Terms of Use
Welcome to SFS Store!
On this page you can find all terms of use that concern SFS Store, the subscription service, purchasing of publications and privacy. Please read the terms and conditions before using the service.
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Terms and conditions
Privacy
Right of access and usage
Copyright
General Information
These terms apply to the use of the SFS Store service by SFS Finnish Standards (store.sfs.fi/en). The service is provided by:
SFS Finnish Standards
Log in to the service
You can log in using SSO or a personal user ID (e-mail address) and password. You can create a new user ID with a valid e-mail address or use SSO. SSO is available with Microsoft 365 e-mail accounts.
When using SSO, a user ID is created based on your organizational e-mail address, and the password is the same as the Microsoft password associated with the user ID. SFS has no access to your password.
Terms and conditions
The terms and conditions of the service are explained here:
• Payment
Privacy
You can find privacy policies for all registers maintained by SFS on the SFS website.
The following are available on the website:
• Privacy Policy for Customer and Marketing Data• Privacy Policy for Standardisation• Register of job applicants (in Finnish)• SFS Comment Portal• Request for information form (in Finnish)
Information on our cookie police is available on the SFS website.
Right of access to publications
Purchasing individual standards in the Store
In the SFS Store online service, you can read SFS, ISO and IEC standards as well as IEEE and SAE standards and other similar publications. They may only be saved on one workstation, and only one printed paper copy of each standard is permitted. All files and paper copies must contain the same copyright, trademark and other notices as the original standard. Standards must not be disclosed to third parties or edited.
ASTM standards are available for reading in the service, but downloading or printing PDF copies is not permitted. With a subscription, ASME publications are available for reading only. Copying, distributing, publishing or citing ASME standards is always prohibited regardless of the intended use.
If you need access rights for more users or require a large collection of standards, a subscription is a convenient option. For more information, please contact SFS Customer Service.
Additional copies and prints
If you have purchased a single printed copy or PDF file of a standard and wish to share printed copies of it in an internal meeting, for example, you may do so by paying an additional fee. You will need to contact SFS prior to sharing the document. All files and copies must contain the same copyright, trademark and other information as the original standard. Any copies of standards must have a statement on the front cover saying that the copy is licensed.
Partial copying of standards is permitted as follows:
• For the purposes of teaching, a teacher may make one copy for each student per semester. The standard must not be copied in full. As a teacher you are allowed to copy up to half of the page count of the document but no more than ten pages. You are allowed to make electronic teaching materials.• Making copies for your own use for research purposes is permitted.• Students may quote SFS standards in their study-related texts, such as a final thesis. When quoting ISO or IEC standards, a permission is needed from SFS.• Private individuals can freely make copies for their personal use of standards they have purchased for themselves. Making copies for commercial purposes is prohibited.
Standard subscription service
In the standard subscription service, users log in to their user account to access the standards included in their subscription in the HTML view or as PDF files. In the HTML view, the selected standard is displayed in a browser in the form of a web page. Subscriptions are available for SFS, IEC and ISO standards as well as ASTM, SAE and IEEE standards.
When using the standard subscription service, you have the right to use the purchased standards or copies of them in your organisation’s internal activities. SFS will enter into a written agreement on the terms of use with your organisation. The agreement describes the right of use to the standards accessed through the subscription service.
More information on the standard subscription service.
Copyright
The copyright of standards
All standards, handbooks and other publications are protected by copyright. Users receive a limited right of use when they purchase such publications.
You may only use the standards you have purchased in your organisation’s internal activities. If you wish to, for example, send copies via email, make more copies or prints or directly quote the standard in a product you are selling, you must obtain permission from SFS Finnish Standards. Standards may not be published on public websites.
More information on copyright is available on the SFS website. Among others the following topics are covered:
• Right of use to standards in a nutshell• How may I use the standard I have purchased?• May I cite standards or make copies of them?• Right of use to standards for educational institutions• Guidance on using standards in student projects
Permission to publish
Quoting standards in commercial products
Standards may be quoted or summarised in commercial products such as books or software, but you must obtain a prior permission from SFS. Sources must also be given in the product per referencing conventions.
SFS charges a fee based on the length of the quote and the size or, for example, the number of printed copies or downloads of the edition of the product to be sold. When determining the pricing, SFS also takes into account the effect of the quotation on future sales of the standard.
Sponsored access standards
The SFS Store service includes some Sponsored access standards that can be accessed free of charge. As the name indicates, Sponsored access standards are standards paid for and made freely available by an organisation.
Standards in internal documentation
It is a good idea to utilise standards in your organisation's internal documentation, such as handbooks and manuals. If excerpts are copied for this purpose, a prior permission is needed from SFS unless such permission is included in the subscription service agreement, for example. Permission is granted on a case-by-case basis depending on the length of the excerpt. The document must include a statement saying that the excerpt is used with the permission of SFS.
Who is the licensed user of the standard?
Each standard is marked with a watermark on the left side of each page, displaying the name of the organisation that has purchased the standard and in many cases the name of the organisation's representative. Standards delivered as PDF files may also have information on the right of use concerning the standard.
Data mining is prohibited
Data mining is prohibited without permission from SFS. It is prohibited to use contents of standards in their entirety, or parts thereof, to train or develop artificial intelligence solutions. A standard or a part thereof may not be copied, downloaded or entered into any AI-based tool, application, software or equivalent without prior written permission from SFS. Using generative AI tools to analyse standards is prohibited. SFS reserves all rights to text and data mining using the contents of standards.