GroundPlate

Terms of Service

Last updated: 30 August 2026.

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Groundplate software and the services offered at groundplate.org (the "Portal"), operated by Invent-IT, Marcus Ripkens, Am Sportplatz 23, 41844 Wegberg, Germany ("we", "us"). By creating an account, activating a licence, or using a paid module, you agree to these Terms.

Payments for paid licences are processed by Paddle as our Merchant of Record and reseller. Your purchase is therefore also subject to the Paddle Buyer Terms, which govern the payment relationship.

2. The software: open core and commercial modules

The Groundplate core is free and open-source software licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPLv3). You may run, study, modify and self-host it under that licence. AGPLv3 permits commercial use; it requires that, if you convey the software or make it available over a network, you make your corresponding source available under the same licence.

Commercial modules and enterprise features are separate, proprietary add-ons. A paid licence grants you (a) the right to use those proprietary modules and (b) a release from the AGPLv3 copyleft for your combined work, so you may keep your own software closed.

3. Free and paid plans

4. Licences, activation and renewal

Paid licences are annual and billed one year in advance from the date the module is provided. A licence is activated with a single-use activation code and is bound to the domain you declare at purchase; a used code cannot be redeemed again. To verify and renew the licence, an instance periodically contacts our licence server. A lifetime licence, where offered, does not renew and does not contact our server.

Subscriptions renew automatically for a further year unless cancelled at least 30 days before the end of the current period. You may cancel via your dashboard, the Paddle customer area, or in text form (e.g. email).

5. Acceptable use

You may not circumvent the licensing of proprietary modules, redistribute proprietary modules, or use the software to infringe the rights of others or applicable law. Breach of the licence terms of a proprietary module is a contractual matter and may result in termination.

6. Warranty and defects (B2B)

For paid modules we owe the functionality described. On a technical defect you must notify our support in text form without undue delay, with a reproducible description. We are entitled to a reasonable period to cure (bug fix or equivalent workaround) before any further remedy. There is no right to refund, price reduction or extraordinary termination for insignificant deviations or short, industry-standard service interruptions.

7. Liability

We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence and under mandatory statutory provisions. For slight negligence we are liable only for breach of an essential contractual obligation, and then limited to the foreseeable, contract-typical damage. The software is otherwise provided to the extent permitted by law without further warranty; self-hosted operation is your responsibility.

8. Data

Our handling of personal data is described in our Privacy Notice. Instances you self-host process your own users' data under your own responsibility as controller; we are not involved in that processing.

9. Term, termination, changes

Free plans may be used as long as offered. Paid subscriptions run for their term and renew as described. We may amend these Terms with reasonable notice; material changes affecting a running paid term take effect at the next renewal.

10. Governing law and jurisdiction

German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For merchants, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is our registered seat, to the extent permitted by law.