Forum Software License Agreement

IRCAM FORUM LICENCE AGREEMENT

PREAMBLE:

The IRCAM Forum is a platform offering its users, depending on the offer (Article 1) they choose:

A license for Forum software (Title I)
Additional services offered by IRCAM depending on the offers (Title II and Title III)
A space for users to exchange ideas (Title IV)

Article 1 – Offer

To obtain a license as defined in Title I below for IRCAM Forum software, users have two options:

Purchase of software license independently of a subscription
Subscription

The software covered by this contract is owned by IRCAM and can be downloaded, directly or indirectly, from the forum.IRCAM.fr website. The software offer is divided into a free panel and a paid panel.

Four subscription plans are available depending on the legal status, activity, and status of the user, as well as the software package chosen.

1.1 Free individual subscription:

The free individual subscription is open to individuals for personal use of the free software. It is automatically assigned to users who purchase a software license independently of a subscription.

1.2 Premium Individual and Premium Student subscriptions:

These subscriptions are available to individuals for individual use of all free and paid software. Three options are available:

Premium Individual
Premium Individual Plus
Premium Student

1.3 Premium Education and Research subscription:

The Premium Education and Research subscription is available to legal entities engaged in higher education, training, and/or research for collective use of free and paid software. This subscription allows the software to be used for educational, training, and/or research purposes. Different options are available depending on the number of users who can benefit from the services offered.

1.4 Premium Companies subscription:

The Premium Companies subscription is available to legal entities other than those eligible for a Premium Education and Research subscription, such as arts companies and production studios, for collective use of free and paid software. Different options are available depending on the number of users who can benefit from the services offered.

The purchase of software license independently of a subscription grants the user access to the services set out in Title II of this contract.

Premium Individual, Premium Student, Premium Education and Research, and Premium Companies subscriptions grant the user access to the services set out in Title III of this agreement.

TITLE I : LICENSE

Article 2 – Purpose

IRCAM grants the user who accepts it a personal, non-assignable, non-exclusive, and non-transferable right to use the software and documentation included in the subscription they have chosen, worldwide and for the duration of the agreement.

As an exception, users who have access on the forum.IRCAM.fr platform to links to software distributed on other platforms, including GitHub.com, shall be subject to the license terms relating to those platforms, which shall take precedence over those of this license agreement, which supplements them.

This license shall not be interpreted as a sale, and IRCAM is and remains the owner of all software covered by this contract, with the exception of developments shared by members covered by Article 9, who are and remain the owners of their developments.

The right of use applies to non-commercial use. Any commercial use must be covered by a separate agreement with IRCAM. As an exception, the user may make commercial use of the software:

within the limits of live performances;
and when the user subscribes to a Premium Individual, Premium Student or Premium Companies subscription, for all music and sound production activities;
and when the user subscribes to a Premium Education and Research subscription, in the context of educational, training, and/or research activities.

The rights granted under the terms of this license apply to all software upgrades provided by IRCAM and used to replace and/or supplement IRCAM software.

Article 3 – Duration and term

Article 3.1 – Effective date

This contract shall take effect on November 24, 2025 for all offers subscribed to from that date onwards. The provisions relating to offers subscribed to prior to that date shall continue to apply until their expiry, after which the terms and conditions of this contract shall take effect.

Article 3.2 – Purchase of software license outside of a subscription

For software license purchased independently of a subscription, the license for such software shall take effect on the date of purchase without any time limit.

Article 3.3 – Subscriptions

For services associated with subscriptions, the license shall take effect from the date of the user's registration on the Forum website and shall last for one (1) year.

Any breach of the terms of this contract may result, after notification, in its early termination by IRCAM.

The Free individual subscription is automatically renewed upon expiry and the user may terminate it at any time upon request. IRCAM reserves the right not to renew a Free subscription upon expiry and, if applicable, will inform the user three (3) months in advance.

For subscriptions other than Free, unless renewed at the end of this period, the user's subscription is converted to a Free subscription for a new annual period and the user no longer receives new copies of the software or upgrades to the paid software already downloaded. The user must renew their membership to one of the Premium offers (sections 1.2 to 1.4) in order to benefit from the corresponding services again (see Title III) by starting a new annual subscription period replacing their Free subscription.

In the event of termination or non-renewal, the user loses the rights acquired upon registration, but the provisions of Articles 4, 9, 10, and 11 continue to apply.

Article 4 – Terms of Use

IRCAM software may not be rented, sold, or exchanged, in whole or in part, without IRCAM's authorization.

Any copying of software provided by IRCAM is prohibited, except for the purpose of transferring it from one personal computer to another. In this case, only one copy of the software may remain after the operation by an authorized user.

IRCAM cannot be held responsible for the consequences of using its software or for its suitability for any particular purpose . The user expressly acknowledges and agrees that the use of IRCAM software is at their own risk.

Any independent development of IRCAM software that reproduces all or part of IRCAM software elements, whether or not accompanied by exploitation by the user, may be subject to legal action for infringement.

The user must leave intact all references to the authors and copyright of IRCAM or its members appearing in the programs or documentation. The user also undertakes to mention the name of IRCAM in any presentation of IRCAM software or its extensions.

TITLE II: SERVICES RELATED TO THE PURCHASE OF NON-SUBSCRIPTION SOFTWARE LICENSE

The following additional services are provided with the purchase of software license independently of a subscription.

Article 5 – Maintenance and warranty

The user may benefit from subsequent updates to the software purchased, either free of charge or by purchasing an additional product, depending on the content of the updates.

IRCAM undertakes to provide technical support for a period of twelve months after the date of purchase.

TITLE III : ADDITIONAL SERVICES FOR PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS

The following additional services are granted to beneficiaries of a

Premium Individual, Premium Student, Premium Education and Research, or Premium Companies (sections 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4) for the duration of the license.

Article 6 – Maintenance and warranty

IRCAM undertakes to provide technical support and existing upgrades for the software subscribed to.

Article 7 – Training

The user benefits from discounts on professional training courses organized by IRCAM’s Pedagogy and Documentation department.

Article 8 – Preferential rates for other IRCAM services

Users also benefit from :

privileged access at reduced prices to the Forum Workshops (in Paris and elsewhere) and to video recordings of these workshops, where available ;
reduced rates on a range of partner products ;
discounts on seasonal concerts and the ManiFeste festival, as well as free access to the IRCAM Media Library.

TITLE IV : FORUM COMMUNITY

For the duration of the license, users are invited to join the Forum community, where they can interact with other users and IRCAM.

Users agree to provide IRCAM with private information about their profile and activity that is necessary for the management of the IRCAM Forum. This data will be treated as confidential by IRCAM in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, users will have the option of providing information about themselves that will be published on their public profile for other Forum users to see.

Article 9 – Sharing developments

The Forum community allows users to share with each other the developments they make using the Forum's software.

In the event of such sharing, it is understood that the user remains the owner of their developments but grants IRCAM and other users a right to use them, worldwide and for the entire legal duration of the copyright, and subject to the same conditions as those set out in Article 4 of this contract.

The user indemnifies IRCAM against any recourse or action (in particular action for infringement, eviction, violation of personality rights and image rights) that may be brought on any grounds by any author or rights holder, performers or producers of pre-existing works, in connection with the production or exploitation of these developments.

Article 10 – Publications on the Forum

The forum.IRCAM.fr website offers users the opportunity to write articles, opinion pieces, and news items, publish events and videos, and share reviews and comments in discussion groups. Users grant IRCAM the right to distribute their publications and the right to insert them in whole or in part on any medium, in any language, and worldwide. It is agreed that these comments are written free of charge and that IRCAM may use them without financial compensation. IRCAM reserves the right to moderate and possibly delete content published by users.

In this regard, the user guarantees that they hold the reproduction rights for the media used and indemnifies IRCAM against any third-party claims, particularly with regard to copyright.

TITLE V : MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 11 – Confidentiality

The user undertakes not to disclose any information marked "confidential" disseminated by IRCAM during the license period. Without prejudice to the application of the provisions of section 3.2, this prohibition shall apply to the user for a period of five (5) years from the date of dissemination of such confidential information to the user.

Article 12 – Language

The reference language of this contract is French. An English translation is provided, but in the event of any discrepancy between the two languages, the French version shall prevail.

Article 13 – Settlement of disputes and jurisdiction

In the event of a dispute, the parties agree to seek amicable solutions before referring the matter to the competent courts of Paris, with French law applying to this contract.