WinCC OA License Portal Terms & Conditions

User terms

These License Portal terms and conditions govern the use of the License Portal provided and operated by ETM professional Control GmbH ("Operator") for the management of WinCC OA Licenses. By accessing and using the License Portal, the User agrees to be bound by these License Portal terms and conditions (including the Data Privacy Notice - Siemens Global, the Terms of Use - Siemens Global, and the STS Base Terms – International Version) (“Agreement”).

If you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, then do not use the License Portal. By entering this Agreement, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so for your company. You should review the terms and conditions of the Agreement periodically, and each use of the License Portal is subject to the then-current form of the Agreement.

Definitions

WinCC OA:

WinCC Open Architecture (“WinCC OA”) is a software, developed by ETM. It controls, supervises and monitors industrial processes. WinCC OA is a SCADA product (Supervisory, control and data acquisition) or IT/OT platform. It uses CodeMeter technology from WIBU-System AG for licensing and may be ordered and purchased either (i) directly from ETM based upon the EULA - End User License Agreement (as available under https://www.winccoa.com/downloads/category/versions-patches.html) via SiePortal or (ii) from a software vendor based upon a separate license agreement between software vendor and User. Hereinafter ETM or the software vendor are considered as the “licensor” of the User, respectively. WinCC OA Licenses are delivered to and can be managed in the License Portal.

License:

A License governs – as detailed in the respective license agreement between the licensor and the User - the usage rights for a software product and can either be bound to specific hardware (like a dongle or a computer) or exist as a digital software license, latter allowing flexible use. In case a License is a digital software license it is managed through CodeMeter technology, which ensures secure license storage, distribution, and enforcement. CodeMeter technology is used to protect the software product against piracy, ensuring that only authorized users can access and use the licensed software features.

License container:

A license container is a secure storage medium provided by CodeMeter technology where one or more Licenses are stored. These containers can be hardware-based or software-based. The container serves as the trusted environment to manage, store, and enforce Licenses, providing secure activation, transfer, and validation of the Licenses it holds.

CodeMeter:

CodeMeter is a comprehensive licensing and digital rights management (DRM) solution developed by WIBU-Systems AG. It is designed to protect software and intellectual property from piracy and unauthorized use, while also providing flexible licensing options for software developers, software vendors and end users. CodeMeter allows licensors to create, manage, and distribute Licenses securely, ensuring that only legitimate end users can access and run the software.

License Central:

License Central is a web-based platform developed by WIBU-Systems AG as part of their CodeMeter ecosystem. It enables licensors to manage and automate the entire lifecycle of their Licenses, from creation and deployment to activation and management. License Central integrates with various systems like e-commerce platforms, ERP, and CRM systems to streamline the process of delivering Licenses to end users.

License Portal:

License Portal is a web-based platform designed and hosted by WIBU-Systems AG that allows Users to manage, organize, and monitor their Licenses (WinCC OA or WinCC OA based OEM products), working with CodeMeter and License Central. The License Portal serves as a centralized hub where all licensing activities are managed efficiently, from activation to renewal and transfer, providing flexibility and control for both licensors and end users. It offers:

  • License Management: Users can view details about their Licenses, such as the type of license, expiration dates, and usage rights. This enables better tracking and administration of purchased or issued Licenses.
  • License Delivery: After purchasing a License via Siemens SiePortal or from a software vendor, Users can access and retrieve their Licenses through the License Portal.
  • License Transfer: The License Portal allows Users to transfer their Licenses to other Users, subject to (i) the permissions and rights associated with the Licenses as detailed in the respective license agreement (EULA), and (ii) the provisions of this Agreement.
  • User and Role Management: The Administrator and Users can invite other users to the License Portal, assign roles, and control access to specific Licenses based on the User's role or organizational hierarchy.
  • Reporting and Insights: The License Portal provides reporting tools for tracking license usage, compliance, and overall license health, helping both licensors and end users stay informed about the status of a License.
  • Security: The License Portal offers a secure environment for handling sensitive data related to Licenses and Information. It integrates with identity management solutions (such as Auth0) to ensure secure access.

User:

User is a user of the License Portal, who (i) has confirmed that it has read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement, and (ii) has specific permissions and rights to manage Licenses in accordance with the respective license agreement (i.e. the EULA or the license agreement between software vendor and User, respectively), add Information and may invite other users to join the License Portal.

Administrator / Operator:

The License Portal is provided and operated by ETM professional Control GmbH. As operator ETM is the single point of contact for the Users in case of any technical issues related to the use of the License Portal. ETM has defined certain persons with administration permissions (“Administrator”).

Siemens SIePortal:

The Siemens SiePortal (https://sieportal.siemens.com) is an online platform that allows its users to order Siemens products, like WinCC OA.

ETM:

ETM professional control GmbH is the developer and IP holder of WinCC Open Architecture. It is located in Eisenstadt, Austria. ETM is a 100% affiliate of Siemens AG, Berlin and Munich.

WIBU-Systems AG:

WIBU-System AG (wibu.com )is a leading provider of software protection, licensing and security solutions. It is located in Karlsruhe, Germany. ETM has licensed the License Portal from WIBU-Systems AG, which has designed the License Portal and hosts it. The terms & conditions of WIBU including hosting information can be found on the WIBU webpage (Terms & Conditions of WIBU-SYSTEMS AG - Wibu-Systems)

Scope of the License Portal

The License Portal is designed to store a range of information related to entities that use or purchase Licenses. This structured data management allows Users to keep track of their Licenses, associated projects, and the relevant technical details, providing a centralized and organized system for license handling.

Following information may be stored in the License Portal (“Information”):

  • Entity Information: Details about the individuals or organizations who purchase, own or use the Licenses.
  • Order Information: Information about the purchase orders for the Licenses.
  • License Details: Specifics of the Licenses, such as which license options or features are being utilized.
  • Project Information: Data regarding the projects where the Licenses are being applied.

By providing the License Portal (including its features and functionality) no agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchisor-franchisee relationship is intended nor created between ETM and any third party. For all actual or potential transactions between the Users, ETM acting solely as the operator of the License Portal shall not hold title to, handle the physical distribution of, nor be held liable for failures of any components, materials, services related to such transaction.

Registration

In order to have access to the License Portal a User has to register via the Siemens registration process (“SRP”) first. Without such registration, it is not possible to access the License Portal. If a User wants to invite other users to the License Portal, it will inform the other users in advance about the necessity of such registration. During the SRP the User has to accept inter alia the Data Privacy Notice - Siemens Global and the Terms of Use - Siemens Global. The User acknowledges and agrees that the Data Privacy Notice - Siemens Global and the Terms of Use - Siemens Global as well as the STS Base Terms – International Version form an integral part of this Agreement between User and ETM and shall apply to User´s use of the License Portal accordingly unless otherwise detailed in these License Portal terms and conditions.

All data that a User provides to ETM must be accurate (e.g., name, contact information), whether or not supplied during the SRP. The company name provided by the User must be the full legal name of an actual legal entity, be associated with the Tax ID and/or DUNS numbers provided and must have operations at the address provided. All data must be provided in Latin characters (e.g. English). The User is responsible for keeping such data up-to-date and must provide changes promptly to ETM by logging in and providing the correct data to ETM.

The User acknowledges and agrees that ETM shall be entitled to process its data as detailed in and in accordance with the Data Privacy Notice - Siemens Global. ETM may use the Users' data, including data provided during the SRP, for marketing purposes related to the services offered by ETM.

Information provided by User

A User may be granted specific user permissions, which may allow it to see / modify / create / delete Information. In general, this Information will be about the User itself and/ or relating to its own projects and/ or end users. Due to the nature of the License Portal, however, a User may also be allowed to access various Information on the License Portal about and/or stored by other Users.

Therefore and taking the nature of the License Portal in consideration, a User shall only store Information on the License Portal for which it has all necessary rights and permissions to do so. Under no circumstances, a User shall store personally identifiable information about a natural person on the License Portal without the consent of the natural person concerned. At any time the Information stored by the User shall comply with the Section “Duties of the User” of the Terms of Use - Siemens Global.

If the Information stored by the User infringes the rights of third parties or belongs to third parties and/ or the User breaches its duties as detailed in the Section “Duties of the User” of the Terms of Use - Siemens Global, this User shall be solely liable for any claims or damages arising therefrom or incidental thereto. The User is responsible for ensuring that any Information it submits does not violate intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other legal rights of third parties or the “Duties of the User” and must immediately remove any infringing Information from the License Portal if requested to do so.

The User agrees to indemnify and hold ETM and WIBU-System AG harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from the Information provided by the User, including, but not limited to, claims related to the infringement of third-party rights or ownership disputes. The User shall bear full responsibility for any legal consequences resulting from the unauthorized use or submission of third-party information.

The Administrator may remove disputed and/ or alleged infringing Information or content from the License Portal without explicitly informing the User in advance.

Visibility of Information

The User acknowledges that any Information provided within the License Portal at its hierarchical level may be visible to Users at higher hierarchical levels who possess the necessary permissions. Users who have access to Information belonging to other Users, whether at the same level or a hierarchically lower level, must neither misuse this Information nor disclose it in a manner that could harm the individual or entity to whom the Information pertains.

The Administrators of the License Portal have read access to all Information across all hierarchical levels. Additionally, ETM may use this Information to improve and optimize features and the functionality of the License Portal. Users also agree that ETM may publish anonymized data and statistical information derived from the Information stored within the License Portal.

License Transfer to User

When a (original) User transfers a License or a License container to another (receiving) User, the original User is responsible for ensuring that (i) it has the necessary rights to transfer or sublicense the License or License container, (ii) the receiving User will be bound by the terms and conditions of a corresponding license agreement, and (iii) said License transfer to the receiving User is in compliance with (a) the original User´s license agreement with its licensor and (b) the provisions of this Agreement (e.g. Sec. 11 “Export control compliance” of the STS Base Terms – International Version). Upon transferring, in the License Portal the original User loses all rights to use that License or License container.

Since the License Portal cannot verify whether the mentioned requirements are met, by using (e.g. activating, further transferring) the transferred License or License container the receiving User confirms, that (i) it is legally validly entitled to use the corresponding License or License container, (ii) it has read and understood the terms and conditions of the license agreement with its licensor and agrees to be bound by it, (iii) said License transfer – to the best of its knowledge - is in compliance with the original User´s license agreement, and (iv) said License transfer is in compliance with the provisions of this Agreement (e.g. Sec. 11 “Export control compliance” of the STS Base Terms – International Version) and the applicable law.

In the event of a violation of these terms, the original User and the receiving User agree that in the License Portal the transferred License or License container will immediately become void and ETM reserves the right to remotely deactivate the License or License container. Any legal consequences thereof shall be governed by the provisions of the respective license agreement (e.g. the licensor may seek damages from the violating party).

Furthermore, a license transfer through the License Portal is considered as an irrevocable and final transaction. So it cannot be reversed in the License Portal by the Users.

Accidental License Transfer to User

In the case of an accidental transfer of a License or License container to a “wrong” User, the original User and the “wrong” User have to mutually contact the Administrator for assistance in reversing the transfer. In case the “wrong” User has already activated the License or License container, the transfer can’t be revered in no case. Even if the license was not activated yet, it is not guaranteed that the transfer can be undone. Any support provided in attempting to void or reverse the transfer may be subject to additional fees.

Users are encouraged to carefully verify all transfer details before completing any transaction.

License Activation

In the License Portal a License is activated by putting it into a License container. Any legal consequences thereof shall be governed by the provisions of the respective license agreement (e.g. License Return Policy, if any).

In CodeMeter, license activation refers to the process of enabling a License to function on a specific device or within a specific environment. During activation, the license information is securely transferred and bound to a License container (hardware- or software-based container). This process verifies the License's authenticity and links it to the designated machine or device, ensuring that only authorized users can access and use the licensed software. Once a License is activated in CodeMeter, the User can only move or reuse the License by following a formal transfer process within CodeMeter. As such license handling processes are available: re-hosting (transfer of an activated License to another PC), de-activating a License (decommissioning), and license restore are available to the customer.

License Return

Once a User has activated a purchased or transferred license, in the License Portal a reverse is generally not possible. (Receiving) Users do not have an implicit right to return a License to the (original) User. However, in the respective license agreement the licensor may agree to a return of not activated Licenses as a gesture of goodwill. Any legal consequences thereof shall be governed by the provisions of the respective license agreement.

Users are encouraged to carefully review the terms and conditions before activating a License, as activation typically finalizes the transaction in the License Portal.

Technical Support

As operator of the License Portal ETM will use commercially reasonable efforts to make the License Portal available to Users up to 24 hours per day and 7 days a week excluding downtime, unavailability or any other performance issue resulting directly or indirectly from any of the following exclusions:

  • scheduled maintenance;
  • downtime for which at least 24 hours prior notice is provided to Users via the License Portal;
  • factors outside ETM’s reasonable control;
  • actions or inactions of Users or any third party;
  • any equipment, software or other technology not provided by ETM or WIBU-Systems AG; or
  • suspension or termination of the License Portal in accordance with these License Portal terms and conditions (including Section 2.2 of the Terms of Use - Siemens Global).

In case of technical issues related to the use of the License Portal Users may contact ETM’s Technical Support organization as primary point of contact for Technical Support in relation to the License Portal. All support inquiries must be made through: www.winccoa.com/support.html

Subject to availability ETM offers Users Technical Support services via a service hotline Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm (CET, CEST), excluding national and local holidays in Austria. ETM will respond to User's support inquiry at ETM’s sole discretion via e-mail, hotline or remotely as described in this Section. The following types of incidents are excluded from the scope of support for the License Portal, but Users may revert such requests to ETM´s sales team for resolution:

  • technical WinCC OA support
  • incidents regarding a release, version, and/or functionalities of a service developed or configured specifically for a User;
  • incidents ascribed to a consulting or training request (“how-to”). These are also covered by the online user documentation;
  • incidents ascribed to a custom development request.

The Technical Support is available in English and German. To receive support services hereunder, User shall reasonably cooperate with ETM´s support team to resolve support incidents and shall have adequate technical expertise and knowledge of its License Portal configuration to provide relevant information to enable ETM´s support team to reproduce, troubleshoot and resolve the experienced error such as, by way of an example, instance name, username, form name and screenshot. Such support services may require that ETM´s support team gets access to the Information of the User in which case, User is required to issue temporary credentials to ETM´s support team to permit that access. The support services are provided “as is”. ETM will not assume any obligation nor responsibility for such support services, including lawfulness, completeness, correctness, and timeliness of the provided support.

Disclaimers

ETM makes only the limited warranties expressly stated in these License Portal terms and conditions, and disclaims all other warranties including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. ETM does not warrant or otherwise guarantee that (i) a reported error, unavailability or any other performance issue will be corrected or Technical Support requests will be resolved to meet User’s needs, (ii) neither the License Portal nor its features and functionality will be uninterrupted, error free, fail-safe, fault-tolerant, or free of harmful components, or (iii) any content, including User´s Information, will be secure or not otherwise lost or damaged. Representations about the License Portal or its features or functionality in any communication with the User constitute technical information, not a warranty or guarantee. The User is responsible for assessing the suitability of the License Portal for User’s intended use, selecting the License Portal´s offered features and functionality necessary to achieve User’s intended results, and for the use of the License Portal. By using the License Portal, the User agrees that such use meets User’s requirements to enable compliance with applicable laws. The User will obtain, at its own expense, any rights, consents, and permits from third parties which are required for such use. The User agrees that neither the License Portal nor its features and functionality are contingent on any future features or functionality of the User´s offerings. ETM does not control User’s processes or the creation, validation, sale, or use of User’s (or any client of User’s) products or services and will not be liable for any claim or demand made against User by any third party, except for ETM’s obligations to indemnify the User against infringement claims as expressly set forth in Section “Intellectual Property Infringement Indemnity”.

Limitation of Liability

The entire, aggregate liability of ETM related in any way to this Agreement (i) is limited to the fees paid to ETM for the Technical Support, if any, or (ii) is excluded for any claims, damages or expenses of User resulting from or arising out of the (charge-free) use of the License Portal. The foregoing limitation does not apply to ETM’s indemnity obligation in Section “Intellectual Property Infringement Indemnity”.

In no event will ETM be liable (i) for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, loss of production or data, interruption of operations, or lost revenue or profits, even if such damages were foreseeable, or (ii) in cases of slight negligence.

ETM will not be liable for any claim in connection with this Agreement if such claim is brought more than two years after the first event giving rise to such claim is or should have been discovered by User.

The foregoing limitations and exclusions apply (i) to the benefit of ETM and its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, licensors, subcontractors (e.g. WIBU-System AG), and representatives (e.g. Administrator, Technical Support team), and (ii) regardless of the form of action, whether based in contract, statute, tort (including negligence), or otherwise.

The foregoing limitations and exclusions will not apply to the extent that liability cannot be limited or excluded according to applicable law.

Intellectual Property Infringement Indemnity

ETM will indemnify and defend, at its expense, any action brought against a User to the extent that it is based on a claim that the License Portal (including its technical features and functionality) infringes any copyright, any trade secret, or a patent or trademark issued or registered by the United States, Japan, or a member of the European Patent Organization, and will pay all damages finally awarded against User by a court of competent jurisdiction or agreed in a settlement, provided that User gives ETM (i) prompt written notice of the claim, (ii) all requested information and reasonable assistance related to the claim and (iii) sole authority to defend or settle the claim. ETM will not admit liability or incur obligations on User’s behalf without User’s prior written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.

If a permanent injunction is obtained against User’s use of the License Portal due to an infringement claim, ETM may, at its sole option, obtain for User the right to continue using the License Portal, or replace or modify the License Portal to become non-infringing. If such remedies are not reasonably available to ETM, upon request of ETM the User will immediately cease to use the License Portal. ETM may, in its sole discretion, provide any of the foregoing remedies to mitigate infringement prior to the issuance of an injunction.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, ETM will not have any liability or obligation to User to the extent that an infringement claim arises out of (i) use of a prior version of the License Portal to the extent that a current version is non-infringing, (ii) failure to use a replacement, correction, patch, or new version of the License Portal offered by ETM that performs substantially the same functions, (iii) use of the License Portal in combination with content, equipment, or products not provided by ETM, (iv) the Information provided by User, (v) any adjustment, modification, or configuration of the License Portal not made by ETM, or (vi) instructions, assistance, or specifications provided by User.

This Section sets forth ETM’s entire liability and User’s sole and exclusive remedy for infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.

Data Confidentiality. 

ETM understands the sensitive nature of the Information a User stores within the License Portal and the data a User receives from its trading partners via the License Portal, and ETM therefore agrees to handle and protect the Information and data pursuant to the commitments described in this Agreement. ETM agrees to use reasonable efforts to maintain, safeguard, and not use or disclose the Information except as needed to facilitate the features and functionality of the License Portal, track usage, address security, fraud prevention and data integrity requirements, respond to requests of government authorities, perform aggregated and anonymous analytics, and otherwise to perform services under this Agreement.

In order to facilitate interaction among Users, a User may be allowed to access certain Information about other Users. By entering into this Agreement, the User agrees to treat the Information of and/or the data about other Users in strict accordance with this Agreement (Sec. 9 “Confidentiality and compliance” of the STS Base Terms – International Version) and to the restrictions on the types of Information and data a User may submit to the License Portal as stated in this Agreement. In all cases, a User must give third parties an opportunity to request to be removed from its database and a chance to review what information a User has collected about them.

Information (but not User´s Information) about the processing capabilities of the License Portal, the technology or interface features of the License Portal, and the notices and updates sent by ETM to a User are proprietary and confidential information of ETM and the User hereby agree not to share such information with third parties or use such information except to support its use of the License Portal.

The restrictions on disclosure or usage of Information contained in this Section will not apply to information that (i) is already known to a party prior to disclosure by the other party; (ii) is or becomes a matter of public knowledge through no fault of the receiving party; (iii) is rightfully received from a third party without a duty of confidentiality; (iv) is independently developed by the receiving party; (v) is disclosed under operation of law (i.e. governmental or regulatory request, or the like); or (vi) is disclosed by a party with the other party's prior written approval.

Compliance with Laws

The User agrees to comply with all applicable laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding its use of the License Portal and any transfer of Licenses through the License Portal, including compliance with the Applicable Export Laws as detailed in Sec. 11 “Export control compliance” of the STS Base Terms – International Version). This includes obtaining any required export authorizations. ETM does not assume the responsibility or liability for failure to obtain appropriate authorizations.

The User confirms that (i) it will not use the License Portal and/ or the Licenses, and will not allow the License Portal and/ or the Licenses to be used for, any purposes prohibited by Applicable Export Laws, (ii) it is not located in a country subject to restrictions imposed by Applicable Export Laws ("Embargoed Country"), (iii) it is not a citizen, national or resident of, and are not under the control of, an Embargoed Country, (iv) it will not use, directly or indirectly, the License Portal and/ or the Licenses in or from an Embargoed Country, (v) it is not listed on any sanctioned party list imposed by Applicable Export Laws, and (vi) it will not use or make available the License Portal and/ or the Licenses, directly or indirectly, to persons/ entities on the above-mentioned lists.

Without limiting any of the obligations of the User according to this Section, the User acknowledges and agree that ETM is required to take measures to prevent unauthorized access to the License Portal. The User therefore acknowledges and agrees that ETM may (i) automatically check any company and user registration data and other information provided by User about its identity against applicable Embargoed Country lists and applicable sanctioned party lists, (ii) regularly repeat such checks whenever an applicable Embargoed Country lists and applicable sanctioned party lists is updated or when the User updates its data, (iii) block the User´s access to the License Portal in case of a potential match, and (iv) in case of a potential match contact the User in order to confirm its identity.

The foregoing provision shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement.

Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution

All disputes directly arising under this Agreement, which cannot be settled amicably, shall be settled in accordance with Sec. 17 “Applicable law and dispute resolution” of the STS Base Terms – International Version).