Terms of Service

Open Engineering Knowledge SLU
Last updated: October 29, 2025
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of Open Engineering Knowledge (“Open EK”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) and the website https://openek.net (the “Website”).
By creating an account, accessing the Website, or using any of our services, you agree to these Terms.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Website.

About Open EK
Open EK is an open-access digital ecosystem where engineers, researchers, and technical professionals can:
⦁ Access open engineering knowledge
⦁ Create profiles and showcase expertise
⦁ Publish and share technical content
⦁ Collaborate and connect with others
⦁ Participate in community discussions and activities

Open EK is operated by:
Open Engineering Knowledge SLU
CIF: B16416661
C/ Alfredo Marquerie nº5, 7ºB
28034 Madrid, Spain
Email: info@openek.net
Eligibility

To use Open EK, you must:
⦁ Be at least 16 years old (or the age of digital consent in your country).
⦁ Have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.
⦁ Provide accurate and truthful registration information.
If you use the Website on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to do so.

User Accounts
You may need to register an account to access certain features (profiles, contributions, collaboration spaces).
You agree to:
⦁ Keep your login credentials confidential
⦁ Provide accurate profile information
⦁ Not impersonate others
⦁ Not create fake or automated accounts
We may suspend or delete accounts that violate these Terms or applicable laws.

User Content
Users may upload or publish various types of content, including:
⦁ Technical documents
⦁ Engineering analyses
⦁ Spreadsheets, formulas, code
⦁ Case studies
⦁ Academic materials
⦁ Comments and feedback
⦁ Metadata and descriptive text
By submitting content to Open EK (“User Content”), you:

4.1 Own your work
You retain full copyright over your content.

4.2 Choose a Creative Commons license
When publishing content, you must select a Creative Commons (CC) license, which determines how others may use your work.
Examples include:
⦁ CC0
⦁ CC BY
⦁ CC BY-SA
⦁ CC BY-NC
⦁ CC BY-ND
Your selected license governs all reuse of your content by Open EK and by other users.

4.3 Grant Open EK a hosting and distribution license
You grant Open EK a worldwide, non-exclusive license to:
⦁ Host, store, index, display, and distribute your content
⦁ Make it accessible to the public
⦁ Maintain archived or cached versions
⦁ Syndicate content across Open EK services
This is necessary for the Website to function.

4.4 Responsibility for content
You are solely responsible for ensuring that your content:
⦁ Does not violate third-party rights (copyright, confidentiality, data protection)
⦁ Does not contain personal data of others without authorization
⦁ Is lawful and respectful
⦁ Is accurate to the best of your knowledge
Open EK is not responsible for reviewing or validating user content.
Public Nature of Content
All contributions uploaded to Open EK are publicly accessible and may be indexed by search engines.
If you include personal data in your contributions, that data becomes public.
You should only upload content you are comfortable sharing openly.
Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:
⦁ Upload unlawful, defamatory, or threatening content
⦁ Upload content that infringes intellectual property rights
⦁ Impersonate another person or entity
⦁ Upload malware or malicious code
⦁ Attempt to gain unauthorized access to systems
⦁ Harass, abuse, or harm other users
⦁ Circumvent security measures
⦁ Use the platform for advertising unrelated to engineering
Violations may lead to account suspension or termination.
Platform Rights
To maintain a safe and reliable environment, Open EK may:
⦁ Remove or restrict content that violates these Terms
⦁ Suspend or terminate accounts
⦁ Modify or update site features
⦁ Undertake maintenance that may temporarily affect availability
⦁ Store archived versions of User Content
We aim to do so responsibly and transparently.

Intellectual Property (Open EK)
Unless otherwise indicated:
⦁ The Open EK brand, logo, design, platform, software, and website structure are owned by Open Engineering Knowledge SLU
⦁ They are protected under intellectual property law
⦁ Users may not copy, replicate, or exploit them without permission
This does not apply to user-generated content, which remains the property of its creators.
Liability Disclaimer
Open EK is provided “as is” and “as available”.
We do not guarantee:
⦁ uninterrupted access
⦁ error-free operation
⦁ accuracy or reliability of user-generated content
⦁ compatibility with all devices or browsers
We are not liable for:
⦁ loss of data
⦁ damages from reliance on user content
⦁ external cyberattacks
⦁ misuse of the Website by users
⦁ any damages arising from content uploaded by others
However, we take reasonable security and organizational measures to protect our users and services.

External Links
The Website may link to third-party websites.
We are not responsible for their content, security, or privacy practices.
Access to external sites is at your own risk.

Account Deletion
You may request account deletion at any time.

Upon deletion:
⦁ Personal data not required by law will be erased or anonymized
⦁ Public contributions made under a Creative Commons license will remain online, in accordance with the license terms
⦁ This preserves the integrity of the ecosystem and the legal rights of users who reuse your content
Privacy and Data Protection
Your personal data is processed according to our Privacy Policy, which complies with GDPR and Spanish Law 3/2018 (LOPDGDD).
Please review the Privacy Policy to understand:
⦁ what data we collect
⦁ how we use it
⦁ your rights as a user
⦁ how to exercise those rights
Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms to reflect changes in:
⦁ legal requirements
⦁ functionalities
⦁ services
⦁ operational needs
Updates will be published on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.
Continued use of the Website after such changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by Spanish law.
Any dispute will be submitted to the courts of Madrid (Spain), unless otherwise required by applicable consumer protection regulations.

Contact
For questions regarding these Terms, please contact:
Open Engineering Knowledge SLU
C/ Alfredo Marquerie nº5, 7ºB
28034 Madrid
Spain
Email: info@openek.net