Terms of Use for Fraunhofer ILIAS
1. Application of these Terms of Use; Changes to these Terms of Use
(1) Ilias is an open-source Learning Management System used by large and small companies, universities, schools and governmental authorities for the implementation of individual learning scenarios. This includes, among other things, the distribution and training/teaching of educational content, communication between teachers and students, and the collaborative development of knowledge.
The learning platform, Ilias, is used at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for the implementation of scientific education/training, e.g. for seminars or certificate programs, and for the exchange of knowledge and information within topic-related communities. Furthermore, some of the information is open to the public and can be used by people interested in further education.
(2) The following Terms of Use apply between the user (hereinafter referred to as “User”) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for the use of Ilias. Deviating terms and/or conditions of the User that conflict with these Terms of Use do not apply.
(3) By logging into Ilias as a member for the first time, the User agrees to these Terms of Use.
(4) These Terms of Use exclusively apply to external Users. External Users are those who are not in an employment relationship with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
2. Restrictions of Use
(1) Any commercial use of Ilias is prohibited; in particular, its use for marketing purposes is expressly prohibited.
(2) All Users of the learning platform are prohibited from storing, further processing, changing, suppressing or deleting personal data without authorization. Storage space made available to the User may only be used to store created content. Any use deviating from this is also prohibited.
(3) The User shall refrain from any activity that could impair and/or excessively burden the operation of Ilias or the technical infrastructure behind it.
(4) The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft may take technical measures (e.g. to block access) in order to prevent any use that exceeds the permitted scope of use. The User shall not take any measures to overcome, circumvent or override these technical measures.
(5) The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft may block access to individual content at any time, e.g. if there is reason to suspect that said content violates applicable law or third party rights.
(6) The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft may restrict access to Ilias, in whole or in part and/or temporarily or permanently, due to maintenance work, capacity requirements or other events beyond the control of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
4. Obligations of the User when Posting Content
(1) The User shall observe the applicable law (e.g. criminal, competition, and data protection law, as well as youth protection legislation) when creating and using the User’s own content and shall not infringe upon the rights of third parties (e.g. personal rights, trademark rights, copyrights and data protection rights). The User assures, in particular, that the User has obtained the necessary rights of use and can prove this upon request. When linking to external websites, the User shall check and verify that these external websites do not contain any illegal content.
(2) The posting of content for the purpose of advertising of any kind, as well as the transmission of information/data containing viruses, errors, manipulations or similar damaging elements, is prohibited, as is the posting of content that damages the reputation of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
(3) The User shall not upload or otherwise post content on Ilias that violates applicable law or accepted morality. The same applies to the posting of external links. In particular, the dissemination of content that constitutes, concerns or contains the following is prohibited:
1. Concrete medical diagnoses, consultations or treatments;
2. Racist ideology;
3. The glorification of violence and/or extremism of any kind;
4. The incitement to commit criminal offenses and/or violations of the law, or threats to life, limb or property;
5. Any agitation against persons or companies;
6. Statements violating the personality rights of others, or defamatory or libelous statements, by Users and third parties as well as breaches of the law of unfair commercial practices;
7. Content that infringes upon copyrights or other intellectual property rights;
8. Sexual harassment of Users and third parties;
9. Pornography; and
10. Offensive, sexist, obscene, vulgar, hateful or sickening materials and expressions.
(4) The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft may block access to individual user content at any time, e.g. if there is reason to suspect that such content violates applicable law or third-party rights.
5. Property Rights
(1) All content published by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on Ilias is protected by copyright, unless expressly stated otherwise.
(2) Therefore, the content on Ilias is only intended for personal use as part of the course and not for commercial use. Furthermore, the content may not be passed on, distributed and/or published to third parties without the written consent of the author, and it may also not be reproduced or modified.
(3) The above provisions also apply to any materials produced, individually or jointly, during the course by participants. Irrespective of any copyright protection, all Users agree that personally created materials may be used for course purposes. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft may delete courses that violate the law.
6. Obligations of Users with additional Authorization (e.g. Course Area Admins, Course Admins, Course Tutors)
Users with additional authorization (Course Area Admins, Course Admins, Course Tutors, see 2.3) have extensive authority to design and run their courses, although they must nonetheless comply with all legal requirements. Particular attention should be paid to the following points:
(1) Responsibility
Course Admins are responsible for the legally compliant configuration, content and operation of their courses. If there is no Course Admin for a course, the Course Area Admin is responsible for the course. Course Area Admins should therefore make sure that each course in their area has at least one Course Admin assigned to it.
(2) Access control
Content on the learning platform can either be made publicly available or offered to a restricted user group in a protected manner.
Course Admins and Course Area Admins shall continuously (at least once a year) check the roles and rights that they have assigned to ensure that they are up to date and to adjust them if necessary. In doing so, any legal requirements, in particular for the use/provision of works protected by copyright (UrhWissG) and for collecting, processing and making available personal data (GDPR), must be observed. Additional authorization may only be granted to persons who are entitled to have such authorization (e.g. by means of a corresponding employment contract that commits them to the official duties).
(3) Storage of examination-relevant data
Data relevant to the laws concerning examinations/testing (meaning the determination of the performance and knowledge of persons and including examination dates) may not be stored exclusively on the learning platform. The learning platform may not be used as an examination archive. Participant-related data is assigned by the system to the respective registered participant and is lost if the database or user profiles are deleted (e.g. by de-registration). Any storage obligation necessary for the management of examination/test achievements can therefore not be fulfilled, as a storage duration of over several semesters cannot be guaranteed.
(4) Special duties of Course Area Admins
Course Area Admins shall regularly check (at least annually) whether courses and course areas in their course areas are still needed and used. The learning platform does not offer the possibility of permanently archiving courses. If a course is no longer needed, the Course Area Admins can, if necessary and in consultation with the Course Admins, make a backup of the content. Afterwards the Course Area Admin shall immediately delete the course.
Course Area Admins can ask the administrators of the learning platform to assign the Course Area Admin role to their colleagues. It is the responsibility of the Course Area Admins to ensure that the person who receives the authorization is, in fact, permitted to receive such an authorization (e.g. a corresponding employment contract exists).
7. Liability of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
(1) Unlimited liability: The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is liable in cases of intent and gross negligence. This applies, in particular, to damage caused by the downloading of software or materials by Users.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is liable in cases of slight negligence in accordance with the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) as well as for damages resulting from injury to life, body or health.
(2) Limitation of liability: In the event of slight negligence, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is otherwise only liable:
- in the event of a breach of an essential contractual obligation whose fulfilment is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on whose fulfilment the User may regularly rely (cardinal obligation); and
- for the level of damages foreseeable and typical for the contract at the time of conclusion of the contract.
This limitation of liability also applies in favor of vicarious agents of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
(3) The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is not liable for the content of Users' publications; this applies in particular to cases where content posted by Users violates any intellectual property rights (trademark rights, copyright, etc.) or the personality rights of third parties. This limitation of liability applies equally to the content of websites that have been linked by Users of Ilias without the knowledge of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. However, if the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft becomes aware of any violations of the law concerning any linked third-party websites, the relevant links will be immediately removed.
(4) The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is not liable for the accuracy and content of information provided solely by Users in said Users’ registration or profile data. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft assumes no liability for the possible misuse of information by other Users or other third parties
8. Users’ Liability
If the User culpably violates these Terms of Use or legal obligations, said User is liable according to the statutory requirements.
9. Indemnification
(1) The User shall indemnify and hold harmless the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s employees/agents from and against any claims by third parties arising from any alleged or actual violations of the law and/or the infringement of third-party rights due to actions undertaken by the User in connection with the use of the user account.
(2) Furthermore, the User shall reimburse all costs incurred by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as a result of third-party claims. Reimbursable costs include, in particular, the costs of any appropriate legal defense incurred by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in defending itself against third-party claims.
10. Prohibition of Use
If there is a violation of these Terms of Use, the User will be requested to refrain from this behaviour. If the User does not comply with this request, the administrators of the learning platform may temporarily or permanently exclude said User from using the learning platform. There is no right to reinstatement. A prerequisite for reinstatement is, among other things, a written application with the assurance that the User will refrain from such abusive conduct in the future.
11. Special Obligations for the Handling of Personal Data
(1) As part of the courses you will have access to personal data, e.g. the names or forum entries of course participants. The User shall treat the data of other Users that is accessible to the User as well as personal data to which the User has access as strictly confidential and shall not pass any such data on to third parties without authorization. The only exception is if the person concerned (data subject) provides corresponding written consent.
(2) Special categories of personal data (e.g. patient data/health data) may only be entered into the system for a specific purpose in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR and other legal requirements with the express written and effective consent of the person concerned (data subject).
12. Changes to these Terms of Use
(1) Fraunhofer may amend or change provisions of these Terms of Use at any time with effect for the future, e.g. in the event of technical changes or adjustments to the offered content/functionality.
(2) The User is to be notified of any change or amendment/change by e-mail at least six weeks before said amendment/change takes effect, without Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft having to send the changed or amended Terms of Use in detail or the new version of the Terms of Use as a whole; it is sufficient to inform the User of the changes or amendments made. Fraunhofer shall include a link to the full text of the revised version of the Terms of Use in the announcement.
(3) Unless the User objects to the change or amendment within 30 days of notification of said change or amendment, the User’s silence is then deemed to constitute consent to the change or amendment; Fraunhofer shall make separate reference to this in the notification.
13. Final Provisions
(1) These Terms of Use are to be regarded as part of the online offer from which reference was made to this page. Should one or more provisions of these Terms of Use be or become invalid in whole or in part, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.
(2) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany exclusively governs these Terms of Use. |
