Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

1. Users of the Website www.innovons.be, are invited to read the Terms and Conditions which can be accessed via a hyperlink on the site's homepage. Users are advised to download or print them out and to retain a copy.

2. These Terms and Conditions of use apply to the whole Website and to the full range of services offered by it.

3. Using the Website implies full and complete acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of use as described hereinafter.

4. These Terms and Conditions of use are subject to modification or addition at any time and without prior warning. The use of the Website following any modifications implies that the User accepts them. Website users are therefore invited to refer to them regularly.

2. Website objectives

1. The Website is published and hosted by the company l'Agence de Stimulation Technologique (or "AST"), a public limited company listed in the Belgian Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises register under number 0882.706.037, with registered office at rue du Vertbois 13B, 4000 Liège.

2. AST undertakes the development of technological intermediation in the Walloon Region. Through the Website www.innovons.be, AST aims to offer Users simple, quick and improved access to online information relating to technological innovation in the Walloon Region.

3. AST also aims to allow players in technological innovation to create a file to track their progress in regard to technological intermediation. To that end, the Website includes a restricted access area nous.innovons.be, exclusively managed by and accessible to those players involved.

4. Considering the different types of information available on the website, AST has put in place security tools and access restrictions as described in these Terms and Conditions of use.

3. Definition of concepts used in these Terms and Conditions of use

In the context of these Terms and Conditions of use, terms beginning with a capital letter describe the following concepts:

Data: Information entered in a File by a Member, relating to the activity of that Member, or the Organisation represented by that Member, in regard to technological intermediation.
Personal Data: data of a personal nature as defined in the law of 8th December 1992 in relation to data protection.
File: file created by a Member in his/her own name or on behalf of an Organisation in the restricted area of the Website nous.innovons.be, and containing the Data of the Member or the Organisation.
Information: general concept encompassing all content published on the Website, including Data.
Member: User registered in the restricted area of the Website.
Operator: corporate body active within the framework of technological intermediation, whose aim is to provide help to players in technological innovation, either by offering a specific service, or by enabling the exchange of specific knowledge between different players in technological innovation.
Organisation: corporate body, whether a company or an Operator, registered by a Member in the restricted area of the Website.
Person Concerned: natural person of whom a User provides Personal Data when using the Website.
Intermediation Network: network linking different established Operators active in the Walloon Region.
Website: the internet site www.innovons.be in its entirety, including the restricted area nous.innovons.be.
User: any physical person using the Website.

4. Services offered by the Website

1. Public area of the Website

1.1. The public area, accessible without prior registration, contains Information of a general nature intended to allow Users to find technological expertise and information relevant to their needs. This Information is published by AST on the Website.

1.2. The Information found on the public area of the Website does not cover specific or personal situations and should not be treated as a source of legal, professional or personal advice by the User.

2. Restricted area of the Website: nous.innovons.be

2.1. The restricted area of the Website is only accessible to registered identified Users. Identified users are also given Member status on the Website and have access to the services offered via the restricted area of the Website.

2.2. Registration to the restricted area of the Website is only possible with the express acceptance of these Website Terms and Conditions of use.

2.3. Members, authorised by an Organisation, have the option of registering an Organisation in the restricted area of the Website. In this case the Member represents the Organisation concerned.
This Organisation will be:

A Partner Organisation (referred to as partner): in the most part intermediation organisations and company support structures. The list of partner organisations is limited and admission to this list is subject to assessment by the coordination committee of the community area "nous.innovons,be" and the signing of a partnership charter;
A Technology Cheque Provider Organisation (referred to as a TC provider): Research Centres authorised by the Walloon Region and Research Centres linked to higher education institutions. These are the only organisations authorised to provide companies with loans which can be subsidised through support from Technology Cheques. Therefore, there is a set list of TC providers;
An associated member Organisation (single, namely not a partner, not a TC provider, know as an associated member): all other organisations, typically businesses, university laboratories, etc.

2.4. When an Organisation is registered in the restricted area of the Website, a Member may request to be linked to it. This linking takes place following validation of the request by the Organisation concerned.

2.5. Depending on the nature of the organisation the member belongs to (see 2.3) a member can take on one of the following roles:

2.5.1. Roles available within a single organisation (associated member)

The User can be a:

Member: a member may only consult information on his/her organisation (and under no circumstances modify it) and public information on other organisations. He/She may not view services of benefit to his organisation or those which are provided by his organisation to benefit others.
TC Manager: Member rights + Ability to view services of benefit to his organisation and involvement in the management of technology cheques for his organisation.
Manager: TC manager rights + Management of information on the organisation and its members.

2.5.2. Roles available within a partner organisation

The user can be a:

Member: a member may only consult information on his/her organisation (and under no circumstances modify it) and public information on other organisations. He may not view services of benefit to his organisation.
Provider: Member rights + Ability to view all information in the community area (users, organisations, providers, etc.), on condition of course that the information is marked as public by the organisations concerned. Able to create and view services provided by his organisation to benefit others.
Manager: Provider rights + Management of information on the organisation and its members.

2.5.3. Roles available within a Technology Cheque provider organisation &orcirc;

The user can be a:

Member: a member may only consult information on his/her organisation (and under no circumstances modify it) and public information on other organisations. He may not view services of benefit to his organisation.
Provider: Member rights + Ability to view all information in the community area (users, organisations, providers, etc.), on condition of course that the information is marked as public by the organisations concerned. Able to create and view services provided by his organisation to benefit others and manage the "technology cheques" section if applicable.
Manager: Provider rights + Management of information on the organisation and its members.

2.5.4. Further information on the role of Manager

This role is crucial and it is awarded subject to set procedures.
In order to be a manager, a business key must be entered or be validated by a user with administration rights in the community area (know as an External Referrer) who can guarantee the legitimacy of the applicant. The business key can be issued via two channels: approval by a user with administration rights in the community area (know as an External Referrer) or a business key can be sent to a decision-maker in the organisation concerned.

2.5.5 Specific web roles

There are three roles restricted to a set list of users:

External Referrer: has the right to validate users applying to be managers of organisations;
TC manager of AST is the user in charge of managing all the processes of use and validation of Technology Cheques;
innovons.be webmaster: has control over all areas of the website.

2.6. A Member may, in his own name or on behalf of an Organisation to which he is linked and in line with the requirements listed hereinafter, create one or more Files, add to one or more Files by entering Data, and view the content of one or more Files.

2.7. A Member, acting in his own name or on behalf of an Organisation to which he is linked, may choose to make Data entered accessible to the whole Intermediation Network by clicking the appropriate button.

2.8. Without prejudice to article 2.7, Data entered by a Member not linked to an Organisation will only be visible to the Member concerned. Under any and all circumstances, and independent to the application of article 2.7, the Data entered and relative to a service provided by a Partner Organisation will also be visible by that Partner Organisation.

2.9. If Data relative to a service provided by a Partner Organisation is entered by that Partner Organisation in its File, it will only be accessible to the Intermediation Network subject to the agreement of the Member or Single Organisation benefitting from the service.

2.10. Data contained within the framework of the restricted area "nous.innovons.be" will only be used by AST for internal use, for example in the context of data mining.

3. Interactive areas

3.1. If interactive areas are made available to users, AST reserves the right to withdraw, without prior notice, any content in the area deemed inappropriate to Website objectives or which conflicts with Belgian legislation, and in particular legislation relevant to data protection.

3.2. AST also reserves the right, if applicable, to bring into question the civil and/or legal responsibility of the user, in particular in the event of messages of a racist, damaging or offensive nature regardless of the support used.

5. Content and functionality of the Website

1. AST reserves the right to make changes to Information, design and services provided by the Website without prior notice and with no implication of responsibility on its part.

2. AST makes every effort to ensure that information made available is complete, correct, exhaustive and up to date. Despite these efforts, errors may appear in information made available. In this event, the user is requested to contact the Webmaster via the "Contact" section, who will make the necessary changes to rectify the error.

6. Website User obligations

Any User of the Website agrees to:

a) not use the Website for illegal ends or to the detriment of the rights of AST or third parties, in particular, not use the site to circulate Information which is damaging or illegal, illicit, discriminatory or offensive to AST or third parties.

b) not interfere with access to the Website, nor access the IT systems of AST, nor modify the Website, nor use the Website to spread computer viruses, hacking attacks, worms, etc. or commit any act which could be deemed as a IT offences.

c) respect these Terms and Conditions of use and to use the site in accordance with the "Netiquette" guidelines which can be found at http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855

7. Responsibility

1. Interruption to service: AST makes every effort to avoid wherever possible interruptions caused by technical problems. However, AST cannot guarantee that the Website will be completely free of interruptions nor that it will be unaffected by technical problems. Furthermore, AST reserves the right to interrupt the service for any reason whatsoever, without justification. Under any and all circumstances, AST is not responsible for any damage direct or indirect, caused by their actions or omission or not, and resulting in the site being unavailable or the service(s) being interrupted.

2. Website content: AST cannot provide any guarantee in regard to the accuracy, comprehensiveness, or timeliness of Information which is available on the Website or which is exchanged on it. Consequently, AST cannot be held responsible for damages, direct or indirect, resulting from the use of the Website or from Information available on it. AST expressly rejects any responsibility for the decisions or actions a User may have taken or undertaken on the strength of information available on the Website.

3. Links to other Internet sites: AST rejects any responsibility for damages, direct or indirect, resulting from the consultation or use of information made available on other Internet sites linked to the Website.

4. System use: AST rejects all responsibility in the event of direct or indirect prejudice, caused or not by their actions or omission and deriving from the use of the system, including damage to computers, software or data by any virus which may have been transmitted or activated through the system or by the simple fact that the User visited the Website. Furthermore, AST cannot guarantee that the Website and the services offered are compatible with the User's IT equipment.

5. Registration of an Organisation by a Member: AST rejects all responsibility in the event of an Organisation being registered by a non-authorised Member.

8. Privacy protection for Users of the Website

1. AST attaches a great deal of importance to the privacy of Users. Even though the majority of Information is made available on the Website, both in the public and private areas, without the need to provide Personal Data, it is possible that this type of data may be requested from Users. A User may also be asked to provide Personal Data by another Person Concerned. In this case, the data is treated in accordance with the provision of the law of 8th December 1991 in regard to data protection.

2. AST retains the following Personal Data when the Website is accessed by a User:

IP address:
all other Personal Data provided by the User.

3. Personal Data is used by AST to allow Members and Organisations to create, update and use their File. Personal Data is only intended for internal use and is not provided to other organisations for commercial purposes.

4. The User, in addition to any Person Concerned, has access to all Personal Data about him/herself held by AST. The User, in addition to any Person Concerned, also has the right to modify, add to or block Personal Data about him/herself. This right can be exercised by sending an e-mail via the "Contact" area of the Website, or sending a letter by post to AST, Rue du Vertbois 13B à 4000 Liège.

5. When a User provides AST with Personal Data relating to another Person Concerned, AST will provide the latter from the time of registration of Personal Data with the following information:

a) his/her name and address;
b) the reason for processing Personal Data;

6. When the User visits the Website for the first time, AST invites him/her to make certain choices relating to the appearance or use of the Website. To do this, AST uses cookies, that is small files sent by its Internet server, which are registered on the hard drive of the User's computer. This file keeps track of the site visited and contains a certain amount of information on the visit to prevent the User receiving the same messages over and over again and to adapt the content and appearance of the Website to his/her type of browser or other information that it sends. If the User does not wish to use these cookies, he/she can simply click on the icon which appears next to the message "do not remember this information in a cookie" when visiting the Website for the first time.

9. Website protection

1. Unless otherwise stated, the content and appearance of the Website (text, lay-out, graphics, logos, etc.), company name, brands and its other integral elements are protected by the intellectual property rights of AST. Any reproduction or public communication by any means whatsoever, any adaptation, translation, processing or use, even partial, of the content of the website is prohibited without prior written consent from AST.

2. AST authorises the User to create a hypertext link between their own website and this Website, on the condition that the link is directed to the homepage and uses the following source: www.innovons.be.

10. Penalties in the event of non-compliance with these Terms and Conditions of use of the Website

1. When a User does not comply with these terms and conditions of use or carries out an illegal operation on the Website, AST reserves the right to ban him/her and immediately block access to the Website of the User without prior notice and to claim damages and compensation.

2. AST also reserves the right to cancel and/or immediately and without prior notice delete Information communicated by that User without the latter having any right to compensation.

11. Problems and complaints

All requests for information or complaints relating to the services provided by AST through the Website can be addressed to AST, Rue du Vertbois 13B, 4000 Liège, or to the e-mail address given in the "Contact" area of the Website.

12. Miscellaneous

1. Failure by AST to take action, at one time or another, in regard to any of the provisions of these general terms and conditions of use may not be interpreted as AST relinquishing the option of taking action in the future.

2. In the event of one of the terms and conditions of use being deemed to be null and void, it will be deemed not to exist, without affecting the validity of the other provisions, except where the provision declared to be null and void was essential and decisive.

13. Applicable law and jurisdiction

1. All disputes relating to the validity, interpretation, poor interpretation or breach of rights and requirements linked to the use of the website are subject to Belgian legislation.

2. A printed copy of these terms and conditions of use and any disclaimer in electronic format will be accepted in all legal or administrative proceedings or in regard to these terms and conditions of use

3. Disputes are exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Liege courts.