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Legal Texts

Terms of Use and License

1 - Use Of EM-DAT Database Data and Derived Products

UCLouvain 2023

If you are an academic organization, a university, a non-profit research institution or an international public organization (UN agencies, multi-lateral banks, other multi-lateral institutions, and national governments) or part of a media agency (journalist, or press agency) with the intention to use the EM-DAT database (hereafter EM-DAT) for research, teaching or information purposes, you shall, conditional upon the acceptance of the present conditions of use, be granted free access to EM-DAT (see also Authorized Use).

Users of EM-DAT declare that they will not (see also Unauthorized Use)

  • Reproduce, copy, communicate, lend, or otherwise distribute EM-DAT or a substantial part of EM-DAT.

  • Reverse assemble, decompile, decompose, or disassemble EM-DAT.

  • Create substitute or derivative databases of EM-DAT.

  • Attempt to unlock or bypass any initialization or security systems used by EM-DAT.

  • Share, use or transmit any portion of EM-DAT via the Internet to unauthorized users.

  • Divulge the password to unauthorized users.

  • Remove, alter or obscure any proprietary legend, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right notice, logo, and image in or on EM-DAT.

  • Perform acts that conflict with the normal exploitation of EM-DAT or unreasonably prejudice the interest of the Licensor.

  • Make Commercial Use of EM-DAT, except in the event such users enter into a separate Database License Agreement, described hereafter.

If you are an entity (which may include a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, law firm, or other business organization) that is not an academic organization, university, non-profit research institution, or an international public organization (UN agencies, multi-lateral banks, other multi-lateral institutions, and national governments), the use of EM-DAT shall be considered to be Commercial Use. More precisely, this means the use of EM-DAT for a commercial purpose rather than for a public, non-profit, or educational purpose. A commercial purpose is considered when: the use of EM-DAT for, among others, sale, lease or license or the use of EM-DAT to perform contract research, to produce or to manufacture products for sale purposes, or to conduct research activities that result in any sale, lease, license, or transfer of EM-DAT to any organization. Except if agreed upon in a separate Database License Agreement, EM-DAT (including its data and derivate products) cannot be used for any commercial purpose.

In cases of Commercial Use, the user shall send a prior written request to Ms. Regina BELOW, EM-DAT data manager – regina.below@uclouvain.be (hereinafter “the Database Manager”) describing the aim of such Commercial Use and the number of users needing access to such data. Access shall be granted to EM-DAT upon proof of payment of the corresponding annual fee, as agreed in a separate Database License Agreement.

General Terms and Conditions

  • Access to EM-DAT shall be granted as of the moment the user agrees to it by clicking on the “I agree” button.

  • All published papers and technical reports from the EM-DAT Database owner related to EM-DAT may be used free of charge by the user, provided the user uses Proper Citation. Proper Citation of both EM-DAT and data obtained through EM-DAT is the responsibility of the user alone. “Proper Citation” of EM-DAT means:

“EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium – www.emdat.be”

  • Certain personal data may be collected and processed via our site in order to provide access to EM-DAT, for example, through the registration form. The collected personal data shall be used exclusively for the purpose indicated above, in accordance with the Belgian Law of July 30, 2018, on the protection of privacy in relation to the processing of personal data (as amended and the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of April 27, 2016, of the European Parliament and the Council Concerning the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46 / EC (General Data Protection Regulation)).

  • The CRED makes every effort to ensure, but cannot and does not guarantee, and makes no warranties as to, the accuracy, accessibility, integrity, and timeliness of this information. The CRED assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of this site and further disclaims any liability of any nature for any loss, howsoever caused, in connection with using EM-DAT. The CRED may make changes to EM-DAT at any time without notice. If you are undertaking an in-depth analysis, we recommend that you consult our staff to obtain a good understanding of the weaknesses, limitations, and peculiarities of our data;

  • Any use that causes unjustified damage to the legitimate interests of CRED – UCLouvain is strictly forbidden. The same applies to the use with the aim of creating a tool in competition with EM-DAT;

  • CRED reserves the right to restrict access by any user who contravenes these conditions of use.

2 - Database License Agreement (Commercial Use)

UCLouvain 2023

This Database License Agreement (the Agreement) is made between yourself (the Licensee) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), a Belgian University with its registered office located at Place de l’Université, 1, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, acting through its Research Group “Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters” or CRED (the Licensor).

WHEREAS the Licensor has developed the EM-DAT database (hereinafter the Database) made available on the internet subject to its conditions of use;

WHEREAS the Database aims at providing an objective basis for impact and vulnerability assessment and rational decision-making in disaster situations by collecting, organizing, and giving access to validated data on the human impact of disasters (such as the number of people killed, injured, or affected), and the disaster-related economic damage estimates;

The Licensor wishes to lay down the conditions enabling the Licensee to use the Database for Commercial Purposes.

Article 1: Ownership of the Database

The Licensor guarantees to be the owner of all intellectual property rights related to the Database, including all copyrights, and to determine the content of the Database. The Licensor shall, at all times, have the right amongst other decisions, without any prior notice or motivation, to (i) modify the data disclosed, (ii) disclose other data, (iii) suspend the availability of the Database for maintenance or any other purposes, (iv) decide to cease making available such Database. The Licensor shall notify the Licensee of any amendment that might have a consequence on the access rights of the Licensee by email at the Licensee’s email address.

Article 2: License Conditions of the Database

2.1. Subject to the terms set forth in this Agreement and conditional upon the payment of a license fee, the Licensor agrees to make available to the Licensee the data contained in the Database for Use as detailed in article 2.2 of this Agreement. For the sake of clarity, the Licensee shall be an entity (which may include a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, law firm, or other business organization) that is not an academic organization, a university, a non-profit research institution, or an international public organization (UN agencies, multi-lateral banks, other multi-lateral institution, or national governments).

2.2. Use means that the Licensor grants to the Licensee a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the Database for internal purposes by the Licensee’s direct employees. The Licensee shall not have the right to sell, assign, transfer, rent, lease, sublicense, lend, give, or make available to others or otherwise transfer or dispose of the Database in its present form or as converted or modified by Licensee or Licensor, or make the Database available in any manner for use by any subsidiary establishment of Licensee or by any other person, or firm, or customer.

Except if explicitly agreed upon by the Licensor, the Licensee shall not reverse, decompile, disassemble or otherwise reverse engineer the whole or part of the Database nor modify, adapt or translate the Database in any way nor merge the whole or part of the Database with any other Database.

2.3. The Licensee acknowledges that, except for the use rights granted in this article 2, no intellectual or any other proprietary right are granted, transferred, or assigned through this Agreement. All intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyrights, trademark rights, and database rights, used or embodied in or in connection with the Database are and remain entirely with the Licensor.

2.4. Access to the Database. Upon completion of the registration information on www.emdat.be, acceptance of the present Database License Agreement, and payment of the license fee (article 4 of this Agreement), the Licensor shall provide the Licensee with a password for internet access to the Database. Data transmission and computer link to the Database through the internet shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the Licensee.

Article 3: Personal Data

The Licensee agrees that certain personal data may be collected and processed via our site, for example, through the registration form to be completed, in order to provide access to the Database. The collected personal data shall be used exclusively for the purpose indicated above. Licensor undertakes to process such data in accordance with the Belgian Law of July 30, 2018, on the protection of privacy in relation to the processing of personal data, as amended and the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of April 27, 2016, of the European Parliament and the Council Concerning the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46 / EC (General Data Protection Regulation) The legal texts can be consulted on the website of the Commission for the Protection of Privacy (statbel.fgov.be/en/about-statbel/privacy/privacy-gdpr).

The data collected is neither transferred nor transmitted to any other organization. However, the Licensor reserves the right to disclose information and personal data at the request of a legal authority in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.

Article 4: Fees

In exchange for the Commercial Use of the Database, the Licensee shall pay an annual fee equal to the amount of 6.000,00 EUR (TVA not included).

The Database shall be available upon proof of payment of the corresponding fee.

Article 5: Warranty and Liability

5.1. Warranty. The data contained in the Database are given for information purposes only and do not constitute any form of advice, recommendation, representation, or endorsement. The Licensor disclaims all warranties and/or conditions of any kind, expressed or implied, in respect of the functions, performances, completeness, or accuracy of the Database. Licensor does not guarantee that the functions or performances of the Database will meet the Licensee’s requirements, that the operation of the Database will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that any defects in the Database will be corrected. The Licensor shall have no obligation to repair or replace the Database under any circumstances.

The Licensor makes every effort to ensure, but cannot and does not guarantee, and makes no warranties as to, the accuracy, accessibility, integrity, and timeliness of this information. The Licensor assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of this site and further disclaims any liability of any nature for any loss, howsoever caused, in connection with using the Database. The Licensor may make changes to the Database at any time without notice. If you are undertaking in-depth analyses, we recommend that you consult our staff to obtain a good understanding of the weaknesses, limitations, and peculiarities of our data;

5.2. Liability. The Licensor shall in no event be liable for any business decision taken by the Licensee based on the data made available through the Database. The entire risk arising out of the use of the Database remains with the Licensee. Under no circumstances, including claims of negligence, shall the Licensor be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, interruption of business activity, loss of business information, or other monetary loss) arising out of the use or inability to use the Database. More in particular, since the use of and access to the Database depends, in part, on third parties (e.g., telecommunications carriers) whose performance is outside Licensor’s control, the Licensor disclaims all liability for damages arising from the failure of the transmission or receipt of data.

The entire risk arising out of the possible reproduction and distribution of the Database remains with the Licensee.

Article 6: Citation

The Licensee agrees to use Proper Citation of the Database in all public use of the Database or its data. All published papers and technical reports from the Licensor related to the Database may be used free of charge by the Licensee, provided the Licensee uses Proper Citation. Proper Citation of both the Database and data obtained through the Database is the responsibility of the Licensee alone. “Proper Citation” of the Database means:

“EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium – www.emdat.be”

Article 7: Duration of the Agreement

7.1. Term. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date upon which payment of the license fee has been received by the Licensor (the Effective Date) for a definite term of one (1) year counting as from such Effective Date.

7.2. Termination. The Agreement shall automatically terminate at its termination date.

The Agreement shall automatically terminate, without any compensation due, in case the Licensor no longer provides access to the Database or ceases its activities. The Licensor shall notify the Licensee of such termination with no undue delay at the Licensee’s email address.

Without prejudice to any other rights and remedies.

Under this Agreement or at law, the Licensor may have to claim compensation for damages incurred; the Licensor shall have the right to terminate the Agreement immediately without any prior notification in case of breach of use by the Licensee. In such case, the Licensee shall no longer have access to the Database and shall be notified hereof at the moment of the first login after termination.

7.3. Consequences of termination. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Licensee will cease and desist from all use of the Database and will uninstall, remove and destroy all copies of the Database in the Licensee’s possession or control, including any modified or merged portions thereof, in any form, and execute and deliver evidence of such actions to the Licensor. The Licensee shall remain bound by those provisions of the Agreement which, by their terms, extend beyond the date of termination.

Article 8: Miscellaneous

8.1. Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any of the Licensee’s rights hereunder shall be assigned, sublicensed, or transferred (in insolvency proceedings, by mergers, acquisitions, or otherwise) by the Licensee without the previous written consent of the Licensor. Any assignment or other transfer which is inconsistent with the foregoing shall be null and void ab initio.

8.2. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes all previous agreements, arrangements, or undertakings between Licensor and Licensee relating to its subject matter and any representations or warranties previously given or made to it, if any.

8.3. Failure or neglect of the Licensor to enforce any provision of this Agreement at any time shall not be construed or deemed to be a waiver of its rights and shall not in any way affect the validity of this Agreement or any of its provisions nor prejudice the Licensor’s right to take subsequent action.

8.4. In the event that any provision of this Agreement is deemed by any competent authority having jurisdiction to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable to any extent, that provision shall, to that extent, only be severed from the remaining provisions, which shall continue to be valid.

8.5. Jurisdiction venue. In the event of any dispute arising out of or in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement, the Parties shall first endeavor to resolve such dispute amicably within thirty (30) days after the date of the notification by one Party of such dispute to the other Party. Should the Parties fail to do so, then such dispute shall be subject to Belgian law except its conflicts of law rules and the competent courts of Brussels.