Terms of Service

Last updated: April 7, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By registering for or using the Design Explorer (DEx) service, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, you may not use the service.

2. Description of the Service

Design Explorer (DEx) is a design pattern management environment provided by Tampere University. The service allows users to create, manage, and explore design patterns within collaborative workspaces.

3. Access to the Service

The service is available by invitation only. Access is granted by an administrator who is a member of the Tampere University community. The administrator is responsible for ensuring that invitations are issued appropriately.

4. User Responsibilities

Users agree to:

provide accurate information during registration
keep their login credentials secure and not share them with others
use the service in compliance with applicable laws and university policies
not attempt to gain unauthorized access to other users' data or workspaces
not enter confidential business data, trade secrets, or other sensitive proprietary information into the system (e.g., within patterns, elements, or project content). The service is under active development and the service provider does not guarantee the confidentiality of user-created content
not use the service for any unlawful or unauthorized purpose

Users are responsible for all activity that occurs under their account.

5. Intellectual Property

Content created by users within the service remains the property of the respective users or their organizations. Tampere University does not claim ownership of user-created content.

Users grant Tampere University the right to store and process user-created content as necessary for providing the service.

6. Service Availability and Disclaimers

The service is under active development and is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or data integrity.

Tampere University reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the service, in whole or in part, with reasonable notice. Scheduled maintenance or updates may cause temporary interruptions.

7. Limitation of Liability

Tampere University is not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from the use of or inability to use the service, including but not limited to loss of data or business interruption. This limitation does not apply in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Users are advised not to rely on the service as the sole repository for important data and to maintain their own backups. Data can be exported from the Profile section of the service.

8. Termination

Tampere University may terminate or suspend a user's access at any time for violation of these terms or for any other justified reason. Administrators may also delete user accounts when necessary, for example to remove inactive or unauthorized accounts.

Users may delete their account and all associated data at any time from the Profile section. Before confirming, the user is shown the list of projects they belong to. Projects in which the user is the only member are deleted together with the account; projects shared with other members are preserved and remain available to those members.

9. Privacy

The processing of personal data is described in the Privacy Policy. By using the service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the Privacy Policy.

10. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of Finland. Disputes are resolved in the District Court of Pirkanmaa.

11. Changes to Terms

Tampere University reserves the right to update these Terms of Service. Users will be notified of significant changes through the service. Continued use of the service after changes have been published constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

12. Contact

For questions regarding these Terms of Service:

Tero Juuti
Email: tero.juuti@tuni.fi
Phone: +358 50 517 9029