Terms of Use

BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS SARL provides and operates a telecommunications service for instant messaging and voice/video over IP (VoIP), called “Linphone Free SIP Service” (the “Service”), and distributes a VoIP application for mobile and desktop platforms, called Linphone (the “Application”), to any user, whether an individual or a professional.

The Service and the Application, as well as associated services such as support, maintenance, or development, and more generally all products and services provided by BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, are described on the BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS website, accessible at linphone.org (the “Site”).

These General Terms and Conditions apply to the use of the Service and the Application by the User.

1. DEFINITIONS

In these General Terms and Conditions, each of the following expressions will be defined as follows:

• Application: The Linphone application for iOS, Android, and desktop platforms; downloadable to the User’s device; published by BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS;
• Personal Data: Personal data of the User processed by the Application during its use;
• Data: Data and content of any kind provided by the User on the Application and processed by it;
• BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS: BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS SARL, with its registered office at 3 Avenue Marie Reynoard, 38100 Grenoble, registered with the Grenoble Trade and Companies Register under the number 520 318 437;
• Service: BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS’ VoIP service for audio/video calls and instant messaging, using the open SIP protocol (Session Initiation Protocol), allowing users to create a free SIP account with the SIP domain sip.linphone.org, accessible for free online or via the Application, under the terms of these General Terms and Conditions;
• Site: The website linphone.org, published and managed by BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, describing and updating the features and terms of use of the Service; providing access to the Service and the ability to download the Application;
• Device: A fixed or mobile telecom device with Internet access, such as a smartphone, tablet, hardware phone, or personal computer (PC), allowing the download of the Application and the use of the Service, provided the technical requirements are met at the time of download;
• User: An individual who has downloaded and is using the Application or Service, either personally or professionally;
• Contact: An individual User of the Service with whom the User interacts via the Application.

2. ACCEPTANCE OF THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

The purpose of these General Terms and Conditions of Use (hereinafter “GTU”) is to define the conditions under which the User may access the Application and use all the features of the Service.

These GTU are available at any time on the Application and on the Site.

Downloading the Application and subscribing to the Service are subject to the full and unconditional acceptance of these GTU by the User.

BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS reserves the right to modify or supplement these GTU at any time, which must, if applicable, be accepted again by the User.

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICE

The “Linphone Free SIP Service” (the Service) provides the following main features:

• IP audio calls;
• IP video calls;
• Instant messaging;
• Audio and video conferencing;
• Content sharing (images, texts, videos, documents).

This list of services is not exhaustive and can be revised, supplemented, or limited at any time by BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, which the User expressly acknowledges, with no compensation being owed to the User, given the free nature of the Service and the Application.

4. ACCESS TO THE SERVICE

4.1. User Account

To access the Service, the User must use a Device compatible with the technical requirements stated on the Site and access the Site to reach the Service or download the Application from the Site or a store (Google Play Store, Apple Store).

The User must then create a User Account.

To this end, the User must provide the following data: email address, username, phone number (optional). The required data are marked with an asterisk.

The User must choose a personal password. The username and password are confidential and non-transferable. The User agrees not to disclose them to third parties and to ensure their confidentiality. The password can be changed by the User via the Service.

BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS cannot be held responsible for any damage, direct or indirect, suffered by the User or by third parties, resulting from fraudulent access to the User’s personal Account, due to the disclosure of its credentials (username or password) or a security breach on the User’s Device.

The User can, at any time, close their Account directly via the web Service, without the assistance of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS.

4.2. Free Service

The Service is free for all Users, regardless of the usage, as long as it complies with these GTU.

The User may, however, subscribe to additional support and maintenance services or order specific development services by contacting BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS.

5. PERSONAL USE OF THE SERVICE

The Service may be used for personal or professional purposes.

However, a User Account must remain strictly personal, for the exclusive use of the User, and may not be used collectively, for example, by other employees of the same company.

If multiple employees of the same company wish to use the Service, each must create their own User Account.

Automated and/or simultaneous creation of User Accounts, without human intervention, intended for persons working for a company, of any legal form, is strictly prohibited. BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS has a monitoring tool to detect any suspicious creation of accounts, carried out massively and/or automatically.

Any User Account created in violation of this provision may, at the discretion of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, after an investigation with the concerned User(s), be suspended or terminated, without prejudice to the rights and actions of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS against the person or entity that created these accounts.

6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

6.1. License to Use the Application

The Application is published under the free GNU GPL v.3 license, the terms of which are available at the following link: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html (hereinafter referred to as the “License”).

In accordance with this License, the User is granted the following main rights:

i) The right to use and run the Application (Art. 2); ii) The right to distribute the source code of the Application (Art. 3); the code is available on the Website, depending on the versions used (iOS, Android, desktop); iii) The right to modify the source code of the Application and develop derivative works or versions of the Application (covered works, Art. 2); iv) The right to distribute and redistribute, even for commercial purposes, the derivative versions of the Application, in source code form, subject to compliance with all requirements set forth in Section 5 of the License; including the obligation to distribute these derivative versions under the same License (GNU GPL v.3) and to retain copyright notices, expressly mentioning BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS as the publisher of the original Application; v) The right to distribute and redistribute, including for commercial purposes, the derivative versions of the Application in executable code form, but only if all requirements in Section 6 of the License are met; and in particular, to provide the User with access to the source code of the derivative version of the Application.

As an additional condition, authorized by Article 7 of the License, the User may not distribute or broadcast derivative versions (“covered works”) of the Application, in any form, without explicitly mentioning BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS as the publisher of the original Application, as well as the name of the Application “Linphone”.

To fully understand the scope of their rights, the User is advised to refer to the exact terms of the License and, if necessary, consult the Free Software Foundation’s FAQ or request information from BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS about their rights and obligations under this article.

The User is informed that they may, if preferred, subscribe to a proprietary license for the source code of the Application, as well as additional support, consulting, and development services, based on a prior quote from BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS.

6.2. Intellectual Property

The Application, the Service, and all components (including its source code, graphical design, and database) are protected by intellectual property law in France and foreign legislation, and are the property of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, excluding software components developed and distributed by third parties (the list is available at https://wiki.linphone.org/xwiki/wiki/public/view/Linphone/Third%20party% ) and data published by third parties or the User.

Any modification of the source code of the Application and distribution of a derivative version must be carried out in respect of the moral rights of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS; and excludes in all cases the use of specific graphical elements of the Application and Service, including the Linphone logo, of which BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS holds exclusive rights.

In particular, any reproduction and modification of the Application logo, as well as the trademark “Linphone” or “LINPHONE” (European trademark No. 9164237), which are the exclusive property of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, is strictly prohibited.

The exchange, rental, and transfer of these elements or content to a third party are strictly prohibited without prior written consent from the copyright holders.

As a result, any integration of the Service into another telecommunications service, based on a derivative version of the Application, is strictly prohibited unless all non-Licensed elements are excluded from this version, and provided that BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS is mentioned, with the “Linphone” brand, or any other distinctive sign of the Service, which is the exclusive property of BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS.

Similarly, any transfer, transmission, or distribution, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, of the Service’s User Accounts, even with copyright notices, is prohibited. In other words, any “resale” of the Service “as is” is strictly prohibited, without this restriction being considered an infringement of the User’s rights under Article 6.1.

6.3. Sanctions

Any violation of the terms of this article will result in the termination of the User’s rights to use the Service, upon written notice from BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, in accordance with the terms of Article 8 of the License, as well as the immediate closure of their User Account. Any restoration of the License, in accordance with Article 8, paragraph 2, is expressly excluded.

Furthermore, in the event of termination of the License, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS reserves the right to take legal action for infringement or to take any other useful action against the User to enforce its intellectual property rights and claim damages.

7. USER COMMITMENTS

The Application is used solely at the User’s own risk, who agrees to respect the rights of Contacts and refrain from any unlawful data collection, as well as to comply with the rules set forth in this article regarding Content dissemination.

7.1. Call Recording

It is reminded that under Article 226-1 of the Penal Code:

“Anyone who intentionally violates the privacy of another by any means, such as recording, fixing, or transmitting without consent the image of a person in a private place, is punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.”

Therefore, if the User wishes to record an audio or video call or videoconference, the User agrees to obtain prior consent from the relevant Contact person(s) and be able to justify it by any means.

BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS cannot be held responsible, in its capacity as the host of the Application, for any unauthorized capture of a call, whether audio or video, or the image or words of a Contact person. Therefore, the User guarantees BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS against any legal action, complaint, or claim from a Contact person or any other individual whose image or words have been captured and/or broadcasted by the User without prior consent; and related to the unauthorized capture, use, or broadcast of this call, as well as its hosting by the Application. The User also guarantees BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS against any compensation or penalty that may be imposed following this action.

7.2. Illicit Content

When using the Application, the User agrees not to upload, include in, or distribute via the Application any content that is illegal, contrary to laws and regulations, public order, or morality.

As the host of the Service under Article 6.IV of the French law of June 21, 2004, on “confidence in the digital economy,” BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS reserves the right to remove any manifestly illegal content, whether requested by a third party or not, and to suspend the User’s Account and access to the Service without delay and without notice. More generally, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS reserves the right to remove any content that violates these Terms of Use, without notice and at its sole discretion. Furthermore, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS reserves the right to terminate the account of the User concerned, with a notice period of 8 days.

8. DATA SECURITY

8.1. User Account Security

The User is responsible for the security of their User Account and the confidentiality of the Data stored within it.

Thus, it is highly recommended for the User to:

• Choose a strong password to access their User Account (at least 8 characters, including one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special character);
• Install antivirus software on their Device;
• Lock their Device with a password or enhanced authentication methods, such as biometrics (fingerprint or facial recognition).

8.2. Data Backup

As the Application is installed on the User’s Device, all Data related to communications exchanged via the Service (call history, messages, conversation durations, recordings, etc.) are hosted on this Device, under the sole responsibility of the User.

Only the Data mentioned in the Privacy Policy of the Application is retained by BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS, for its own duration.

Therefore, it is the User’s responsibility to back up their Data, on an external storage device or an external backup service, if desired.

9. AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE

BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS commits to making all reasonable efforts to ensure the continuity, quality, and availability of the service in accordance with industry best practices.

BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS reserves the right to suspend access to the Service for possible maintenance or service improvement operations.

The User acknowledges that fluctuations in bandwidth and access provider issues, or suspension of Service access ordered by an administrative or judicial authority, may lead to Service suspension, without BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS’ consent.

Given the free nature of access to the Service for Users, no compensation may be requested from BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS in the event of Service unavailability, whatever the cause.

10. NO WARRANTY – SUPPORT EXCLUSIONS

In accordance with Article 15 of the License, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS does not guarantee that the operation of the Application, and thus the Service, will be uninterrupted or free from anomalies or malfunctions.

Given the free nature of the Service, no user support or corrective maintenance services are provided by BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS in connection with the Service.

If the User wishes to benefit from such services, it is advisable to enter into a separate Support agreement with BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS.

Furthermore, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS provides, on its Website, online user guides and FAQs that the User may consult in case of difficulty.

11. LIABILITY OF BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS

In accordance with Article 16 of the License, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS shall not be held liable for the performance, non-performance, or malfunction of the Service or the Application, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Therefore, given the free nature of the Service and the Application, BELLEDONNE COMMUNICATIONS shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from the performance or non-performance of the Service or the provision of the Application, or their defective performance, including any indirect damages such as commercial harm, loss of customers, loss of profits, damage to reputation, or any third-party claims.

This clause does not affect the rights of Users under any applicable legal guarantees.

12. GOVERNING LAW – DISPUTE RESOLUTION

These Terms and Conditions are governed by French law.
Any dispute relating to the application, validity, or enforcement of these Terms and Conditions may, if amicable discussions fail, be submitted to a mediation body, whose contact details will be provided to the User upon request.

IN CASE OF A DISPUTE RELATING TO THE VALIDITY, ENFORCEMENT, OR INTERPRETATION OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND IN THE ABSENCE OF AN AMICABLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES WITHIN A ONE-MONTH PERIOD FROM THE NOTIFICATION OF THE DISPUTE, THE COMPETENT COURT WILL BE THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF GRENOBLE, WHICH SHALL HAVE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION, NOTWITHSTANDING MULTIPLE DEFENDANTS OR THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS, EVEN IN EMERGENCY OR PROTECTIVE PROCEDURES.

This clause applies only to Professional Users acting for commercial purposes (under Article 48 of the French Code of Civil Procedure).