Terms of use of the Blue Komune platform

You will find below the terms of use of the Blue Komune platform, which you must accept without reservation in order to finalise the creation of your user account on this platform. If you have any questions about these terms of use, you can contact the platform publisher (i.e. Wafelcrop SAS) by email at contact@bluekomune.org.

These conditions were last updated on 8 September 2023.

1 – Definitions

In these Terms of Use, the following terms and expressions have the following definitions:

  • “Platform” means the Blue Komune platform, accessible under the domain name bluekomune.org ;
  • “Publisher” means the company Wafelcrop SAS, whose identity and contact details are set out in greater detail in Article 2 hereof;
  • “User” means a user (natural person) who has completed the registration process on the Platform and who has a User Account and a Profile;
  • “Profile” refers to all the elements making up a User’s profile, as entered by the User him/herself in the “My Profile” section of the Platform;
  • “Listed Profile” means a profile created by the Publisher itself, relating to an individual who is not a User of the Platform;
  • “Organisation Profile” means a profile relating to a legal entity (company, association, foundation, etc.), created by the Publisher itself at the request of a User or otherwise;
  • “User Account (or “User Account“) refers to the right to access and use the Platform granted to a User at the end of the registration process, evidenced by a unique combination of identifiers;
  • “Action” refers to an action created and/or managed by a User or group of Users and referenced in the “Actions” section of the Platform;
  • “Knowledge” refers to an information resource published on a third-party website and referenced in the “Knowledge” section of the Platform;
  • “Messaging” refers to the Platform’s interpersonal messaging functions, which enable Users to send and receive messages to and from other Users;
  • “User Content” (or “Content“) means any content uploaded to the Platform by a User, including, for example, the elements constituting a User Profile, an Action or a Knowledge, and messages exchanged via Messaging.

2 – Legal notice

The publisher of the Platform is Wafelcrop SAS, a simplified joint stock company with a share capital of €1,500.00 registered with the Toulon Trade and Companies Register (SIREN no.: 917599581; intra-community VAT no.: FR59917599581), whose registered office is located at 31, rue Chevalier Paul in Toulon (83000).

The Platform’s publication director is the Chairman of Wafelcrop SAS. The Platform’s host is Strapi Solutions SAS, a company domiciled at 128, rue la Boétie in Paris (75008).

The single point of contact for any question or claim, for Users as well as for any authority, can be contacted in English or French by email at contact@bluekomune.org.

3 – General description of the Platform and its functions

The Platform is an online platform within the meaning of Article L. 111-7 of the French Consumer Code enabling Users to exchange content and make contact for the purpose of engaging in actions relating to the protection of the ocean.

The purpose of the Platform is therefore to protect the ocean; the Publisher reserves the right to prohibit and moderate, in accordance with these terms and conditions, any User Content that is clearly unrelated to this purpose.

The functionalities of the Platform accessible to the User once he has logged into his User Account include in particular :

  • A User Account and Profile management module (“My Profile” section), enabling Users to change their User Account password and Profile details;
  • A “Knowledge” module enabling Users to submit Knowledge, to consult the list of Knowledge referenced to date on the Platform and to access third-party sites containing the full version of each Knowledge respectively, it being specified that only the metadata of the Knowledge is accessible on the Platform itself;
  • An “Actors” module enabling Users to consult Profiles of other Users, Listed Profiles and Profiles of Organisations;
  • An “Actions” module enabling Users to create Actions, view Actions created by other Users and, where applicable, join an Action and the discussion group linked to an Action;
  • An interpersonal messaging module enabling Users to exchange messages relating to the purpose of the Platform.

The Publisher reserves the discretionary right to add, modify or delete features of the Platform at any time and without obligation to notify Users.

‍4 – User account management

4.1 – Creating and managing a User Account

The User Account is created on the basis of the information provided by the User when registering. This information may be modified at a later date via the “My Profile” section of the Platform, with the exception of the email address used as the User Account identifier.

The Publisher undertakes to update the information as soon as possible after it has been modified by the User, without any obligation to achieve a specific deadline.

Concerning the creation of organisation profiles: the User may request the creation of an organisation profile (legal entity) by the Publisher at the time of registration; if the Publisher accepts, it will proceed with the creation of the organisation profile, which will appear in the “Actors” section, on the basis of publicly available information concerning the organisation in question.

4.2 – Deletion of the User Account

The User may request the deletion of his/her User Account at any time by sending an email to this effect to contact@bluekomune.org; deletion will be carried out manually as soon as possible, without any obligation to achieve a specific deadline.

Once deleted, the User will lose the right to access and use the Platform linked to the User Account, and will have to create a new User Account if they wish to start using the Platform again; subject to the principles and rights detailed in the Privacy Policy, the Publisher may if it wishes, but will not be obliged to, keep the data linked to the old User Account once it has been deleted.

4.3 – Special cases: invitations and profiles created by the Publisher (“listed” profiles)

The User may use the “Invite” function to send an email to a third party containing an invitation to join the Platform. This feature appears in particular on profiles created by the Publisher itself, marked as “Listed”; these profiles correspond to people who are not, as yet, registered on the Platform.

If a profile relating to you appears as “Listed” or you have received an invitation to join the Platform and you would like to know more about how the Platform Editor processes your personal data in this context, please consult our Privacy Policy.

‍5 – Principles and procedures for moderating User Content

This article describes the rules governing the moderation of User Content by the Publisher, in accordance with article L. 111-7 of the French Consumer Code and article 14 of the European Union regulation on digital services.

The User Content appearing on the Platform is, by definition, provided by the Users, with the Publisher’s role and function with regard to them being solely that of host within the meaning of article 3, g), iii) of the regulation on digital services.

Without prejudice to the foregoing:

  • The Publisher carries out a priori moderation of the Knowledge proposed by Users, i.e. the Publisher will examine each proposal for Knowledge before it is referenced, on the basis of the information provided by the User in his referencing proposal.
  • Profiles and Actions, on the other hand, are not subject to any prior moderation.
  • All User Content is moderated a posteriori, i.e. the Editor will moderate it on the basis of reports received from other Users, authorities or third parties, or as part of spontaneous checks carried out by the Editor.
  • Within the framework of these moderation powers, the Editor may decide to unpublish Content which it considers to be contrary to these terms of use (or, within the framework of the a priori moderation of Knowledge, not to reference the Knowledge proposed by the User).
  • The Editor will inform the User who is the author of the Content and, where applicable, the User who is the author of the warning, of its decision by e-mail to the e-mail address associated with the User Account, so that the User(s) concerned can express his/her/their observations if he/she/they so wish.
  • In order to make its moderation decisions, the Editor will rely, in particular, on information relating to the Content concerned on the Platform, on information brought to its attention by the authors of Content and the authors of alerts, and, where applicable, on information available on other websites (in particular with regard to Knowledge).
  • All moderation decisions are taken by a human agent under the direct control of the Publisher.

In order to determine whether Content should be unpublished or not referenced, the Publisher will rely in particular on the following moderation principles:

  • The Content must be relevant to the purpose of the Platform, i.e. to protect the ocean.
  • The Content must comply with applicable laws and regulations; in particular, all Content that is abusive, defamatory, infringing or constitutes any offence under French criminal law is prohibited.
  • Content that is hateful, pornographic, discriminatory or that promotes violence, as well as content with a commercial purpose, is also prohibited.
  • Content of a controversial nature is authorised subject to the principle of proportionality with regard to the purpose of the Platform and subject to the good faith of its author, who may provide evidence of this as part of the adversarial moderation procedure described above.

The Publisher may not be required to unpublish or refuse to publish Content solely because it has been reported as erroneous or questionable from a scientific point of view.

In the event that moderation reveals one or more serious and/or repeated breaches by a User, the Publisher may suspend or block that User’s Account in accordance with article 7 below.

How to report Content so that the Editor can check it and, if necessary, remove it from the site Write to contact@bluekomune.org specifying the URL of the page where the Content appears, the location of the Content on the page and the reasons why you think this Content should be removed from the site. We will examine your report as soon as possible and keep you informed of its processing as explained above.

‍6 – Financial conditions

Registration on and use of the Platform is free of charge for the User.

In the event that consulting the content of a piece of Knowledge on the third-party site where it is published or taking part in an action requires the User to make a payment to another User or any other third party, the User undertakes to make this payment himself; the Publisher shall under no circumstances be required to pay or advance the corresponding costs on behalf of the User.

‍7 – Obligations of the User – Penalties in the event of breach of these conditions of use

The User undertakes to :

  • Only upload Content to the Platform that is sincere, accurate and lawful – in particular, any behaviour and/or Content constituting identity theft, harassment, defamation, insult, invasion of privacy or counterfeiting is prohibited;
  • Ensure the confidentiality of User Account identifiers and, in the event that they suspect that these identifiers have been compromised, immediately inform the Publisher and modify these identifiers;
  • Check the content of the third-party sites to which it points via the Content it uploads to the Platform, and in particular the compliance of the content of these third-party sites with the applicable laws and regulations and with these Terms of Use;
  • Where applicable, obtain the necessary authorisations to reference the Knowledge it offers on the Platform;
  • Refrain from any action likely to compromise the security of the information systems of the Publisher, the Platform host and/or another User;
  • Only report Content in good faith, and in each case by providing serious and detailed information justifying the report.

In addition, the User guarantees that he/she has all the rights and authorisations required to register on the Platform and use its various functions; in particular, the User guarantees that he/she has all the rights and authorisations required to upload and publish on the Platform the Content that he/she uploads/publishes there. With regard to the Knowledge it proposes to reference on the Platform, the User guarantees that this referencing can be carried out by the Publisher without infringing the rights of any third party.

In the event of a breach by the User of these terms of use, including in particular the obligations and guarantees stipulated above, the Publisher may, without prejudice to the principles of moderation of User Content described in article 5, either (i) suspend the User’s Account for a specified period, or (ii) block or permanently delete the User’s Account.

The Publisher will inform the User concerned of the implementation of such measures by sending an email to the email address linked to the User’s Account concerned; if the User considers that the measure is unjustified or disproportionate, it is up to the User to make a complaint in accordance with article 9.1 hereof.

8 – Obligations and liability of the Publisher

The Publisher undertakes to use commercially reasonable means to ensure the availability and proper general operation of the Platform, without however guaranteeing that the Platform will be available at all times and entirely free from malfunctions.

The Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy of the information available on the Platform insofar as such information is provided by Users and/or collected from third-party sources. If you believe that any information published on the Platform is inaccurate or not up to date, please send an email to contact@bluekomune.org so that we can carry out the appropriate checks.

The Publisher shall not be responsible for the implementation of the Actions, and shall not be required to participate in any Action or (subject to the moderation procedures set out above) to intervene in the implementation of any Action. The Actions are implemented under the sole responsibility of the Users who organise and/or participate in them.

9 – Intellectual property

The Platform, its appearance, architecture and content, with the exception of User Content appearing thereon, are the exclusive property of the Publisher (or, where applicable, of third parties having duly authorised the Publisher to use them). The present terms and conditions may not be interpreted as transferring any right whatsoever over these elements to the User.

The User hereby grants the Publisher a licence to use and exploit all Content uploaded and/or published on the Platform. This licence is non-exclusive, free of charge and applies to all countries and territories in which the Platform is published or from which it is accessible, and for the entire duration of the rights relating to the Content in question; it includes the right for the Publisher to authorise any third party of its choice to reproduce or represent this Content, to the extent it deems necessary for the proper functioning and operation of the Platform.

10 – Claims and disputes

10.1 – Complaints

Any complaint relating to these terms and conditions or to the Platform must be addressed to the Publisher, in French or English, using the e-mail address contact@bluekomune.org.

The Publisher shall have no obligation whatsoever with regard to the time taken to process any complaint addressed to it in a manner other than that set out in the paragraph above.

10.2 – Applicable law and competent court in the event of a dispute

This article applies only when the User is a resident or citizen of a country other than France, or is located in such a country.

Any dispute relating to the existence, validity, interpretation, performance and/or termination of these terms and conditions of use shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Paris, notwithstanding the possibility of third-party proceedings and/or multiple defendants, and shall be settled by application of French law.

10.3 – Special conditions for consumer Users

This article 10.3 applies if, and only if, the User is a consumer within the meaning of the French Consumer Code, i.e. if he/she uses the Platform for purposes that do not fall within the scope of his/her commercial, industrial, craft, liberal or agricultural activity.

In accordance with article L. 612-1 of the French Consumer Code, the User may, in the event of a dispute relating to the Platform or to these Terms of Use, have recourse to the consumer mediation service chosen by the Publisher, whose contact details will be provided by the Publisher on request. This procedure is free of charge for the User, with the exception of the cost of any legal advice the User may choose to seek.

11 – Entry into force, duration and modification

These conditions of use come into force for each User when their User Account is created, and remain in force for as long as the User Account exists. The Publisher may modify the conditions of use at any time; it will inform Users who, in order to continue to use the Platform, must accept the new conditions when they first connect to the Platform following publication of the new conditions of use.