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OS Website Terms and Conditions

General terms and conditions including using the OS website.

We operate a number of different websites, consumer apps (web and mobile) and an online retail shop (together referred to as the OS Sites and/or Services). The terms and conditions set out below (referred to throughout simply as the ‘Terms of Use’) apply to your use of this website (referred to as the/this ‘Website’)

By using this Website, you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use and you agree to comply with them. Please read them carefully and if you do not agree to them, you must not use this Website.

1. Who we are and how to contact us

This Website is owned and operated by Ordnance Survey Limited (OS), a company registered in England and Wales (company registration number 09121572) whose registered address is at Explorer House, Adanac Drive, SOUTHAMPTON, SO16 0AS.

Some areas of the Website (the OS Maps Shop and the OS Maps pages) are operated and managed by Ordnance Survey Leisure Limited, a subsidiary company of OS, which is registered in England and Wales (company no. 06894550), and whose registered office is at Adanac Drive, Southampton, SO16 0AS, UK (VAT Number is 973 4648 80).

The Website pages relating to OS’s International service are operated and managed by Ordnance Survey International Services Limited, a limited liability company (number 10201603), whose registered office is at Explorer House, Adanac Drive, Southampton, SO16 0AS, UK.

The above organisations are referred to in these General Terms as we, us and our.

If you have any questions about this Website, or you otherwise wish to get in contact with one of the above mentioned organisations please see our Contact Us webpage.

2. Other terms that apply

These Terms of Use refer to other additional information which applies to your use of our OS Sites and/or Services. Here is a quick summary - the full detail can be accessed via the links.

a. Our Privacy Policy

This Policy sets how we collect, process, use and look after any personal data that we collect from you, or that you provide to us, together with the choices you have about the information we may ask of you, when you use our OS Sites and/or Services.

b. Cookies Notice

This Notice provides information about how we use ‘cookies’ in our OS Sites and/or Services and how you can control and delete them.

'Cookies' are small text files that websites put on your computer to make visits quicker, easier and more relevant.

In addition to cookies, OS uses analytics and tracking software tools in some of its OS Sites and Services. Analytics and tracking software allow application providers to gain insights on how their users engage with mobile / web applications – for example, how they navigate through the application and what functionality and content is used. This enables providers to make better decisions about services, improving performance and appropriate marketing. The tracking technology we use is Google Firebase and Adjust.

With the exception of cookies and analytics software which are strictly necessary for us to be able to deliver the OS Sites and Services, tracking identifiers will only be placed onto your device if we obtain your consent, and data captured from such technology will only be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

c. Accessibility Statement

Our Accessibility Statement provides information about browser support, screen resolution, document types, access keys, text sizing, images, forms and frames, scripting and links.

3. We may make changes to these terms of use

We may amend these Terms of Use from time to time. We recommend checking this page regularly to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time.

4. Using our Website

a. This Website is made available free of charge.

b. We provide you with access to this Website on an ‘as-is’ basis and we do not provide any guarantees or warranties as to its availability or performance.

c. Although we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the content on this Website is correct, it is possible it may contain errors, or be incomplete, or out of date. We therefore make no representations, warranties or guarantees (express or implied) regarding accuracy, completeness or currency of the content provided.

d. The content on this Website is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. We therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance that you or anyone else places on such content and you should obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content we provide.

e. We cannot guarantee that our Website, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We will always try to give notification of downtime in advance. However, we may suspend, withdraw, discontinue, restrict the availability, or change all or any part of our Website for business, operational or other reasons, without notice and we will not be liable to you if for any reason it is unavailable.

f. We are constantly changing and improving our OS Sites and/or Services. We may add or remove functionalities or features of this Website from time to time.

g. We reserve the right to suspend or permanently block any user’s access to this Website, at any time, if we reasonably suspect that such user is in breach of these Terms of Use.

5. Account Details and Passwords

a. We may restrict access to certain areas of the Website to registered users and/or certain categories of user.

b. If you choose, or are provided with, a username, password or some other piece of security information as part of a registration / access processes, you must treat such information as confidential and must not disclose it to anyone.

c. We have the right to disable your username, password, or other security information, (whether chosen by you or allocated by us) at any time; and suspend or terminate your registration or access to this Website, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the Terms of Use.

d. If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your username, password, or other piece of security information, you must promptly notify our Customer Services Team via the Contact Us page.

6. Intellectual Property Rights

a. The copyright, trade marks and other intellectual property rights in our Website, and in the content published on it, (including mapping data) are owned by us or our licensors (including the Crown) and protected by copyright and other IP laws and international treaties.

b. The names OS, Ordnance Survey and the OS logos, together with our product and/or service names and logos, are protected by trade mark registrations and/or trade mark law. Please see a non-exhaustive list of our trade marks here.

c. These Terms of Use set out what you can do as far as copying and using the content made available on this Website. You must not otherwise copy, reproduce, modify, reverse-engineer, transmit or publish any part of our Website without our express permission in writing.

d. You may access, view, download and print off one copy of any pages of our Website for your own personal use and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to content posted on our Website.

e. You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio material or graphics separately from the accompanying text.

f. Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our Website must always be acknowledged.

g. If you are an OS licensed partner (or prospective partner), or you have entered into a commercial agreement with OS, then you may access, view, download and print off copies of the materials found on our website which relate to our licensing or other commercial agreement (or prospective agreement) with you. You must not otherwise use any part of the content on our Website for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us.

h. If you print off, copy or download any part of our Website in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our Website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

i. No trade marks, brand, product or service names may be used or reproduced without our express permission in writing.

7. User Generated Content

a. The OS Sites and/or Services may include user interfaces, applications, forums, bulletin boards, discussion groups and other areas which allows you to upload content, such content is referred to as User Generated Content.

b. We are not responsible for any User Generated Content, but we may vet it.

c. You use and view all User Generated Content at your own risk and we do not warrant its accuracy or reliability. Views expressed in any User Generated Content are those of individual contributors and not those of OS.

d. User Generated Content must not include any of the following:

  • material which is illegal or promotes illegality;
  • misleading information;
  • material which is likely to cause harm to others;
  • material which is threatening, abusive, offensive or indecent;
  • defamatory material;
  • material which breaches copyright or any other intellectual property rights;
  • advertisements;
  • personal information about you or a third party; or
  • material which contains a virus or other harmful component.

e. We may remove or edit any User Generated Content at our entire discretion.

f. Subject to any rights we provided in our OS Sites and/or Services to mark your User Generated Content as private / confidential, we will treat all User Generated Content as non-confidential.

g. We have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who claims that any User Generated Content submitted by you constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights.

h. We do not claim any ownership of the copyright or other intellectual property rights which arise/subsist in any User Generated Content. However, by posting it on our OS Sites and Services you grant us a royalty-free, worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual licence to display, reproduce and distribute the User Generated Content for any purpose.

8. Linking

a. You may link to our Website provided that:

  • you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it;
  • you do not misrepresent your relationship with us or present any false information about us, for example by implying any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists;
  • you do not do so in a way that is likely to give your users the impression that our content is yours;
  • you do not create a frame or any other browser or border environment around our Website;
  • the website you link from does not contain content that is illegal or indecent, or infringes any intellectual property rights or other rights.

b. We may withdraw your permission to link to our Website without notice.

c. Any third party websites we link to are outside our control and we accept no responsibility for their content or for the products or services they provide. Where we link to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or the information you may obtain from them.

9. We are not responsible for viruses and you must not introduce them

a. We do not guarantee that our Website will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

b. You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access our Website. You should use your own virus protection software.

c. You must not misuse our Website by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our Website, the server on which our site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our site. You must not attack our site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our site will cease immediately.

10. Limitation of Liability

a. We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or for any breach of the obligations implied by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

b. Different limitations and exclusions of liability will apply to liability arising as a result of the supply of any products to you. These are set out in our OS Shop Terms of Use and the EULA’s relating to our various mobile / web apps.

c. Subject to the paragraph above, and to the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude to the maximum permitted by law:

  • all conditions, warranties, representations and other terms (whether express or implied by law); and
  • any liability for any loss, damage or expense incurred by any user or any third party (including any loss of data, loss of profits, reputation or goodwill, anticipated savings, business, or losses suffered by third parties), whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, even if foreseeable, and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise.

11. General

a. We will not be responsible for any breach of these Terms of Use caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

b. You may not assign, sub-license, share or otherwise transfer any of your rights under these Terms of Use.

c. If any provision of these Terms of Use are found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of that provision will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which shall remain in full force and effect.

d. You may print and keep a copy of these Terms of Use.

e. These Terms of Use will be governed by English law and both parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

 

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