GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
DEFINITIONS
“API” means Application Programming Interface.
“Auction Tool” means the auction platform where Registered Participants may place bids> This is accessible though the homonymous dedicated section of the JAO Website.
“Business Day” means any day from Monday to Friday included, except for public holidays in Luxembourg.
“Content” means all data, information, documents, text, graphics, images, layout, design, sound files, compilations, databases and software contained, displayed or appearing in the Information Systems or any derivation thereof.
“EU Database Directive” means Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, as later amended.
“GDPR” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.
“Information Systems” means any electronic system, application, database, website, API, or any other digital platform, including but not limited to the JAO website and all its subpages and related links, that are owned, operated, or controlled by JAO.
“JAO” means Joint Allocation Office S.A. (abridged JAO S.A.) with the registration number B142282 and incorporated under the laws of the Grand Duchy with registered office in 2 Rue de Bitbourg, L-1273, Luxembourg.
“JAO Website” means the website accessible at https://www.jao.eu.
“Legitimate Use” means any of the below:
- ⁃Use for internal information purposes.
- ⁃Use for the purpose of establishing and/or maintaining a business relationship with JAO.
- ⁃Any other use expressly allowed by JAO.
“Luxembourg Copyright Act” means the law of 18 April 2001 on authors’ rights (copyright), related rights and databases, as later amended.
“Market Data” means the data published in the homonymous dedicated section of the JAO website.
“Means of Authentication” means identification methods such as but not limited to API keys, JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), usernames, passwords, cryptographic certificates, and multi-factor authentication techniques like passkeys, Time-based One-Time Passwords (TOTP), and HMAC-based One-Time Passwords (HOTP).
“OWSMP” means open web services market platform.
“Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable person as defined in the GDPR.
“Registered Participant(s)” means any User that is registered with the Auction Tool, a subsection of JAO’s website.
“Terms of Use” means these General Terms and Conditions as a whole.
“TSO(s)” means Transmission System Operator(s).
“Registered User(s)” means any legal or natural person, human individual or computer system that is registered with a JAO Information System and is identifiable through a Means of Authentication.
“User(s)” means any Registered Participant, Registered User or Visitor.
“Visitor(s)” means human individual(s) accessing (without having registered on any JAO Information Systems), in whole or in part, any of the Content that JAO has released to the general public through its Information Systems.
All definitions set forth in these Terms of Use are expressly incorporated and binding throughout this agreement with JAO. Each capitalized term defined herein shall carry the same meaning wherever it appears in this document, regardless of context, unless explicitly stated otherwise. By agreeing to these Terms of Use, Users acknowledge and accept that these definitions are integral to the interpretation and enforcement of this agreement.
INTRODUCTION
The proper functioning of the Information Systems requires the establishment of certain conditions for access and use.
These Terms of Use set forth the rules governing access to, and use of, the Information Systems by all Users.
Pursuant to the present Terms of Use, each User must comply with the General Provisions, contained in Section A, which are applicable whatever the nature of the effective use of the Information Systems made by the User.
Depending on the specific type of use, additional Specific Provisions, contained in Section B herein might also become applicable. If a User is making several types of use of the Information Systems, they must cumulatively comply with all relevant Specific Provisions applicable to the concerned type of use.
Please read the following Terms of Use carefully before using the Information Systems. By accessing the Information Systems or by navigating on the JAO website, Users acknowledge to have read, understood and agreed to be unconditionally and legally bound by the following Terms of Use.
Users should review these Terms of Use on a regular basis as they may be amended at any time at JAO’s sole discretion. If a User does not agree with any term or condition herein, the User should not access or otherwise use the Information Systems. The continued use of the Information Systems after any such changes have been posted constitutes an acceptance of the revised Terms of Use.
JAO is legally entitled to terminate the Terms of Use for convenience at any time and without recourse to the courts; such termination shall not give rise to any right to compensation for the Users.
SECTION A - GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL USE OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
1. OWNERSHIP
Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, JAO or its possible licensors (as the case may be), retains all rights, sui generis rights, titles and interests in and towards the Content and structure of the Information Systems. All rights of use and reproduction, complete or partial, in whatever form and by whatever means, of the Content, including downloadable documents, are reserved to JAO.
The Content is protected by all applicable national and European legislation, including but not limited to intellectual property laws related to copyright, trademark, and database such as the Luxembourg Copyright Act (in particular articles 1 and 67) and the EU Database Directive, as well as other forms of proprietary rights.
For the avoidance of doubts and without being exhaustive, a User shall not carry out acts which conflict with the normal exploitation of the Content, or which unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of JAO nor may prejudice JAO or any other copyright or related right holder (as the case may be) in the works or performances contained in the Content, or services contained therein.
2. GRANT OF RIGHTS
Users are granted limited, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-transferable rights to access and use the Content solely for a Legitimate Use, provided they comply with these Terms of Use. Except for the rights of access and use granted herein, nothing in the Terms of Use is intended to confer any license of, right in, or make any assignment of, any intellectual property rights or proprietary rights in connection with the Information Systems and/or the Content. Any use of the Information Systems or the Content other than the one set out in these Terms of Use may be subject to the prior approval of JAO and the signature of a License Agreement (or any other contract having a similar effect). Should a User be interested in using or exploiting any part of the Content for specific purposes (e.g. commercial use, etc.), an email should be sent to contact@jao.eu in order to discuss potential licensing arrangements.
3. ACCESS TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND USE OF CONTENT
When accessing the Information Systems and using the Content, a User shall:
a) act under their sole responsibility;
b) act in full compliance with applicable law (in particular the Luxembourg Copyright Act);
c) act in good faith and always comply with good business practices regarding the use of the Content;
d) mention the Information Systems as the source of the Content, in accordance with good industry practices.
4. RESTRICTIONS ON USE
The Content cannot be sold or used, in whole or in part, in any manner, freely or against payment, for commercial or marketing purposes, unless expressly authorized in advance by JAO in writing. Reverse engineering, scraping, or the use of bots to collect the Content, or part of it, from the Information Systems is strictly prohibited.
The Content cannot be disseminated, displayed, copied, extracted, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part, in any manner, on any medium or support whatsoever, freely or against payment, unless expressly authorized in advance by JAO in writing, or unless it is consistent with a Legitimate Use or otherwise permitted by these Terms of Use.
Any unauthorized use of the Content or the Information Systems is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action and/or any other technical measure that JAO, at its sole discretion, considers necessary to protect the Information Systems or its rights. Such measures may include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent banning of domains or IP ranges, revocation of user access or API tokens, throttling access speeds, or any other actions JAO deems necessary. JAO shall not be liable for any damages, direct or indirect, arising from the implementation of such protective measures.
Users acknowledge that criminal sanctions are foreseen in the Luxembourg Copyright Act and enforceable in case of infringement of rights protected therein.
Users agree to indemnify, defend, and hold JAO harmless from any claims, damages, liabilities, or expenses arising from their breach of these Terms of Use or any unauthorized use of the Information Systems or unauthorized use of the Content.
5. AVAILABILITY AND MAINTENANCE OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
5.1 Availability
JAO makes its best efforts to ensure the 24/7 availability of the Information Systems.
The Information Systems are generally open to Visitors and provide access to the Content to all Users.
Visitors primarily access Content for informational purposes. For this purpose, they are not required to identify, authenticate nor register themselves to gain access to the Content.
However, certain features and subsystems are reserved to Registered Users or Registered Participants, depending on the specific use, and accessing them requires being registered though Means of Authentication as further specified in section B below (PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPECIFIC USES OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS). Documents and information are required in order to successfully register on the JAO Website. More information can be found on the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of the JAO Website.
To protect its services and prevent misuse, JAO reserves the right to implement — at its own discretion — technical measures on the Information Systems, which may include, but are not limited to, distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection, throttling, rate limiting, and IP blacklisting.
5.2 Maintenance
Normally, maintenance activities will be carried out during non-peak hours, which usually means between 17:00 CET and 6:00 CET. However, JAO reserves the right to carry out maintenance activities, without prior notification, during other timeframes as required from time to time (e.g. urgent maintenance requirement, etc.).
5.3 Emergency Downtime
If there is a critical error in the Information Systems, which needs to be addressed urgently, JAO might need to temporarily shut down the Information Systems in order to intervene. JAO works to minimize any eventual outage by continuously monitoring the Information Systems.
5.4 Access To Technical Content
JAO, at its sole discretion, publishes technical information, version changes and/or related documentation (the “Technical Information”) it deems sufficient and appropriate for operational purposes, directly on the Information Systems. However, JAO does not warrant the Technical Information to be neither exhaustive nor comprehensive.
6. PERSONAL DATA
JAO is committed to protecting all Personal Data and ensuring confidentiality. For the provision of its services, JAO may collect, store and process Personal Data, such as name, contact details, and any other data in the context of its services. All Personal Data is processed in compliance with JAO’s internal controls and applicable data protection laws, including the GDPR.
JAO processes Personal Data to fulfill its contractual obligations, improve its services, and ensure compliance with legal requirements. Personal Data is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this document and to comply with legal, regulatory, or reporting requirements. Upon expiration of the retention period, relevant data will be securely deleted or anonymized.
Users have the right to access, correct, or delete their Personal Data. Users may also object to certain processing activities or withdraw their consent where applicable. To exercise these rights, please contact us via email at gdpr@jao.eu.
JAO implements appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the security of all Personal Data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
Additional provisions related to Personal Data processed via the Information Systems may from time to time be published in the JAO Website and are deemed to be part of the present Terms of Use.
For more information about the way JAO processes Personal Data, please read our Privacy policy.
7. DISCLAIMER/LIABILITY
JAO makes its best efforts to ensure that the Information Systems run uninterrupted and are free from errors. However, JAO cannot guarantee that all content is correct, up to date, consistent or complete. JAO does not accept any liability for any damage incurred as a result of the use, or lack thereof in case of unavailability, of the Information Systems or the Content, nor for the consequences of activities undertaken based on the Content present in the Information Systems. The provisions above apply also to data, and in general content, present on any external websites to which the Information Systems links.
To the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, Information Systems are made available to Users on an “as is,” “where is” and “where available” basis, without any warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory. In particular, no warranty, condition, undertaking or term, express or implied, statutory or otherwise, as to condition, quality, performance, intellectual property, infringements, merchantability or fitness for purposes is given or assumed by JAO concerning the Information Systems, the data processed, or in general Content, sent by any User.
All data, information or query sent to JAO (whether by email or by means of the electronic query form) are not confidential and may be freely used or reproduced by JAO for internal use, unless it is explicitly indicated otherwise. Moreover, all data, information or queries sent to JAO must be correct and may not infringe on the rights of third parties.
The above does not apply to any data or information which because of its nature must be treated confidentially, pursuant to the GDPR and/or other applicable EU legislation.
8. NOTICES
Any notification addressed to JAO must be provided in writing to the relevant service desk, as mentioned in the Information Systems, and accessible through https://servicedesk.jao.eu.
A notice shall be deemed to have been duly given on the first Business Day following the day the notice is sent by email, provided that the email transmission is promptly confirmed by an electronic receipt from the recipient email server.
9. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
These Terms of Use and any dispute, claim, or matter arising out of or in connection with them, including non-contractual disputes or claims, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
The competent courts of Luxembourg shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute, claim, or matter arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Use, including non-contractual disputes or claims.
10. INVALIDITY
Should any provision of these Terms of Use be declared illegal, invalid or non-applicable, in whole or in part, such provision shall not be considered to form a part of the agreement and shall not affect the legality, validity or applicability of the other provisions of the Terms of Use.
In such a case or in the absence of a mandatory provision, JAO will take all necessary measures without undue delay to adapt the Terms of Use in good faith in order to implement a new provision having an equivalent economic effect to the illegal, invalid, non-applicable or absent provision.
SECTION B – PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO SPECIFIC USES OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
1. ACCESS TO AND USE OF MARKET DATA
JAO strives to provide correct and up to date Content, however, JAO does not assume responsibility for any inaccuracy of the Market Data published. The Market Data is provided solely for transparency and informational purposes, on behalf of the TSOs. JAO does not perform any control or verification regarding the accuracy of the Market Data and makes no representations or warranties regarding its completeness or correctness.
2. ACCESS TO RESTRICTED AREAS OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Certain areas of the Information Systems, including the Auction Tool and the OWSMP, are restricted and require prior registration to be accessed. While the Auction Tool and the OWSMP offer user interfaces for Registered Participants, their APIs are specifically designed for automated interactions (computer-to-computer) that require the issuance of a valid personal access token (the "Token") by JAO. The Token must remain confidential at all times, it is strictly personal and under no circumstance can be shared or transferred to any other party than the one originally entrusted with it by JAO.
JAO reserves the right to take any technical measure it deems necessary in order to safeguard its Information Systems against abuse, illegal or unauthorized use. Such measures may include revoking Tokens, restricting or throttling traffic, or implementing other protective mechanisms as deemed necessary. The following list provides an open and non-exhaustive source of activities that are strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated:
- Unauthorized data scraping or harvesting.
- Use of the Content or Information Systems to train machine learning models, develop artificial intelligence, or support advanced statistical technologies without prior authorization.
Registered Participants and Registered Users with access to restricted areas must:
- Maintain at all times the confidentiality of their Token and promptly notify JAO of any suspected breach or unauthorized use.
- Comply with technical, security, or usage restrictions established by JAO, such as rate limits for queries or polling requests.
JAO reserves the right to deactivate any Token, temporarily or permanently, without obligation to justify or rectify its actions and without notice if suspicious activity is detected. Registered Participants may request a review if they believe deactivation was caused by an unintentional trigger, such as a misconfigured application. Failure to adhere to or comply with these Terms of Use may result in the suspension or termination of access privileges, without prior notice.