Terms of Use

The rules that apply to anyone using Knowledge Commons — visitors, registered users, and partner organisations alike. We have tried to write them in plain language.

Effective from: 12 January 2026

Version: 3.1

1. Introduction

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern access to and use of the Knowledge Commons platform operated by Knowledge Commons e.V. ("we", "us"), a registered non-profit association based in Berlin, Germany. By using the platform you agree to these Terms.

If you are using Knowledge Commons solely to read or search publicly available materials, the most important sections for you are §§ 3 (Use of materials) and § 6 (Acceptable use).

2. Definitions

Platform: The Knowledge Commons website, search interface, APIs, and any related services.
Materials: Any content hosted on the platform — including publications, articles, audio, video, datasets, and metadata.
Partner organisation: A civil society organisation that has signed a partnership agreement to deposit materials.
Visitor: Anyone who accesses the platform without a registered account.
Registered user: An individual with an account, typically affiliated with a partner organisation.

3. Use of materials

Each item on the platform displays the licence under which it is published — typically a Creative Commons licence. You must comply with that licence when reusing or redistributing the material.

Bulk download of the full archive, scraping the search interface, or training commercial machine-learning models on platform content without an explicit agreement is not permitted. We provide a documented API for legitimate bulk access.

4. Accounts and partner organisations

Accounts are created for representatives of partner organisations as part of an onboarding process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials.

5. Depositing materials

By depositing materials you confirm that you hold the necessary rights, that informed consent has been obtained from any individuals depicted or interviewed, and that the materials do not infringe the rights of third parties.

6. Acceptable use

You may not use the platform to:

Distribute material that infringes copyright, trademarks, or other intellectual-property rights;
Publish content that incites violence, discriminates against protected groups, or constitutes hate speech under German or EU law;
Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the platform, other accounts, or underlying infrastructure;
Submit malware, run automated scrapers outside our published API, or interfere with the availability of the service;
Misrepresent your identity or the source of deposited materials.

7. Notice and takedown

If you believe that material on the platform infringes your rights, please send a written notice to legal@knowledge-commons.example. We respond to all valid notices within ten working days, in line with our obligations under the EU Digital Services Act.

8. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate access where these Terms are materially breached, where required by law, or where continued use poses a security risk to the platform or its users.

9. Disclaimers and liability

The platform is provided on an "as is" basis. Liability is limited to damages caused by intent or gross negligence, save where mandatory provisions of German law (in particular the Product Liability Act) provide otherwise.

10. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms is Berlin, where this is permissible by law.

11. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to registered users in advance and noted in the version history at the bottom of this page.