General terms and conditions governing the use of design system


This design system (hereinafter the “Design System”) is an initiative of Elia Group SA, with registered office at Boulevard de l’Empereur 20, 1000 Brussels, registered with enterprise number 0476.388.378, in the Brussels Business Register (hereinafter “Elia”).

1. Acceptance of general terms and conditions

We invite users to carefully read these general terms and conditions governing the use of our Design System. By using the Elia Group Design System, users agree unconditionally to the general terms and conditions.

2. Use of the site

The content of this Design System may be used solely for the purpose (including but not limited to commercial use) agreed upon in advance with Elia. The content of the Design System may not be used as a basis for any assessment of Elia and may not, under any circumstances, constitute any arrangement binding upon Elia and its content is not enforceable against it. Nothing on the Design System can be construed as an offer of purchase for the delivery of services or the conclusion of a contract.

3. Unlawful or prohibited use

The user undertakes to use this Design System in compliance with all laws and legal and/or contractual provisions. The user may not use the Design System in a manner which could harm the interests of Elia, its suppliers and/or customers.

4. Warranty and limitation of liability


a. General limitation of liability
To the extent legally permissible, Elia cannot be held liable (whether in contract, tort, delict, quasi-delict, statute or strict liability) for any direct (damage in direct link with with the use of the WebsiteDesign System or the inability to use it) or indirect damage (damage which is not in direct link with the use of Design System or the inability to use it such as pecuniary loss, cost or expense (such as -but without being limited to- a loss of income, of profits, of image, of clients or of markets, as well as any production standstill or slowdown), or for any damage of any kind, arising in connection with the use of the Design System or the inability to use it for any reason whatsoever, even if Elia was previously made aware of such damage. Elia cannot be held liable under any circumstances for the acts of users of the Design System, nor for their incorrect understanding or misuse of data or information published on the Design System.

b. No liability for damage to computer systems
Users acknowledge and accept that they use the Design System on their own responsibility. Any content that is downloaded or acquired in any other way in connection with the use of the Design System is done at the user’s own risk. Users acknowledge and accept that Elia cannot be held liable for any damage to their computer system or any loss of data incurred in connection with downloading any content from the Design System.

c. No liability for third party content
Websites to which hyperlinks are included from the Design System are not checked by Elia and Elia cannot be held liable for any inappropriate, illicit or illegal content on those websites or for the hyperlinks that those websites have to other websites. The presence on the Design System of hyperlinks to third-party websites does not imply, under any circumstances, an approval or quality guarantee by Elia.

d. No liability for unavailability, incorrectness, incompleteness or untimeliness
This Design System is provided as is. To the extent legally permissible, Elia excludes its liability for and does not guarantee:

    • that the service will be provided without interruption or that it will be 100% reliable;
    • that the information obtained by using the service is accurate, true and/or free of errors, or that any errors related to the service will be corrected;
    • that the Design System will be complete at all times and in all aspects; and/or
    • that the Design System will be up-to-date at all times and in all aspects.

5. Contact

Users may send in their comments, suggestions or concerns by e-mail (info@elia.be) or by post (Elia, Communication, Keizerslaan 20, 1000 Brussels, Belgium).

6. Intellectual property rights

All materials available on this Design System (including, but not limited to, texts, pictures, images, icons, videos, software, databases and data) are protected by intellectual property rights or related rights.

In particular, the names and logos of Elia appearing on this Design System are protected by trade mark and copyright laws and treaties. The Elia brand, trademarks or logos may only be used in relation to products or services offered by Elia and may not be used, under any circumstances, in a way that is likely to create confusion amongst consumers or to damage or discredit Elia.

In addition, third parties may have rights (including intellectual property rights) on some of the data, databases and/or software available on this Design System.

Unless this Design System expressly indicates otherwise, users may not, under any circumstances, copy, reproduce, represent, modify, transmit, publish, adapt, distribute, broadcast, grant a sublicense or sell by any means or in any manner, all or any part of this Design System without the prior written permission of the holder of the copyright or related right.

7. Privacy policy and cookie policy

The Design System uses cookies. For detailed information about the cookies, we use and the purposes for which we use them, please refer to our Cookies Policy [insert link].

8. Disputes, jurisdiction and applicable law

These general terms and conditions are governed by Belgian law (with the exception of the rules concerning conflicting laws). Any dispute arising from, or related to, the use of this Design System will be subject to conciliation between the parties. Should such conciliation fail, the dispute will be referred to the courts of Brussels (Belgium). Elia reserves the right, at its discretion, to refer disputes to another court having appropriate jurisdiction.

In the event of any judicial or administrative proceedings, a printed version of this agreement and of any other warning messages sent in electronic format shall enjoy the same standing as other documents and trade registers created and stored in hard copy.