Licence on the Use of the Copernicus Trade Marks and Logos

Copernicus is the Earth Observation and Monitoring component of the European Union Space Programme, previously known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security).

Copernicus delivers data and information to better understand the Earth and manage the environment. Information gathered, processed, and relayed by Copernicus helps to improve the management of natural resources, monitor the quality of water and air, plan cities, ease the flow of transportation, optimise agricultural activities and support the production of renewable energy.

The European Commission is responsible for the coordination and management of the Copernicus component of the Space Programme in line with Regulation (EU) 2021/696  of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme.

In its role of programme manager, the European Commission wishes to promote the widest possible use of Copernicus data and information.

The European Commission has applied for the registration of the Copernicus word and figurative trade marks in relation to specific classes of goods and services. This Licence on Use and Management of the Copernicus Trade Marks gives to interested parties the necessary rights to use the trade mark in their activities in relation to the Copernicus component of the European Union Space Programme.

By accepting this licence agreement, the user may use the Copernicus trade marks as specified.

The European Commission is prepared to grant the following Licence on the Use of the Copernicus Trade Marks (hereinafter the 'Licence'):

Article 1. Definitions

1. “EU” shall mean the European Union, represented by the European Commission.
    
2. “Copernicus” shall mean the Copernicus component of the Union Space Programme as established, regulated and implemented under Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme.
    
3. "Copernicus Trade Marks" shall mean the word mark COPERNICUS and the figurative mark COPERNICUS, depicted in Article 6.1. of the present Licence, and respectively identified in Annex I (see at the bottom of this page) of the present Licence.
    
4. "User" shall mean any legal or natural person to whom the present Licence grants the rights to use the Copernicus Trade Marks upon acceptance of the terms and conditions.
    
5. "Public Body" shall mean any and all European public bodies, such as EU agencies, joint undertakings, international and intergovernmental organizations, national space agencies and other public bodies of EU Member States that carry out activities related to Copernicus.

Article 2. Permitted use

1. Any user may only use the Copernicus Trade Marks to make reference to Copernicus in the course of its commercial or non-commercial activities related to Copernicus and provided that in the communication:

   it is acknowledged that the Copernicus Trade Marks are owned by the EU;    it is acknowledged that the European Commission is the programme manager of the Copernicus Programme;    the use is made in connection with activities which are compatible with the aims and principles of the European Union;    the use is in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of this agreement.

    

2. The following activities will automatically be considered to relate to Copernicus and compatible with the aims and principles of the EU:

   use by the EU Research Framework Programme beneficiaries for projects related to Copernicus, where communicating on the projects' links with the programme;    use by the contractors of the EU involved in Copernicus, when they refer to their participation as contractors in Copernicus;    use by the Public Bodies involved in Copernicus, when they refer to their participation in the Copernicus; use by universities, research centres, institutes and other educational, academic, science and R&D organisations for their educational and research activities in relation to Copernicus;    use by conference organisers wishing to organise presentations and debate on Copernicus.

    

3. Permitted use shall be:

   use on communication supports, such as publications, website pages, web banners, emails, etc.;    making copies, by downloading to printer or to an electronic, magnetic or optical storage media, of the Copernicus Trade Marks for the purposes of studies, research, criticism, review, reference, news reporting and private uses;

    

4. Use that is made to refer to the Copernicus Trade Marks outside the scope of the goods and services as described in 1.3 must be in accordance with honest practices in industrial and commercial matters.

Article 3. Protection of integrity

1. In order to protect integrity of the Copernicus Trade Marks, the User commits:

   not to affix any other marking liable to deceive third parties as to the ownership of the Copernicus Trade Marks;   not to use the Copernicus Trade Marks in any manner that is derogatory or causes prejudices to the EU or the present Licence;   not to use the Copernicus Trade Marks in any manner that expresses or implies EU’s affiliation, endorsement, certification, or approval;   not to include the Copernicus Trade Marks, any elements or imitation thereof in trade or business names, Internet domain names, trademarks, trade dress, designs, slogans or any other IP right;   not to use the Copernicus Trade Marks with any other logos or marks, icons, words, slogans, numbers, design features, symbols, except for the tagline depicted in Article 6.2;   not to use the Copernicus Trade Marks on promotional objects.

2. In exceptional cases, the activities prohibited under points c) to f) of paragraph 1 may be authorised in writing only by the European Commission upon request.
    
3. Use of the Copernicus Trade Marks shall never convey the false impression that they apply to commercial software, supplied packaged solutions for project and business management, products that offer the possibility to achieve control of the project process by bringing planning and financial monitoring together and systems that provide Enterprise Project Management (EPM) with products, commercial software and services related thereto.

Article 4. Ownership of the Copernicus Trade Marks

1. The Users hereby recognize the EU’s ownership title to the Copernicus Trade Marks and shall not at any time carry out any action, which is likely in any way to prejudice such title. The Users shall not acquire or claim any title to the Copernicus Trade Marks or similar marks.
    
2. The Users shall not without the prior express written approval of the EU, use, seek to use, register or seek to register any Copernicus Trade Marks or any other mark, service mark or distinctive sign which is or contains the Copernicus Trade Marks, the word Copernicus or which is so similar to the Copernicus Trade Marks as to be likely to cause deception or confusion.

Article 5. Warranties

The EU gives no warranty, except to the extent of its underlying entitlement to the Copernicus Trade Marks.

Article 6. Graphical specifications

1. The Copernicus figurative Trade Mark (logo) is the following:

2. The Copernicus figurative Trade Mark (logo) with the accepted tagline (English version) is the following:

3. The Copernicus figurative Trade Mark with and without tagline in different languages and authorised colours is downloadable in electronic formats after the registration process described in Article 7.3 is completed.

4. The User shall not alter the Copernicus figurative Trade Mark in any way other than to increase or decrease it in size. If the Copernicus figurative Trade Mark is reduced or enlarged, the proportions must be respected.

 

5. The Copernicus figurative Trade Mark as referred to in paragraph 1. and 2. has to be surrounded by an area which must not contain any text, logo, trade mark or drawings. The size of this area is calculated as presented below (where “X” represents the height of the logo).

Article 7. Management and protection

1. The EU is in charge of authorising and establishing the scope and rules for the use of the Copernicus Trade Marks, and has authority to address any violations of this Licence. The EU can delegate partly or totally its powers to address said violations to any third party.
    
2. The EU will supervise the use of the Copernicus Trade Marks.
    
3. The Users shall submit to the European Commission the Registration Form made available by clicking on the 'I accept' box appearing at the end of this licence. The Registration Form requests information from the User to allow the use of the Copernicus Trade Marks, to gather and archive information on use and market definition. The Registration Form constitutes an integral part of the present Licence. The EU ensures that any personal data will be kept confidential and managed according to the applicable legislation (currently Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of 23 October 2018). The User has the rights to access to and rectify any processing of his personal data. To exercise these rights, the User may use the contact point referred to in Article 11.
    
4. Where it is established that the Copernicus Trade Marks have been affixed unduly, the User, its agent or, exceptionally, the person responsible for placing the product in question on the EU market or for providing the service in the EU market, is obliged to make the use of the Copernicus Trade Marks comply with the Licence and to end the infringement with no delay.
    
5. Refusal to correct such deficiencies or to cease publication or distribution could result in revocation of the right to use the Copernicus Trade Marks and in appropriate measures to restrict or stop the provision of the service to the market.

Article 8. Termination of use

1. The authorisation granted shall terminate on 30 November 2032. The user will need to apply for a new licence at that time.
    
2. The authorisation granted will be deemed terminated if the User is found to use the Copernicus Trade Marks in any other way than as specified in this Licence.

Article 9. Governing law and dispute settlement

1. The Licence shall be governed by the Law of the EU and where necessary supplemented by the Law of Belgium.
   
    
2. The parties agree that any dispute, controversy or claim resulting from the interpretation or application of this Licence which failed to be settled amicably shall be submitted to the jurisdiction of the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg, subject to an appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Article 10. Administrative provisions

Any communication and correspondence from the User with reference to this Licence shall be made in writing to the following addresses:

European Commission
Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS)

EU Copernicus Programme
To the attention of the Head of Unit

B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

COPERNICUS TRADE MARKS

The word mark COPERNICUS and the figurative mark COPERNICUS, are identifiable by registration Nos. 11389707 and 11389814 in the EU and applied for in relation to:

• downloadable electronic publications and applications in the field of environment and security, including emergency situations related to natural and man-made disasters;
• collection, interpretation and processing of data in the field of environment, in particular obtained through land, marine and atmosphere monitoring and including meteorological and geophysical hazards, natural or man made-disasters and climate change; provision of online information in the field of environment, in particular obtained through land, marine and atmosphere monitoring and including meteorological and geophysical hazards, natural or man-made disasters and climate change;
• collection, interpretation and processing of data in the field of security, including in relation to border control, maritime surveillance and control of natural or man-made disasters; provision of online information in the field of security, including in relation to border control, maritime surveillance and control of natural or man-made disasters.