Terms & membership rules

Ethics

The following ethical principles apply to members of the Association:

• Members shall respect the Statutes and other regulations of the Association, including these Terms and Conditions of Membership.
• Members shall be responsible for their actions towards the Association and other members and shall not act contrary to the public interest or applicable law.
• Members shall care for the image and good name of the Association.
• Members shall refrain from public statements or other actions that could be detrimental to the mission or image of the Association.
• Members shall ensure that their activities within the Association are transparent, ethical, and in accordance with the rules in force.
• Members shall perform work for the Association honestly, professionally, and with due diligence.
• Members are obliged to address each other with due respect; vulgar language or unfounded accusations against other members are not acceptable.
• If a member becomes aware that another member has violated these Terms, that member shall notify the Board of Directors of the Association so an investigation can be initiated.
• Members shall keep secret information concerning the Association for which they do not have valid permission to disclose.
• Members shall not use membership to publish confidential, inappropriate, unsubstantiated, or uncertain information concerning the Association and its mission.
• Members have a particular responsibility to recognise and eliminate any situation that could be construed as unethical, dishonest, or corrupt.
• Members shall refrain from carrying out work for the Association and others when they have reason to believe that the results of the work may be used to mislead someone or to infringe the law.

Protection of confidential information

Each member is obliged to maintain the confidentiality and non-disclosure of any information provided by the Association and acquired in the course of membership, as well as any information acquired about other members and their business activities and any information related to their business ventures, regardless of the form in which it was obtained, without it being marked as confidential at the time it is made available ("Confidential Information").

In particular, Confidential Information includes any information and documents of technical, technological, commercial, organisational or related-to-activities nature, and any other information of economic value that is not generally known to the public.

The member undertakes to: keep confidential all information provided in connection with membership; disclose Confidential Information only to members involved in the undertaking to which the information has been disclosed and only to the extent necessary; inform such members of the confidential nature of the information and instruct them to treat it as confidential; not use, copy, reproduce or disseminate any Confidential Information except as necessary to execute a project within the Association.

Information is not Confidential Information if it is publicly available (other than through a breach of confidentiality), was already in the member's possession without confidentiality obligations and obtained lawfully, was received from third parties lawfully without breach of confidentiality, or where the source declares in writing that it is not confidential.

Disclosure of Confidential Information to a third party is permitted only with the prior written consent of the source member, subject to the conditions set out by the Association or that member.

A member is also liable for breaches committed by third parties for whose acts or omissions they are responsible. Members shall keep Confidential Information in a secure environment and shall not copy, reproduce or distribute it except for internal use necessary for membership purposes.

Members are aware of the security risks associated with sending information by e-mail or over the Internet and accept responsibility for protecting information sent electronically (including against viruses) and for ensuring that such information is not directed to an incorrect address.

Members are fully and solely responsible for damage resulting from improper processing involving Confidential Information. The Association or the source member may demand the immediate cessation and rectification of breaches in writing, with at least fourteen (14) days to respond, and may claim damages under the general principles of the Civil Code.

Protection of personal data

The member undertakes to comply with the Polish Act of 10 May 2018 on the protection of personal data (Journal of Laws 2019.1781), the Regulation of the European Parliament of 27 April 2016 (GDPR, Official Journal of the EU L 119, 04.05.2016, p. 1), and the Association's Privacy Policy in force, and undertakes not to use or process in any way the personal data to which they gain access as a result of cooperation for purposes other than membership of the Association.

Investigation

If the Board of Directors becomes aware of a possible breach of these Membership Terms by a member, the Board shall immediately initiate an investigation procedure. The Board carries out the investigation; its purpose is to establish whether a breach occurred, when, in what circumstances, with what consequences for the Association, and who committed it.

The member suspected of a breach shall be given the opportunity to speak and to be heard. The investigation is conducted under the principles of presumption of innocence (any irremovable doubt is resolved in favour of the suspected member), objectivity and impartiality, and an adversarial approach.

The investigation concludes with a Board resolution establishing the circumstances. If the Board determines that a member has breached these Terms, it imposes a penalty proportionate to the violation.

Penalties for breach are: warning; written reprimand; disqualification from standing for election to Association bodies for a period of not less than three years and not more than ten years; or exclusion from the Association. Penalties are not cumulative. The resolution to impose a penalty is adopted by a qualified majority of two-thirds (2/3) of votes of the Board.

If the breach has infringed personal interests of another member or non-member, the Board may oblige the violator to apologise; the Board determines whether the apology is public or private.

All resolutions and decisions resulting from the investigation are open to members. The resolution on punishment is delivered to the punished member electronically by e-mail.

A punished member may appeal against the Board's resolution within fourteen (14) days from delivery, by sending a justified appeal to the e-mail address indicated by the secretariat. The appeal is considered at the next General Meeting of Members. While the appeal is pending, the imposed penalty is invalid and has no effect. The General Meeting may cancel, amend (but not to the appellant's detriment), or uphold the penalty.

No investigation may be undertaken if more than twenty-four (24) months have passed since the breach occurred.

Copyright and licence

Within the scope of membership, members may produce works of authorship within the meaning of copyright law. The member undertakes not to infringe the copyrights of others while acting for the Association.

Where the member is the creator of a work made for the Association, the member grants the Association a non-exclusive licence to use the copyright in all such works, covering the following fields of exploitation: recording and multiplication (printing, reprography, magnetic recording, digital techniques); marketing of the original or copies on which the work is fixed (placing on the market, lending, renting); and other forms of distribution including public performance, exhibition, display, reproduction, broadcasting and re-broadcasting, and making the work available to the public so that anyone may access it from a place and time of their choosing.

The licence is granted free of charge for each field of exploitation, for the duration of copyright protection. It includes the right to sub-license, modify the work, and transfer ownership of any copy of the work transferred to the Association.

Should any third party raise infringement claims as a result of the use of the work within the licence granted, the Association will notify the member, who undertakes to take over the claims.

Membership fee

The member is obliged to pay an annual membership fee depending on the membership package chosen.

Termination of membership as a result of resignation, penalty, or for the reasons stated in the Statute does not result in a refund of the membership fee paid.