content intended exclusively for public administration is withheld.
   • “Identified users” status is granted to users who have registered an account on the platform and can clearly identify themselves as public administration users or public sector contractors. They have access to an extended range of functions in that they have read and write rights and can only use functions set up for public administration.
3. Users with a registered account can take on different roles on the platform. A distinction is made between the following roles:
   • The “Contributor” role is performed by users who contribute code or content to existing development projects as part of collaborative development. This requires the status “Registered user” or “Identified user”.
   • The role of “Maintainer” is performed by users who are significantly involved in the development and decide on behalf of the repository owner whether contributor contributions are to be incorporated into a development project and published. The “Identified user” status is required for this.
   • The “Repository Owner” role is performed by users who run their own development project on openCode, for which they are responsible to third parties. They are responsible for ensuring the conformity of the development project with regard to the requirements of applicable law and the platform, including terms of use and license compliance. The “Identified user” status is required for this.

4. Registration and account Kopiert!

1. All natural persons with legal capacity are permitted to register. Minors may register on the platform with the written consent of their legal guardians. Registration for technical accounts within the meaning of section 4.4. is also permitted exclusively for legal persons.
   
2. Users may have several accounts in order to separate private development contributions and activities on behalf of various employers. It is not possible to transfer the account. When creating an account, users must state whether it is a private account or for which employer they are working for in order to be publicly visible.
   
3. When registering, an e-mail address and the official first name and surname must be provided. According to the default settings, this information is only accessible to the operators of the platform, but users can also make their first name and surname public if they wish. If the data provided changes after registration, users must update the information in their own account immediately.
   
4. Accounts for the exclusive provision of automated tasks must be identified as a “technical account” via the input screen. These accounts may not make any protectable code contributions.
   
5. Users are solely responsible for all activities and content provided or contributed under their account. If users carry out an activity for an employer or a company, the employer or the company is responsible.
   
6. Users are responsible for the security of their accounts and the associated passwords. Users undertake to inform the operators of the platform at info@opencode.de immediately if there are any indications of unauthorized use of their accounts or unauthorized access to their accounts.

5. Identification Kopiert!

1. Identification and the associated rights under sections 3.3.2. and 3.3.3. within the platform are reserved exclusively for employees of the public administration or companies acting on behalf of the public administration. This affiliation is a mandatory requirement.
   
2. Identification can be requested by users upon registration, provided they meet the requirements set out in section 5.1. Verification of an approved company e-mail address is necessary to identify an account.

6. Behavioral obligations of the users Kopiert!

1. The publication of content is prohibited that
   • that violate the rights of third parties or copyrights,
   • are offensive, racist, discriminatory, violate applicable laws or are directed against the free democratic basic order or are otherwise considered immoral,
   • are inappropriate or deliberately untrue,
   • contain viruses or other computer programs that could damage software or hardware or impair the use of computers,
   • contains advertising or surveys or chain letters, disguised advertising or spam.

1. Communication and content on the platform must be compatible with the platform's Code of Conduct.
   
2. Rating mechanisms within the platform serve the exchange and opinion-forming of users. These ratings are not permitted for advertising outside or inside the platform.

7. Content generated by users Kopiert!

1. The content of the platform must serve the purpose of the platform and be useful for the public administration or have a public administration body as the rights holder or client. The content of the platform and its use must be in the interest of the public administration.
   
2. All projects on the platform must be attributable to a public administration body or a commissioned company. These are therefore also users of the platform.
   
3. The content of the platform must meet the definition of open source software in accordance with the “License Compliance”. All compilations are subject to this to the same extent as source code.
   
4. The copyrights and license obligations to be complied with for the content provided and its dependencies must be collected and provided in a structured manner using technical measures. The exclusive use of standard license declarations, for example on software packages, is not sufficient.
   
5. All publicly accessible content must be subject to an open source license and comply with its license conditions.
   
6. Content that cannot be executed as a stand-alone application, but requires third-party software outside the platform that is not licensed as open source software, may be published on the platform if it contributes independent, reusable functionality.
   
7. Compliance with para. 7.3. must be verifiable at all times by means of a software bill of material provided by the project. Violations may lead to the removal of the project or affected content in accordance with para. 9.5.
   
8. Users can create and/or upload content to the platform depending on the usage options of the respective role. Responsibility for the legality (e.g. copyright and patent law) of this content lies with the respective user or employer and must be carefully checked before publication.
   
9. Users retain authorship of content that they have uploaded to the platform and of which they are the authors. If users upload content to the platform that they have not created themselves, they must have the necessary rights to do so.
   
10. Any content shared publicly by users can be viewed by other users and guests of the platform. Public repositories may be viewed by other users. A “fork”, i.e. the creation of a copy for a new development branch as a separate development project, can be carried out by users with the appropriate authorization.
    
11. If users add contributions to other projects or repositories, the content is thereby made subject to the open source license of this project or repository and the users implicitly confirm that they have the right to make the contribution available under this open source license. If there is a separate agreement between one or more users and a project or repository (e.g. a Contributor License Agreement), then this agreement takes precedence over the above provision.
    
12. Artifacts such as fonts, images and trademarks do not have to be subject to an open source license, provided that reproduction, distribution and making available to the public is permitted as part of the unmodified software, these artifacts can be replaced with reasonable effort and a description is provided in a file called “TrademarkReplacement”, which lists the affected files and describes how they can be replaced. This regulation is explicitly intended to facilitate the provision of content with a trademark reference by the creator. The provision of fonts, images and trademarks that fulfill a purpose of their own (e.g. proprietary third-party fonts) are not covered by this.
    
13. Specification documents do not have to be subject to an open source license as long as they do not become part of the compilation and may be reproduced, distributed and made publicly accessible in unmodified form.

8. Content that is not publicly viewable Kopiert!

1. The platform offers the option of creating content that is not visible to the public, so-called “private repositories”. Private repositories are always permitted as a temporary solution for a maximum period of six months, e.g. for testing or testing functionalities of the platform, as well as for finalization before publication. Content that is stored in private repositories beyond this period can be removed from the platform within two weeks after prior warning.
   
2. Private repositories are also permitted on a permanent basis if they are used to support a publicly visible open source licensed repository.
   
3. The reference to a repository required for paragraph 2 is signaled to openCode by the location in the same group.
   
4. The content of these repositories must also be subject to an open source license, strive for such a license in the long term or be temporary in nature.
   
5. Excluded from paragraph 4 is project management and support information. This includes in particular information on dealing with IT security aspects, notifications or budgeting. Nevertheless, openCode recommends carefully evaluating the need to withhold information in individual cases in order to strengthen open collaboration.
   
6. Content that remains in a private repository for more than six months and does not meet the requirements of the exception in paragraph 2 can be removed from the platform after at least two weeks' notice.

9. Legal violations of projects and violation of the terms of use Kopiert!

1. If users are of the opinion that content on the platform infringes their copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights or other rights, please contact info@opencode.de.
   
2. If an infringement of your own rights is claimed, you must provide clear proof of ownership.
   
3. Reports of infringements will be forwarded to the respective projects for clarification and evaluation, unless deletion is required immediately for reasons of urgency.
   
4. The operators of the platform also have the right to withdraw or remove content from public access as a precautionary measure if the legal situation is unclear or there are reasonable grounds for suspicion.
   
5. Any violation of the terms of use may lead to the removal of content and/or temporary or permanent blocking of the account by the platform operator. If there are no urgent reasons for immediate removal, the removal or blocking will be announced at least two weeks in advance.

10. Excessive use Kopiert!

1. Misuse or excessive use of the platform (e.g. as mass data storage that does not serve the purpose of the platform) constitutes a breach of the terms of use. The operators of the platform determine at their own discretion whether misuse or excessive use has occurred.
   
2. The platform may not be used to download data for the purpose of spamming/advertising or with the intention of selling or exploiting personal information of users, e.g. to recruiters, headhunters, etc.

11. Vailability of the platform and backup of data Kopiert!

1. The platform does not guarantee continuous and uninterrupted availability of the services offered and access to the content. Scheduled maintenance work is announced and carried out at the discretion of the platform operator.
   
2. The content stored on the platform is backed up on a monthly basis for a period of 6 months.

12. Account deletion and closure Kopiert!

1. Users have the right to delete their own account.
   
2. Users' personal data is deleted in accordance with the privacy policy. Data relevant to software development will not be deleted, e.g. information on authorship. For further details, please see the privacy policy.
   
3. The operators of the platform have the right to temporarily or permanently close the user's account at any time and without notice in the event of a breach of the terms of use or the Code of Conduct.

13. Data privacy Kopiert!

1. Explanations on the collection, storage and use of personal data of users by the operators of the platform can be found in the privacy policy.

14. Warranty and liability Kopiert!

1. Liability for defects in the content published on the platform is governed by the special agreements between the providers of the content and the users. If there are no special agreements, liability shall be governed by the statutory provisions.
   
2. In addition, the operators of the platform shall be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions for damages caused intentionally or by gross negligence and/or for damages resulting from a culpable breach of material contractual obligations, i.e. those contractual obligations whose fulfillment is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on whose compliance the contractual partner may regularly rely and whose breach jeopardizes the achievement of the purpose of the contract.
   
3. In the event of a breach of a material contractual obligation, liability shall be limited to such damages which must be expected to occur in the context of a service provided by the platform and the provision of the associated services and which are typical and foreseeable. The operators of the platform are only liable for non-typical and/or unforeseeable damages if and to the extent that they have caused the damage intentionally; this does not apply if life, limb or health are affected.
   
4. The operators of the platform are also liable in accordance with the statutory provisions for damages that are based on the absence of a warranted characteristic, that are the result of injury to health, body or life for which the operators of the platform are responsible, or for which liability is provided for under the Product Liability Act.
   
5. In all other respects, the operator of the platform shall not be liable on any legal grounds whatsoever. In particular, it is not liable for damages in connection with the loss of data, insofar as these damages could have been avoided by regular and complete backup of all relevant data by the user.

15. Applicable law and place of jurisdiction Kopiert!

1. All legal disputes arising from or in connection with this platform between the operators of the platform and the users shall be governed exclusively by German law, with the exception of the provisions on conflict of laws. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded. In the event that the Users are consumers, the mandatory consumer protection provisions applicable in the country in which the Users have their habitual residence shall also apply, insofar as these grant the Users more extensive protection than German law.
   
2. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this Platform between the Platform Operator and the Users shall be Stuttgart if the Users are merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law.

16. Changes to the Terms of Use Kopiert!

1. The operators of the platform have the right to amend these Terms of Use. These changes will be announced to the users by e-mail to the e-mail addresses provided by them at least four weeks before the planned entry into force and can be accessed on the platform here.
   
2. Users shall be deemed to have given their consent to the amendment of the Terms of Use if they do not object to the amendment within a period of two weeks from the date on which the notification of amendment is sent in text form by email. The operators of the platform undertake to make separate reference in the notice of change to the possibility of objection, the deadline for objection, the text form requirement and the significance or consequences of failing to object.
   
3. If users object to the change to the terms of use in due form and time, the contractual relationship shall continue under the previous conditions. In this case, the operators of the platform reserve the right to terminate the contractual relationship with a notice period of two weeks