Terms of Use

Updated: September 2023

General Conditions
Copyright
Limitation of Liability
Modification of these Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Register description
Cookie declaration

By using the web pages and applications (the ‘Service’) by Luontoportti Oy (Finland), NatureGate Ltd (elsewhere), you accept the following terms and conditions (the ‘Terms of Use’). NatureGate is the ‘Service Provider’, the user of the Service is the ‘User’.

You are also aware of our Privacy Policy. Using the Service is governed also by the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms of Use by this reference.

General Conditions

The Service is only for your personal, non-commercial use. You are not allowed to save, copy or share Service content without permission. You are not allowed to use the Service for any commercial purposes. Copying parts of the content (for example images or texts) and using them as a part of a service provided by an another service provider, is strictly prohibited. The only exception to this is what is mentioned below regarding use in Finnish educational institutions in accordance with the instructions given by Kopiosto.

You agree not to engage in any illegal or unauthorized conduct (including but not limited to transmitting viruses or other harmful files) on or through the Service. You are solely responsible for any data, photos, video and any other content (the ‘User Content’) that you submit to the Service. You may not submit to the Service any copyrighted material, trademarks or other proprietary User Content belonging to a third party without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. The sending of material violating the copyrights of the third party or non-ethical material to the Service is strictly prohibited.

You agree to be responsible for all the User Content you have submitted to Service and thus responsible for all claims, damages, losses and expenses demanded from the Service Provider or other entities. You are responsible for reimbursements to NatureGate Ltd due to the misuse or any actions violating the legal terms and agreements.

The services NatureGate provides are either free-of-charge or charged services. The charged services are indicated. Service Provider may display and send to you targeted advertisements on or through the Service or by email. Should you not wish to receive targeted advertisements from us through email, you can prohibit it by notifying by email. The contact information is not passed to anyone else.

The User must be registered to be able to use some of the Service segments, i.e. Observation Diary and downloading Mobile Content.

When submitting your observations to the Service, you can decide if the observation is public or non-public. You are able to accompany the observations with a description or a photo. The time and location information (if available) of the observation will be added automatically. As a default setting, the observations you have made are visible to all application users. At any time, you can hide single observations as well as edit or delete it completely. Because your observations are visible to other users, your user name may not be insulting, violating the law or otherwise inappropriate.

Please protect your personal password and user account. You are responsible for all actions made under your account in the Service. NatureGate is not responsible for the unauthorized use of your password or user account. Please notify NatureGate if you notice any unauthorized use of your password or user account or they will be used in an unauthorized way. Service Provider can close your user account in order to avoid the unauthorized use.

On our web pages we welcome nature-related questions. We pursue to answer as many of them as possible. We can not answer all the questions. The questions can be sent via e-mail without user registration. The e-mail addresses can be found on our web pages. Your question, accompanying photo or other document can be published in our Service. When published, your name or user name is visible.

In the Service, please do not use inappropriate language or content. You are responsible for the content submitted with your user name. You agree to compensate NatureGate all the damage and costs incurred from your actions, including the User Content submitted to the Service, which make other users or partners to demand reimbursements from NatureGate. Administration can also erase the non-appropriate User Content or entire user account due to the misuse. In order to protect the endangered species, Administration can change the submitted location data in a way that the exact location is not being indicated. If you notice observations of endangered species whose location information should be protected, please inform Service Provider.

Service Provider is not mandated to oversee the use of Service. Service Provider is not responsible for the content submitted by Users. However, Service Provider has the right to inspect the submitted content and, when needed, to erase them partly or entirely, if the submitted content is illegal or violate privacy, copyrights, or if there is inappropriate or otherwise insulting language or the content is non-relevant or violates the Terms of Use. If the User does not comply with legal terms, the actions are disturbing or insulting other users, Service Provider or third party’s benefits, Service Provider has the right to cancel the user registration. In this case, Service Provider is not liable to refund the charged payments or reimburse the costs or damages subject to cancellation.

If you see inappropriate user content related to the Service, please inform us, so we can take appropriate measures.

When starting to use the Service, you will use it by your own responsibility and you are liable for obtaining your own device, connections and software, and for their condition and appropriate protection. Service Provider is not responsible for the damages caused by the software downloading process nor the compatibility of the downloaded material for the data systems or terminal. Service Provider is not responsible for the charges incurring from the use of Service.

Using the public internet contains a security risk. Service Provider is not responsible for User's data security when using the Service. User is liable for protection and data security for User's own computers, data systems, networks or similar devices and systems. User is liable for the consequences due to the insufficient security and the viruses or similar harms spread to the internet or via internet, damages to Service Provider, users or third parties. Service Provider sets up the Service's data security in an appropriate way, efficiently and will, via sufficient technical solutions, protect the datasystems from the unauthorized entries.

If the Service contains links to other internet pages, which are administered by parties not under an authority of Service Provider, Service Provider is not liable for the content, functionality of the links nor the availability of the information on these pages. Service Provider is not responsible for the personal information possibly collected on third party pages. Service Provider is not responsible for the legality and suitability of the commercial material delivered by the third parties.

Service Provider can collect personal information for the Service, related to usage, use volume, or other statistics, and handle and analyse that material in many different ways. To make the usage process easier and to track use, some cookies can be used. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers saved on to your device when you access certain websites. Cookies allow a website to remember a user’s preferences as previously chosen by the user when user returns to a site or browses from page to page. We use cookies to improve quality of our service and remember choices User has made, such as a language selection or species identification values. We also use Google Analytics statistical services and Google Adsense advertising network, which both set cookies to function. Detailed information about Google's cookie and privacy policy can be found here. Other external service providers and websites which we may use to provide our content, such as but not limited to e-commerce and course platforms, have their own cookie policy documents, which are available on their sites. You can delete and block future cookies from the settings of the browser you are using. More information can be found for example from aboutcookies.org, or on the help pages of your browser. Please note though, that disabling cookies may cause some part of our service not working properly for you and thus affect your browsing experience on our website.

NatureGate keeps the right to modify or terminate Service, as well as refuse to provide it to anyone, anytime for any reason either with or without a notification in advance. These Terms of Use are subject of Finnish Law and the disputes will be solved at the court in Finland. If any of the conditions included in these Terms of Use is declared non-valid or unenforceable, the condition is not valid to the extent it would be non-valid or unenforceable, and it will be replaced by a new condition, which is as similar as possible to the original meaning of these Terms of Use.

Copyright

The Service and the content thereof (including but not limited to texts and photographs) is protected by copyright, trademark, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights of NatureGate/Luontoportti (or its licensors). You agree to use the Service only pursuant to these Terms of Use, and not to reproduce, modify, distribute, sublicense, display, publish or broadcast, or create derivative works based on, the Service or any content thereof in any form unless otherwise expressly provided in these Terms of Use.

For the avoidance of doubt, you agree not to copy or store any content from the Service to any digital media, including but not limited to your personal computer. However, nothing contained herein prevents you from making copies for your own personal use as provided by the applicable copyright laws.

Exception to the above is the use in Finnish schools, educational institutions, and early childhood education units for which the Finnish National Agency for Education, or in certain cases the institution directly, has obtained a copying license from Kopiosto. The Kopiosto license determines, among other things, the number of copies allowed to be made for educational purposes within a certain period of time, how long a copy may be retained, and how a copy may be presented. Kopiosto distributes the collected copying license fees to copyright holders based on research and provided reports. Therefore, any material copied from the Service for educational use must be reported in accordance with our separate guidelines. Kopiosto's instructions for educational institutions can be found on the Kopiosto website.

Service Provider claims no ownership in any intellectual property rights over the User Content that you submit to the Service. Any intellectual property rights in the User Content submitted by you belong solely to you (or your licensors). However, by submitting the User Content to the Service, you grant NatureGate/Luontoportti a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual and irrevocable right to use, reproduce, modify and display such User Content, in any format or medium now known or later developed, solely on and through the Service, subject to these Terms of Use.

Service Provider can use the User Content i.a. on the pages of NatureGate, i.a. to accompany the species descriptions with the user name you have provided. Service Provider can also pass the observation data to the researchers. In that case, passed observations do not provide observer's identity. Service Provider can independently decide, if your submission, which you have indicated to be public User Content, will be introduced in the Service. Service Provider has also the right to delete User Content you have submitted, if it is violating these Terms of Use or it is seen as inappropriate. Despite of the fact if we introduce the User Content you have submitted on the Service or not, we have always right to use it anonymously for the research purposes.

NatureGate will review all claims of copyright infringement received and remove the User Content deemed to have been submitted or distributed in violation of any such laws. To make a claim, please provide us with the following:

(a) A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
(b)Sufficient information to enable Service Provider to locate the allegedly infringing User Content on the Service;
(c) Your address, telephone number and email address;
(d) A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the use of the User Content is not authorized; and
(e) A statement by you that the above information in your notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

In order to send any claim of copyright infringement, please contact us at: info (at) naturegate.net

Limitation of Liability

The Service is made available to you for your convenience on an "as is"and "as available" basis. NATUREGATE/LUONTOPORTTI DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, RELIABILITY OR NON-INFRINGEMENT) REGARDING THE SERVICE OR THE CONTENT THEREOF. You understand that the Service may not perform with complete functionality, may be undergoing testing, may be inconsistently available and may have other issues affecting availability and functionality.

NatureGate/Luontoportti is not responsible for uninterrupted or error-free functioning of the Service, technical errors found in the Service or interruptions caused by maintenance work. Nor is NatureGate/Luontoportti responsible for should the aforesaid issues cause changes to, or deletion of, the data included in the Service or other data, nor for any data transfer related problems or interruptions caused by third parties. NatureGate/Luontoportti is not responsible for the correctness of the User Content or other material included in the Service.

In addition to all other disclaimers and limitations of liability contained in these Terms of Use, you specifically agree that NatureGate/Luontoportti is not liable for any of the above issues.

NATUREGATE/LUONTOPORTTI SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR THE CONTENT THEREOF, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

The User uses the Service at his/her own responsibility. The Service Provider is not responsible for the actions of the other users in the Service, nor for the infringements of the User's privacy or other rights in the Service. The Service Provider may modify or terminate the Service or a part thereof at any time with or without notice. The Service Provider is not responsible for any consequences that such actions may cause to the User.

If you are dissatisfied with the Service, or have any other disputes or claims with or against NatureGate/Luontoportti with respect to the Service or these Terms of Use, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Service.

Force Majeure releases Service Provider from the liabilities related to the Service, if it hinders the operations or causes unnecessary harm. As a Force Majeure is being considered a fire, earthquake, explosion, strike or other job-related conflict, an order from authorities, disruptions on energy services, shortage of material or equipment, cable or data disruptions caused by a third party or other similar reason, which has not been known and which was impossible to meet with the already taken sufficient measures.

Service Provider will inform about the Force Majeure as soon as possible and whenever the announcement is possible.

Modification of these Terms of Use

You understand that Service Provider is continuously developing the features and the functionality of the Service. Consequently, Service Provider also reserves the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time in our sole discretion. You agree that such alteration shall be effective upon posting on the Service and you will be bound to any alterations when you use the Service after such alteration is posted. It is therefore important that you review these Terms of Use regularly on the Service to ensure that you are updated regarding any alterations. Your sole remedy should you not agree with the altered Terms of Use shall be to cease using the Service.

Privacy Policy

By using the LuontoPortti Oy (‘LuontoPortti’), in English: NatureGate Ltd (‘NatureGate’) web sites and applications (the ‘Service’), you accept the following privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”).

You are also aware of our Terms of Use, found above. Using the Service is governed also by the Terms of Use.

NatureGate/Luontoportti is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how NatureGate/LuontoPortti collects and receives personal information, how NatureGate/LuontoPortti uses the personal information and how NatureGate/LuontoPortti may share the personal information that it collects and receives. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name or email address.

How Service Provider collects and uses your personal information

NatureGate/LuontoPortti collects your personal information (such as name, user name and email-address) when you register with the Service. The registration is necessary, if you want to upload content to the mobile application released by Service Provider, or submit User Content, i.e. upload photographs, videos or other similar content to the Service.

By entering your personal information in the Service or by otherwise disclosing your personal information to us, you also accept and give your explicit consent that your personal information may be transferred to, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws, across international borders to a location outside the country of your location. Based on technical or practical measures, the information can also be stored on the servers of other service providers contracted by NatureGate Ltd, or these contractors can handle the information for NatureGate Ltd. This can also mean transfer of the information outside the EU and EEA area. These contractors comply with data privacy and security requirements set by NatureGate and Personal Data Act.

In addition to the personal information you may provide to Service Provider, the Service may also use various technologies to collect non-personal user information on the users of the Service (such as usage volumes, when the Service is used, which parts of the Service have been used, geographic user data, errors in normal functionalities etc.).

NatureGate/LuontoPortti uses information collected by or through the Service for the following purposes:

customer relationship management,
maintenance, development and upkeep of services,
research, anonymous reporting,
contacting users if needed,
offering and marketing of products and services

How Service Provider shares your personal information

If we decide to introduce the User Content you have submitted to us, the name or username you have provided us during the registration will be visible also to other Service users along the content.

Generally, NatureGate does not pass your personal information to any other parties than other group companies withouth your pre-authorization, where the exceptions include, for the delivery of the ordered products and services and the following cases:

- NatureGate/LuontoPortti may be required to disclose personally identifiable information under special circumstances, such as to comply with legal requirements or to exercise its legal rights;
- It may be necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities on or through the Service, including but not limited to violations of the Terms of Use, or as otherwise permitted or required by applicable laws;
- NatureGate/LuontoPortti may share aggregated demographic information with its business partners. This information does not identify single users.
- NatureGate/LuontoPortti can deliver to Kopiosto copying reports related to educational use made by users, from which the author of the report can be identified.

Modification of this Privacy Policy

You understand that Service Provider is continuously developing the features and the functionality of the Service. Consequently, Service Provider also reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time in our sole discretion. You agree that such alteration shall be effective upon posting on the Service and you will be bound to any alterations when you use the Service after such alteration is posted. It is therefore important that you review this Privacy Policy regularly on the Service to ensure you are updated regarding any alterations. Your sole remedy should you not agree with the altered Privacy Policy shall be to cease using the Service.

If you have questions or suggestions, or would like to review your personal information stored by us, please contact us at: info(at) naturegate.net

Register description

Register description - Personal Data Act (523/1999) 10 §

1. Registrar: Luontoportti Oy – NatureGate Ltd
email: info (at) luontoportti.com
Business ID: 2135874-9
2. Register name: LuontoPortti – NatureGate User register
3.Purpose of handling personal data and contents of the register: We here describe how we collect personal data. Data is collected for customer relationship management, implementation, development and upkeep of services. Data can be used for sending marketing, if user has given consent for that. The content of data for each user varies based on how user has been interacting with us.; Mobile observation diary (available for existing old users only). Content: Information user has given during registration, such as name, user name, email-address, user generated content (text, images, possible location data), consent for marketing, information about in-app purchases.; Holvi online store: Contact Information such as name, street address, phone number asked for the delivery of shop products. More information about Holvi policies: https://support.holvi.com/; We use the email service provided by Telia Inmics-Nebula for processing emails. We also use tools and products provided by Google and Microsoft, such as Forms, Google Drive and Gmail to make various questionnaires, and processing feedback and nature related question and other email messages sended for us. The data collected with these tools varies, based on how and in which situation user interacted with us.
4. Regular sources of information: Information of the register comes from users themselves when registering on the service and using it, or when users send us questions, content or make orders in our online shop.
5. Accuracy of information: Accuracy of information is not verified.
6. Disclosure of Information: Personal data shall not be relinquished to third parties except as within the permitted or obligated limits of the valid legislation, and in situations where we use third party platforms or technical providers to host, upkeep and provide our content and services for User, such as our online shop. In addition, we can provide Kopiosto with copying reports related to educational use made by users, in which the author of the report can be identified. Information may be disclosed anonymously to purposes of scientists. Personal data may be transferred outside the European Union or the European Economic Area permitted limits of Personal Data Act, if our external service providers such as marketing, social media or other platforms are handling data outside European region. In that case we make sure they comply with EU-US Privacy Shield or that they operate in countries accepted by the European Commission.
7.Register protection principles: There is no manual copies of the register. Stored information is collected in databases which are protected with different technical means. Only employee that has rights to deal with user information can access the information.
8. User rights: You as a data subject have rights in respect of personal data we hold on you. You have the following rights;

request access to your personal data.
request correction of incorrect or incomplete data.
request erasure or transfer of your data
limitate or prevent processing of personal data

We may ask you to clarify the request and to verify your identity before processing the request. We may decline to fullfil your request if there is a law-based act preventing us to do that. Any questions and requests shall be sended by email to: info(at)luontoportti.com. We'll answer in two weeks, unless we have special need to prolong the answering time.
9. How long we process your data: In general we store personal data for 6 months, unless user asks the erasure of data by sending email to info(at)luontoportti.com. In some cases, such as for book-keeping needs, we may store your data also longer than 6 months.
10. Changes to this Privacy Policy: We are constantly working on improving and developing our services, products and websites, so we may change this privacy policy from time to time. If the changes are significant, we will provide a notice for registered users. Please review this Privacy Policy from time to time to stay updated on any changes.

Cookie declaration

Below you will find information about cookies and your current consent settings on luontoportti.com. Our online magazine and course platform have their own cookie settings, and you can make changes to these settings on each respective site.