Terms of use for documents

1. Subject matter of the terms of use

1.1 These Terms of use for documents (hereinafter the “Terms”) govern the granting and use of documents by the Estonian Centre for Standardisation and Accreditation, a non-profit association (registry code 80120020).

1.2 The Terms apply to all persons who use documents or services of the Estonian Centre for Standardisation and Accreditation, regardless of how the right to use the documents was obtained, including through registration on the website, placing an order, or using a service.

2. Definitions

The following definitions are used in the Terms:

2.1 Licensor – the Estonian Centre for Standardisation and Accreditation, a non-profit association;

2.2 Licensee – the user of a document;

2.3 Electronic document – a standard, standard-like document, amendment, correction, or value-added product available in digital form, which may be:

• a PDF-format file issued to the Licensee;
• a web-based document accessible on the Licensor's website in accordance with the scope of the acquired right of use;
• a document or annex thereto in another digital format (including HTML, a database, or another structured data set), regardless of file format;

2.4 Paper document – a standard, standard-like document, amendment, correction, or value-added product in paper format;

2.5 Copy – any complete or partial reproduction of a document made in any form or manner;

2.6 Backup copy – a copy made for the purpose of protecting a document against accidental destruction or loss;

2.7 Internal purpose – use of a document for personal purposes or in the internal work of an organisation by the organisation's employees or by private individuals in a contractual relationship with the organisation;

2.8 Internal network – a local area network (LAN) or virtual private network (VPN) belonging to the exclusive use of an organisation, accessible only to the organisation's employees or to persons in a contractual relationship with the organisation;

2.9 Server – a physical or virtual computer system owned by, or leased for the exclusive use of, an organisation, located within infrastructure under the organisation's own control, access to which is restricted to the organisation's internal network.

3. Copyright

3.1 The Licensor grants the Licensee the right to use documents subject to the conditions set out in these Terms. 

3.2 The copyright owner of Estonian standards and their translations is the Licensor. For publications containing documents of international (ISO, IEC), European (CEN, CENELEC) and other standardisation organisations, the copyright to the original content is held by the respective standardisation organisation. More detailed information on copyright can be found in the foreword of the relevant document.

3.3 The Licensee is granted a limited, non-exclusive, and non-transferable right to use the documents and their content under the terms and to the extent set out in these Terms. The Licensee does not acquire any ownership rights to the content of the documents.

3.4 Without the Licensor's permission, any use of the documents or parts thereof that is not expressly permitted under these Terms is prohibited. In particular, it is prohibited to:

• reproduce documents or parts thereof (including by copying, scanning, or saving) in any manner not specified in these Terms;
• distribute documents through any channel (including digital platforms, websites, servers);
• use documents or parts thereof to train machine-learning models, process them in AI applications, engage in data mining (including by means of automated queries, bots, or other technical tools), or input them into AI-based tools, platforms, or systems;
• modify documents or parts thereof in any form;
• make documents or parts thereof available to third parties in any manner, including by sharing them in digital tools, platforms, cloud services, or other systems.

3.5 The Licensee is prohibited from removing, altering, or concealing copyright notices or other markings indicating ownership rights on the documents.

3.6 Terms and definitions contained in the documents may be used for purposes other than internal purposes only with the Licensor's prior written consent. Requests for such consent must be submitted to the Licensor in a format which can be reproduced in writing, to the address info@evs.ee

3.7 Unauthorised use outside the terms of the licence shall be treated as an infringement of rights.

4. Use of an electronic document

4.1 The Licensee is entitled to use an Electronic document in accordance with the number of user licences acquired.

4.2 Single-user licence

4.2.1 An Electronic document under a single-user licence is protected by FileOpen software encryption. To view the document, the user's device must have the corresponding software (FileOpen) installed, which can be downloaded free of charge from the internet.

4.2.2 An Electronic document under a single-user licence can only be opened using the Adobe Acrobat Reader programme, which can be downloaded free of charge from the internet.

4.2.3 An Electronic document under a single-user licence may only be saved and opened on one device – the device on which the document is first opened. An internet connection is required for the first opening.

4.2.4 One backup copy and up to 2 printouts may be made of an Electronic document under a single-user licence.

4.2.5 Reproduction of the Electronic document by any other means, and its transmission in any form, is prohibited.

4.3 Multi-user licence

4.3.1 An Electronic document used under a multi-user licence may be installed on the number of devices specified in the licence. Alternatively, the document may be saved to an internal network, a server, or a private cloud environment managed by the organisation itself (i.e. a closed environment with restricted access that is not publicly available), from which it may be used by the number of users specified in the licence.

4.3.2 A multi-user licence is granted for use only for the private individual or legal person or institution. Use of the licence by related persons (e.g. other companies belonging to the same group) or by third parties is not permitted.

4.3.3 A backup copy may be made of an Electronic document used under a multi-user licence, or the document may be saved to another data carrier or device used for internal purposes.

4.3.4 The number of printouts of the Electronic document specified in the licence may be made for internal purposes.

4.3.5 Reproduction of the Electronic document by any other means, and its transmission in any form, is prohibited.

5. Use of a paper document

5.1 The Licensee is entitled to use a Paper document for internal purposes.

5.2 It is prohibited to make a complete or partial copy of a Paper document, in any form, for the purpose of distribution. Upon acquisition of a Paper document, ownership of the physical copy of the document passes to the Licensee; however, all intellectual property rights relating to the content of the document remain with the Licensor.

6. Personalisation and watermarking of documents

6.1 All documents issued – whether in electronic or paper form – are personalised with a watermark containing:

• the name of the user or organisation;
• the type and number of user licences;
• the invoice number and date.

6.2 The watermark forms part of the document, and its removal, alteration, or concealment is prohibited.

6.3 The watermark makes it possible to identify the lawful user of the document and is used in investigating possible infringements.

7. Obligations of the Licensee

The Licensee undertakes:

7.1 to ensure that the use of documents at all times remains within the scope agreed in these Terms, and to refrain from any use of the documents or parts thereof in a manner that exceeds the scope of the licence, including by making them available to third parties, in whole or in part;

7.2 to keep confidential their access credentials (username and password) and not to share them with third parties. The Licensee is responsible for all actions carried out using their username and password;

7.3 to implement technical and organisational measures to ensure that the use of documents takes place in accordance with these Terms, including ensuring that documents do not come into the possession of external persons and that external persons do not gain access to the documents;

7.4 to notify the Licensor without delay if the Licensee has reasonable grounds to suspect, or becomes certain, that a third party has obtained their access credentials, or that unauthorised access to documents or services is occurring;

7.5 to refrain from assigning, transferring, or otherwise alienating to third parties any rights or claims arising from these Terms without the Licensor's prior written consent. This restriction does not apply where the transfer of rights and obligations results from the Licensee's merger, division, or other reorganisation;

7.6 in the event that documents come into the possession of external persons or become subject to unrestricted access by them (including where documents become publicly available on the internet), to immediately take the necessary measures to eliminate the unauthorised use.

8. Monitoring compliance with the Terms and consequences of breach

8.1 The Licensor is entitled, subject to reasonable prior notice, to audit the Licensee's use of documents in order to verify compliance with the Terms. The audit is carried out on a risk-based and proportionate basis, in particular where there are reasonable grounds for suspicion. The Licensee undertakes to cooperate reasonably during the audit and to provide the requested information.

8.2 Upon detection of a breach, the Licensor shall submit a written claim to the Licensee. If the breach is not remedied within 5 calendar days of receipt of the claim, the Licensor is entitled to suspend or terminate the Licensee's access to documents and services and, where necessary, to terminate the contract unilaterally by written notice.

8.3 In the event of a breach of the confidentiality obligation, the Licensor is entitled to demand a contractual penalty from the Licensee in an amount equal to three times the applicable licence fee for each breach, without prejudice to the Licensor's right to additionally claim damages.

8.4 If the Licensee fails to remedy the breaches referred to in clause 7.6 within a reasonable time, notwithstanding the Licensor's written notice, the Licensor is entitled to remedy the breaches itself, at its own expense. In such case, the Licensor is entitled to recover from the Licensee the reasonable costs associated with remedying the breach.

9. Obligations of the Licensor

The Licensor undertakes:

9.1 to make the ordered Electronic document available to the Licensee within 2 business days after the amount indicated on the invoice has been received in the Licensor's bank account;

9.2 in the event of problems arising in connection with the provision of an Electronic document or service, including technical faults in the Licensor's computer systems, to remedy such problems within a reasonable time or, where this proves impossible, to replace the ordered item with an equivalent one or refund the amount paid, subject to the Licensee's consent;

9.3 to dispatch the ordered Paper document within 2 business days after receipt of payment, in accordance with the delivery method chosen by the Licensee;

9.4 to keep confidential the Licensee's personal and transaction data and to disclose it to third parties only in the cases provided by law. Third parties do not include the Licensor's contractual partners, such as auditors or IT system administrators.

10. Force majeure

10.1 Failure to perform obligations under these Terms shall not be deemed a breach where it is caused by unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the parties – force majeure. Performance of the obligations is suspended for the duration of the force majeure event. Where a contract exists, the foregoing principles also apply as between the parties to the contract.

11. Limitation of liability

11.1 The Licensor does not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or fitness for a particular purpose of the information contained in the documents. The Licensor is not liable for damage arising from the use or interpretation of the documents, or from decisions made on their basis, except where the damage is caused by the Licensor's intent or gross negligence.

12. Termination of the right of use

12.1 Upon termination of the right of use, the Licensee undertakes to immediately cease all use, in any form, of the documents and any copies and backup copies thereof.

12.2 The Licensee shall delete or destroy all stored copies of the documents on data carriers. At the Licensor's request, the Licensee shall confirm the deletion or destruction in a format which can be reproduced in writing within 3 business days of receipt of the request.

12.3 For Licensees using documents under a contract, the right of use is deemed to have terminated on the date the contract ends.

13. Transfer of copyright

13.1 Upon transfer of the economic or ownership rights of the author of the documents that are the subject of the Terms to another person, these Terms remain in force unchanged. Where a contract exists, the contract also remains in force on the same terms.

14. Governing law and dispute resolution

14.1 Matters not regulated by these Terms shall be governed by the applicable legislation of the Republic of Estonia. Disputes arising from the Terms shall be resolved first through negotiation. If no agreement is reached, the dispute shall be resolved in the courts of the Republic of Estonia. The same principles apply to disputes arising under a contract, unless otherwise agreed in the contract.

15. Amendment and validity of provisions

15.1 The Licensor may amend the Terms at any time by publishing a new version on the website, which shall enter into force as of the date of publication. By placing a new order or using a service, the Licensee confirms acceptance of the Terms in force at that time.

15.2 If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. Where a contract exists, the same principle also applies to the provisions of the contract.

16. Browsing service

16.1 The browsing service allows the full text of a document to be read on the website on the basis of a temporary right of use obtained for a fee, and is also available to unregistered users.

16.2 The document opens for reading in a secure environment and can only be read – the text cannot be printed or saved to a device. Under the browsing service, the document remains open for the period selected by the user (30 minutes or 24 hours); for the reading service, the terms of the concluded contract apply with respect to the scope and duration of access.

16.3 In order for an invoice to be issued for the browsing service, the Licensee must be logged into their user account at the time of placing the order. No invoice will be issued retroactively to a Licensee who was not logged in.

16.4 As a general rule, fees paid for the browsing service are not refunded, except where the document proved to be defective or failed to open. In such case, the Licensee is entitled to file a complaint (preferably within 3 days, but no later than within 2 years of acquiring the browsing right, and no later than within 2 months of discovering the defect) and to demand, in the first instance, that the defect be remedied, and – if this is unsuccessful, fails, does not occur within a reasonable time, or causes unreasonable inconvenience – to withdraw from the contract.

Valid as of 30.09.2026                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Terms of use for documents till 30.09.2026