The Interest Group for Semantic Data Processing e. V. (hereinafter the “Provider”) provides a web-based digital research and working environment (the “Service”). The following terms of use apply to use of the Service.
§ 1 Subject of the Service
(1) The Provider makes the Service available for scientific and research-related purposes.
(2) Use of the Service is free of charge. There is no entitlement to permanent provision of the Service.
(3) The Service may consist of several technical components and third-party applications that interact with one another to provide individual functions. In the course of use, data may be processed between these components where this is technically necessary.
(4) The Service is intended in particular for the scientific processing, management, and, where applicable, publication of structured research data and Linked Open Data.
(5) There is no entitlement to the provision of specific functions or components.
§ 2 Access and Use
(1) Use of the Service may require registration or authentication via a central access system.
(2) Users are obliged to keep access credentials confidential and to protect them from access by third parties.
(3) The Provider is entitled to restrict or block access temporarily or permanently if this is required for technical, organizational, or security-related reasons, or if there are indications of abusive or unlawful use.
§ 3 Permitted Use
(1) The Service may be used exclusively for scientific, research, and documentation purposes.
(2) In particular, any use that may impair the stability, security, or availability of the Service, or that violates applicable law, is prohibited.
(3) The Provider is entitled to introduce or adjust technical usage restrictions to ensure proper operation.
§ 4 Content, Publications, and Data Processing
(1) Users remain, to the extent permitted by law, the holders of rights in the content they submit.
(2) Users warrant that content they submit does not infringe the rights of third parties and that applicable legal requirements are complied with.
(3) Where users process personal data within the Service, they are responsible for the lawfulness of that processing under data protection law, unless the Provider expressly assumes a different role. The user acknowledges that collaborative functions require technical data exchange between integrated specialist services of the Service.
(4) Content or data may—depending on the settings or functions selected in the Service—be made publicly accessible or published as Linked Open Data. Users are themselves responsible for verifying whether publication is legally permissible and does not infringe the rights of third parties, in particular data protection, copyright, or personality rights.
(5) The Provider is entitled to remove content or restrict access to it where there are concrete indications of legal violations, breaches of these terms of use, or significant impairment of Service operation.
(6) There is no obligation to store or retain content permanently. Users are responsible for backing up their own data.
§ 5 Availability and Changes
(1) The Service is provided as scientific research infrastructure within the limits of available technical and organizational capabilities.
(2) The Service may have an experimental character. The Provider does not warrant uninterrupted availability, freedom from errors, or specific functionalities of the Service.
(3) The Provider reserves the right to change, restrict, or discontinue functions of the Service at any time, provided that essential user interests are not unreasonably impaired thereby.
§ 6 Liability
(1) The Provider’s liability is unlimited in cases of intent and gross negligence, and in accordance with mandatory statutory provisions.
(2) In cases of simple negligence, the Provider is liable only for breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal duties) and only for foreseeable, typical contractual damage.
(3) Liability for loss of data is limited to the effort that would have been required to restore the data with proper and regular data backups by the user.
(4) Liability is otherwise excluded.
§ 7 Final Provisions
(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
(2) Where legally permissible, the place of jurisdiction is the Provider’s registered office.
(3) Should individual provisions of these terms of use be or become wholly or partly invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.
Version: 1 June 2026