API Terms of Use

These API Terms of Use shall apply to the use of the APIs edited by the Bureau International des Containers et du Transport Intermodal (hereinafter the “BIC”).

1. Definitions

The terms and expressions which first letter is a capital one (used either as singular or plural) have the meaning defined in this article:

“Account” means the account that needs to create a User to use the APIs. The term includes the Users’ accounts as well as the accounts of End-users duly authorized by the Users;

“Application Programming Interface” or “APIs” means the Application Programming Interfaces created by the BIC that allow interactions between the Users’ IT systems and the Databases;

“BIC Code” means the unique identifier provided by the BIC for each Owner, in accordance with international standard ISO 6346;

“BIC Code Database” means the database created by the BIC and accessible from the BIC’s website (https://www.bic-code.org/) that contains the following information: BIC Codes, Owners’ name, Owners’ location, Owners’ contact details;

“BIC Facility Code” or “BIC LoCode” means the unique 9-character code used to identify container facilities (typically for use in EDI or other electronic container status messages). Originally created under international standard 9897, it is now a child code of the UNLOCODE.

“BIC Facility Code Database” means the database created by the BIC and accessible from the BIC’s website (https://www.bic-code.org/) that contains the following information: BIC Facility Codes, Facilities’ name, Owners’ name, Facilities’ location, Facilities’ Geofence.

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“Container” means all freight containers covered by ISO and non-ISO standards as well as container accessories and container carrying chassis;

“Container Data” means all the data contained in the Global Container Database. These data are, in a non-exhaustive way: Container’s operational number, tare weight, size and type, maximum gross mass, payload, stacking mass, manufacturer ID number and/or other details or messages such as “Notice of Sale”, “Recovery Alerts”, “Exception Alerts” or any other Container information, including information related to ownership interests, lease interests and security interests;

“Databases” means together the BIC Code Database, the BIC Facility Code Database and the Global Container Database;

“End-users” means the employees or consultants of the User or any person under its responsibility authorised to access the APIs;

“Facility” means a sea or inland terminal or depot where full or empty Containers are stored, repaired or handled;

“Geofence” means the geographical perimeter of a Facility composed with a set of latitude and longitude coordinates and precisely located on a map;

“Global Container Database” means the database created by the BIC and accessible from the BoxTech website (https://www.bic-boxtech.org/) , that contains all the Container data that is uploaded by the Owners;

“Owner” means a legal person that is the owner of a Container, the beneficiary of a lease or the operator of a Container provided such person exercises, similarly as the actual owner, an exclusive and total control over the Container, as well as the owner of one or several Facilities;

“User” means any user of the APIs whether this user is shipper, carrier, terminal or any other participant of the Container transportation industry.

2. Scope

In order to allow easier access to the Databases, the BIC has created Application Programming Interfaces which allow interactions between the User’s IT systems and the Databases.

These API Terms of Use apply to any use of the APIs by a User.

The User is required to accept these API Terms of Use before the use of the APIs by checking a box.

The BIC reserves the right to modify these API Terms of Use at any time. The amended API Terms of Use shall become applicable to the User upon their acceptance. Continued use of the API for more than two weeks following notification of User of the amended Terms of Use shall be interpreted as tacit acceptance.

The BIC reserves the right to deny the use of its APIs to any User who does not accept the amended API Terms of Use.

These API Terms of Use apply to all BIC APIs. They complement the full Terms and Conditions applicable to each of the individual BIC services which apply whenever those services are accessed, including via API.

3. Access to the APIs

Access to the APIs requires the creation of an Account and the User is required to provide certain information (such as identification or contact details) as part of the registration process for the APIs.

Any registration information given to the BIC shall always be accurate and up to date and the User must promptly inform the BIC of any updates.

The natural person that fills out the form to create an Account warrants that they have the legal capacity and the necessary rights to create an Account on behalf of the company represents and that they have been duly authorized to do so.

After the completion of the sign-up form, the User will then be granted user ID and passwords for its End-users to access the APIs.

The User will be given all applicable user ID passwords to use in connection with the APIs and will ensure that each one of its End-user is given their own individual user ID and password, which may not be shared with another individual or legal entity for any reason.

The User will be responsible for changing such passwords immediately upon first use of the APIs and is entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of such passwords and of its Account.

The User is responsible for the use of user ID and passwords by its End-users and shall ensure that they are not shared with non-authorised users.

The BIC is not responsible for any unauthorised access and/or use by any third party who independently gains access to the User’s Account.

The User will notify the BIC promptly of any unauthorised use or of any other breach of security occurring because of any activities of the User’s End-users or of any vulnerabilities so that the BIC may take or recommend appropriate remedial measures.

4. License over the APIs

The BIC grants to the User, following its acceptance of these API Terms of Use, a worldwide, limited, non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the APIs, for the duration of the API Terms of Use and solely for the purposes set out in these API Terms of Use.

This license is granted free, and the BIC may terminate it at any time in accordance with article 16 of the API Terms of Use.

In particular, violation by the User of these API Terms of Use may result in its suspension of the use of the APIs.

5. Purposes of the APIs

The APIs enable the User to access the Databases and facilitate the interactions between the User’s IT system and the Databases.

The User can access the APIs for its own business purposes.

In certain cases, the User can be authorized by the BIC to upload data to the APIs under certain conditions. In that case, such authorization shall be subject to a separate agreement between the BIC and the User.

6. APIs’ limitations

The BIC sets and enforces limits on the User’s use of the APIs.

For instance, the BIC reserves the right to limit the number and type of allowable queries per User and per day or per month to ensure system stability and to avoid misuse.

The BIC shall indicate such limitations to the User, upon its request.

The User shall not attempt to circumvent such limitations.

If the User wishes to use the APIs beyond these limits (e.g. to make queries exceeding the limits set by the BIC), the User shall contact the BIC to obtain its express consent.

7. APIs prohibitions

The User shall not and, as the case may be, shall ensure that its End-users will not:

(i) use the APIs in a way that could impair, harm or damage the APIs;

(ii) sublicense, resell, lease, or rent the APIs (or any part thereof) or any other associated products and services to any third party;

(iii) scrape, build databases or otherwise create copies of any data accessed or obtained using the APIs;

(iv) alter, distort, or remove any confidential, proprietary, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or patent legends from any copy of the APIs (or any part thereof);

(v) perform an action with the intent of introducing to the APIs any viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, malware or any items of a destructive nature;

(vi) defame, abuse, harass, stalk or threaten other Users or third-parties;

(vii) use the APIs to disrupt, interfere with, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to services, servers or network connected to or which can be accessed via the APIs;

(viii) decompile, reverse engineer or attempt to discover or reconstruct the source code of the APIs or any software related to the APIS, except to the extent permitted by Article L.122-6-1 to the French Intellectual Property Code;

(ix) use the APIs in a way that violates applicable law, whether or not the use causes harm to a User or a third-party;

(x) attempt to circumvent the APIs limitations that the BIC sets without the BIC’s express consent;

(xi) use the APIs to identify, exploit or publicly disclose any potential security vulnerabilities;

(xii) use the APIs in a way that could create an unreasonable risk to other Users from a security or privacy perspective.

8. Availability of the APIs

The BIC makes its best efforts to ensure that the APIs are accessible twenty-four hours a day (24 h/24), seven days a week (7 d/7).

The BIC does not guarantee any continuity of access to the APIs and reserves the right, without compensation, to temporary or permanently close access to the APIs, for maintenance purposes, at its own discretion. Except in case of emergency, the BIC will make reasonable efforts to give prior information to Users before any closure of the APIs.

The BIC may make any changes and improvements to the APIs deemed necessary.

9. The User’s undertakings

The User undertakes to use the APIs in compliance with these API Terms of Use and with applicable laws.

In particular, the User is responsible for the use of the API’s by its End-users and shall make sure its End-users comply with these API Terms of Use and with applicable laws.

The User shall suspend an End-user’s ability to access the APIs if the User becomes aware that the relevant End-user is using the APIs in an illegal manner or in violation of the API Terms of Use.

The User undertakes to implement all the necessary security measures to make sure its IT system does not compromise the APIs.

10. Intellectual property

The User acknowledges and accepts that the intellectual property rights of the APIs and the Databases, in their form, code and structure, as well as the content, are the exclusive property of the BIC, with the exception of those elements for which the BIC has obtained a license.

It is expressly forbidden for the User to reproduce, represent, adapt, exploit and extract any of the elements that make up the content of the APIs without the express prior authorization of the BIC or except to the extent permitted by the API Terms of Use.

11. Personal data

The BIC undertakes to comply with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (the “GDPR”) and the French Data Protection Act as amended.

For more information, the User is invited to read the Privacy Policy available at the following link: https://www.bic-code.org/privacy-notice/

In the context of the use of the APIs, the User may process personal data as a separate data controller and undertakes to comply with the abovementioned regulations.

In particular, as the case may be the User undertakes to:

(i) process the personal data of data subjects in a lawful, fair and transparent manner;

(ii) collect the personal data of data subjects for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not to process such data further in a manner incompatible with those purposes;

(iii) ensure that there is a legal basis for the processing of personal data that it implements;

(iv) collect data that is adequate, relevant, necessary for the purposes for which it is processed, maintain its accuracy and, if necessary, update it;

(v) to keep processed personal data in a form which permits identification of data subjects only for such time as is necessary for the purposes for which they are processed;

(vi) to process the personal data of data subjects in such a way as to ensure appropriate security of such data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical and organizational measures;

(vii) to comply with the obligation to provide information as set out in articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR to the relevant data subjects from whom the personal data are collected;

(viii) to comply, in writing, with requests to exercise the rights of the data subjects namely, the right of access, rectification, erasure and opposition, the right to limit processing, the right to data portability, the right not to be subject to an automated individual decision;

(ix) maintain a record of processing activities.

12. Warranties and liability

The BIC does not grant any warranty that is not expressly referred to in these API Terms of Use.

The User uses the APIs at their own risk. Under no circumstances will the BIC be held responsible for the use made of the APIs by the User, nor for any damage that may result for the User or for third parties, in particular for any virus or malicious software that may be transmitted to the User.

In this respect, the User is informed that, due to the intrinsic characteristics of the Internet, data transmitted via the APIs is not protected against the risks of detour and/or piracy, for which the BIC cannot be held responsible.

It is up to the User, if necessary, to take all necessary measures to protect its IT system.

The BIC makes no warranty that the APIs will meet the User’s requirements. The BIC makes no warranty regarding the advice, results or information obtained by the User through the APIs.

The information contained in the Databases available through the APIs comes directly from the information and documents transmitted by the Owners or by third parties, the BIC has no control over its accuracy or veracity.

Under no circumstances will the BIC be liable for any inaccurate or erroneous information contained in the Databases, regardless of whether such information has caused injury to a User or a third party.

It is the User’s responsibility to verify the information contained in the Databases available through the APIs.

In any case, the User acknowledges and accepts that the BIC cannot be held responsible in the event of misuse of their IT system or due to use of the APIs that does not comply with the API Terms of Use.

The BIC shall only be liable for direct and foreseeable damage within the meaning of Articles 1231-3 and 1231-4 of the French Civil Code caused by the BIC’s failure to fulfil its obligations under the API Terms of Use.

In any case, the total cumulative liability of the BIC all damages combined and for any reason whatsoever, may not exceed the amount of one thousand (1000) euros.

13. Notification

In the event that the User identifies any inaccurate or erroneous information available through the APIs the User shall immediately notify the BIC of such information by sending an e-mail to the following address: [email protected]

The BIC will use its best efforts to update such information.

In the event that the information is found to be inaccurate but updating it would require disproportionate effort or turn out to be impossible, the BIC will remove the information in question.

14. Security

The BIC and the User agree to maintain and update an industry standard anti-virus program within their respective IT systems and to use commercially reasonable efforts to check attachments to e-mail messages or any other files that a party receives before saving such attachments to their respective organization’s hard drives or servers.

The User shall be fully responsible for any damage caused to the Databases or the BIC’s IT system because of any viruses, Trojan horse, logical bomb, worm or any other code or instruction affecting a program, software, data, file, database, computer or other equipment or element of the BIC because of the connexion between the BIC’s IT system and the User’s IT System through the APIs.

The User undertakes that its network, operating system, servers, databases, computer systems are properly configured to use the APIs.

The User undertakes to respond to any question by the BIC about the security measures it implements concerning its IT system.

The BIC may restrict or terminate access to the APIs if the User fails to provide adequate information to verify the security measures implemented and the User’s compliance to these API Terms of Use.

The User acknowledges that it has a process to respond to any vulnerabilities related to its IT system, and in the case of any vulnerabilities related to its connection to the APIs discovered by the User or reported to the User by a third party, the User agrees to provide the BIC with the vulnerability details.

In the event of a security breach resulting from any aspect of the APIs involving the User’s IT system or any data collected through its IT system, the User shall promptly contact the BIC and provide details of the security breach.

In that case, the User agrees to refrain from making public statements without the prior express consent of the BIC as it relates to the BIC’s APIs.

15. Feedback

If the User gives feedback about the APIs to the BIC, the User gives to the BIC, without charge, the right to use and share the feedback in any way and for any purpose.

The User will not give feedback that is subject to any license.

16. Confidentiality

The User may be given access to certain non-public information, software, and specifications relating to the APIs (“Confidential Information”), which is confidential and proprietary to the BIC.

The User may use Confidential Information only as necessary in exercising its rights granted under these API Terms of Use.

The User may not disclose any Confidential Information to any third party without the BIC’s prior written consent.

The User agrees that it will protect any Confidential Information from unauthorized use, access, or disclosure in the same manner that it would use to protect its own confidential and proprietary information.

17. Termination

17.1 Termination by the BIC

The BIC may, without prejudice to any judicial damages, terminate the API Terms of Use with immediate effect in the event of failure by the User to fulfil any of its essential obligations under the API Terms of Use, if this failure has not been remedied by the User within thirty (30) days of notification of this failure by the BIC by registered mail or letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

For example, constitute breaches of an essential obligation under the API Terms of Use the followings:

(i) the User uses the APIs in an unauthorized way according to article 7 of the API Terms of Use;

(ii) the APIs are used by the User for illicit purposes or to conduct an activity that is illegal whether or not this activity causes damages to the BIC or to a third party.

The BIC can also terminate the API Terms of Use under the same conditions if the termination is requested by a decision of a judicial or administrative authority.

In any event, the BIC may suspend the User’s access to the APIs during the aforementioned thirty (30)- day period before terminating the API Terms of Use or not.

17.2 Termination by the User

Termination may be requested by the User by requesting the deletion of its Account by the BIC by sending a mail to [email protected]

The User shall be under no obligation to provide any justification.

The BIC will promptly confirm the termination of the API Terms of Use and the deletion of the Account.

17.3 Consequences of the termination

The termination of the API Terms of Use automatically results in the expiration of the license granted to the User that is no longer authorized to use the APIs and in the deletion of the User’s Account.

The deletion of the User’s Account results in the removal of the user rights of its End-users.

Neither the BIC nor the User will be liable to the other for any damages resulting solely from termination of these API Terms of Use.

18. Miscellaneous

18.1 Assignment

The User may not assign or delegate any rights or obligations under these API Terms of Use, including in connection with a change of control. Any purported assignment and delegation shall be ineffective.

18.2 Waiver

The fact that either party does not exercise any of its rights hereunder shall not constitute a renunciation by it of its exercise, such renunciation being subject only to an express declaration by the party concerned.

18.3 Independence

Nothing in these API Terms of Use shall be construed as creating an employer-employee relationship, processor-subprocessor relationship, a partnership, or a joint venture between the BIC and the User.

18.4 Validity

If one or more provisions of the API Terms of Use are considered invalid by a competent court, the other provisions shall retain their scope and effect.

The provision considered invalid shall be replaced by a provision whose meaning, and scope shall be as close as possible to the provision thus invalidated, while remaining in accordance with the applicable laws and the common intention of the parties.

19. Force majeure

Neither the User nor the BIC shall be held liable if the performance of its obligations is delayed, restricted or made impossible due to the occurrence of an event of Force Majeure as defined by article 1218 of the French Civil Code and by French case law.

In the event of the occurrence of a Force Majeure, the performance of the obligations of the User or the BIC shall be suspended. If the Force Majeure continues for more than one (1) month, the Terms and Conditions may be terminated at the request of the most diligent party without any liability on the part of one party to the other. Each party shall bear the cost of all costs incumbent upon it as a result of the occurrence of Force Majeure.

20. Applicable law and jurisdiction

The API Terms of Use are governed by French law.

The courts of Paris shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute relating to or arising out of the API Terms of Use or the use of the APIs.

 

Updated: 14 November 2023