[Qgis-psc] Exception to QGIS DEVELOPMENT TEAM Terms of End User License Agreement for University of Maryland College Park
Andreas Neumann
andreas at qgis.org
Wed Nov 1 23:42:52 PDT 2023
Dear Mr. Landavere,
I am bit puzzled about your email and don't know if you expect a response
from us - or not?
Have you actually read the QGIS user license, which is an exact copy of the
GPL license? It gives you a lot of freedom and hardly any restrictions -
unlike many other software you probably use.
For your reference - you can find the license we use here:
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html - with one
exception made for the usage of the Qt library documented here:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/qgis/QGIS/master/Exception_to_GPL_for_Qt.txt
Can you be more specific where you have a problem with the QGIS license?
Regards and greetings,
Andreas Neumann
On Wed, 1 Nov 2023 at 21:20, Mike Landavere <mike at umd.edu> wrote:
>
> Notice to External Parties of UMD’s Inability to Accept Certain
> Click-Through Terms & Conditions
>
> Re: Exception to QGIS DEVELOPMENT TEAM Terms of End User License
> Agreement for University of Maryland College Park
>
> To whom it may concern,
>
> The University of Maryland College Park (“University”) would like to
> download QGIS from QGIS DEVELOPMENT TEAM (“Company”) via the following
> link: https://www.qgis.org/en/site/. As part of the process of obtaining
> such product, Company purports to require the University to accept its
> standard terms and conditions pursuant to Company’s “click through
> agreement,” by which the user must accept without modification such terms
> and conditions in order to complete the transaction.
>
> Please be advised that the University is an instrumentality of the State
> of Maryland and is therefore subject to Maryland law, which governs and
> prohibits certain forms of contract terms and provisions. Several of the
> provisions contained in Company’s standard terms and conditions, such as
> the types of provisions identified below, may violate or be inconsistent
> with Maryland law. Therefore, please be advised that the University cannot
> accept Company’s standard terms and conditions to the extent that they are
> inconsistent with Maryland law. Moreover, please be advised that, pursuant
> to Section 12-201 of the State Government Article of the Maryland Code, any
> University employee who has otherwise agreed to the Company’s standard
> terms and conditions does not have authority to agree to terms which are
> inconsistent with or violate Maryland law, including but not limited to the
> provisions discussed below.
>
> The University is not authorized to accept, and cannot agree to accept,
> the following categories of terms and conditions:
>
>
> 1.
>
> Commercial Terms. The University is a state governmental entity, not a
> commercial entity, and laws pertaining to private commercial entities, such
> as the Uniform Commercial Code, are not applicable to the University.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Confidentiality. The University is subject to State open records laws,
> including the Maryland Public Information Act (Maryland Code Annotated,
> General Provisions Article, Title 4), and University System of Maryland
> policies regarding the disclosure of certain forms of information and
> documents. The Maryland Public Information Act does prohibit the University
> from disclosing Company’s confidential business and financial information.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Dispute-Related Terms. The University is not authorized to agree to
> terms relating to the resolution or litigation of potential disputes, such
> as mandatory arbitration, entitlement to injunctive relief, and jury trial
> waiver clauses. All such terms require the consent of the Maryland Attorney
> General, which may consent or not in its sole discretion.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The University is
> subject to FERPA, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and its implementing regulations. To
> the extent Company has access to “education records” under this
> click-through agreement, Company is deemed a FERPA School Official.
> Nothing contained in the agreement shall be interpreted to require the
> University to provide educational records to the Company in violation of
> FERPA.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Md. Code Ann., State Government Article, §10-13A-03. The University is
> subject to Md. Code Ann., State Government Article, §10-13A-03. To the
> extent Company processes “Personally Identifiable Information” on
> University’s behalf, Company must take commercially reasonable steps to
> support the University’s privacy governance program and to maintain
> appropriate security controls.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Governing Law and Venue. The University is a State of Maryland agency
> and is not authorized to accept the governing law(s) and/or venue(s) of
> other jurisdictions.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Indemnification. The University is prohibited by law from incurring
> unfunded liabilities, and Maryland courts have specifically held that
> indemnification provisions give rise to an unfunded liability. Maryland law
> imposes personal civil and criminal penalties, including prison time, on a
> State employee who agrees to a contract term that creates an unfunded
> liability. In addition, any tort claims against the University are subject
> to the provisions of and the limitations of liability contained in the
> Maryland Tort Claims Act.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Insurance. The University is self-insured pursuant to Annotated Code
> of Maryland, State Finance and Procurement Article, Title 9, and cannot
> purchase commercial insurance for items covered by the State of Maryland
> self-insurance program. For the majority of tort claims, this program of
> self-insurance limits the liability of the State and its units to $400,000
> to a single claimant for injuries arising from a single incident or
> occurrence.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Intellectual Property Ownership. The University retains ownership of
> its intellectual property for the benefit of its faculty, students, and
> research sponsors and does not by virtue of Company’s standard terms and
> conditions grant any ownership or license in its intellectual property.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Liability. The University is not authorized to accept liability above
> the limits set by the Maryland General Assembly.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Sovereign Immunity. The University is part of the State of Maryland, a
> sovereign governmental entity. Nothing contained in the agreement
> constitutes a waiver of the State’s sovereign immunity.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Trademarks/Use of University’s Name. The University retains all rights
> in its trademarks and service marks.
>
>
>
> 1.
>
> Warranties. The University is prohibited by law from incurring
> unfunded liabilities; warranties create such an unfunded liability.
> Therefore, any term purporting to contain a warranty by the University is
> rejected.
>
>
> Regardless of whether Company agrees to the foregoing proposed
> modifications, however, any terms and conditions that are inconsistent with
> Maryland law, including but not limited to the types of provisions
> identified above, are rejected and no University employee has authority to
> accept such terms and conditions.
>
> This message is being sent via email with proof of delivery. Unless an
> authorized representative of your company advises otherwise in writing, the
> University of Maryland will deem your receipt of this message to be
> acknowledgment of the foregoing.
>
>
> Mike Landavere (he/him/his)
> Director of Information Technology
> College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
> University of Maryland
> *Connect with UMD Science*: Web <http://www.cmns.umd.edu/> | Twitter
> <http://www.twitter.com/umdscience> | LinkedIn
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/umdscience/> | Instagram
> <https://www.instagram.com/umdscience/> | Facebook
> <http://www.facebook.com/umdcmns>
>
>
>
--
--
Andreas Neumann
QGIS.ORG board member (treasurer)
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