General Information of the Website 

This is a domain of the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) with NIF nº Q-5855049-B and registered office at Torre Marimon, C-59, Km. 12.1, Caldes de Montbui (Barcelona) CP-08140, Tel. 93 467 40 40, and email: irta@irta.cat.

IRTA is a public company of the Generalitat de Catalunya, regulated by Law 4/2009 of April 15 of the Parliament (BOE of April 23, 2009). Its aims are to contribute to modernization, improvement, and competitiveness; to the sustainable development of the agricultural, food, agroforestry, aquaculture, and fishing sectors, and also of those directly or indirectly related to the supply of safe and high-quality food to final consumers; to food safety and food processing; and, in general, to the improvement of the population’s health and well-being.

IRTA carries out its activities directly or through a network of consortium centers (between IRTA, universities, CSIC, provincial councils, etc.), which can be defined as a cooperative R&D system.

Through the IRTA.cat domain, the company manages its web portal, without prejudice to the fact that, occasionally or permanently, there may be other electronic addresses that also allow access to the contents and services provided via the website.

User Access

Access and/or use of IRTA portals confers the status of user and implies the acceptance of the conditions of access and use set out in this legal notice, as well as the privacy and personal data policy. These conditions will apply regardless of the general contracting and electronic commerce conditions that may also apply to certain functionalities of the portal. The user agrees to use the services and information provided on the IRTA.cat portal under good faith principles.

Initial access to the portal is free of charge. However, certain functionalities or services may be subject to payment under the terms specified in each case.

If using certain functions or services requires user registration, this will be carried out through data collection forms and in compliance with data protection legislation as described in this legal notice.

To use the portal, minors must have permission from their parents, guardians, or legal representatives, who will be responsible.

Protection of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights

Any use or reproduction of these contents, or others that may be included in the future, must follow the provisions and respect the limitations of Intellectual Property Law and, in any case, must be carried out with the authorization of IRTA, without prejudice to the limits established by Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996 of April 12, approving the revised text of the Intellectual Property Law.

Reservation of rights: IRTA explicitly reserves rights regarding all content disseminated on the website that is subject to intellectual and industrial property. In accordance with article 32 of the Intellectual Property Law, IRTA expressly opposes the use of any content from the portal in any format for press reviews, audiovisual productions, or any commercial purposes, without prior express authorization.

This legal notice does not imply any transfer of rights to the user regarding any of the website’s components or content.

Unauthorized actions include:

• Displaying a page of smarterherds.cat or any of its contents in a window that does not belong to smarterherds.cat (e.g., framing, in-line linking, etc.).

• Extracting elements from the website in ways that harm IRTA according to current legislation.

• Commercial use of website contents.

• Use of IRTA’s trademarks, logos, colors, structure, design, or any distinctive symbols without authorization.

• Use of content in illicit, illegal, or bad faith activities contrary to public order.

• Distributing racist, xenophobic, pornographic, illegal, or human rights–violating content.

• Causing damage to IRTA’s systems, providers, or third parties, or introducing/diffusing viruses or harmful systems.

• Accessing or attempting to access other users’ email accounts or altering their messages.

Users may view website contents, copy them, and print them exclusively for personal and private use.

Privacy and Personal Data Policy

A) Data collected via forms
IRTA, as the website controller, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and Law 34/2002 on Information Society Services (LSSICE), informs you that it has implemented the necessary technical and organizational security measures to guarantee and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of entered data.

See the Privacy Policy on www.welfare.cat at the following link: www.welfare.cat/politica-privacidad

B) Browsing data
The browsing system and software required for website operation collect, by default, certain data whose transmission is implicit in Internet communication protocols. This includes: IP address or domain name, requested URL, access time, method used for server request, size of file obtained, status code of the response, and other parameters related to the user’s operating system.

This information is not associated with specific users and is used exclusively for statistical purposes on website usage.

Responsibility for Content

IRTA reserves the right to modify or delete website content and to limit or block access, temporarily or permanently, without prior notice.

IRTA is not responsible for technical access, information, or content of other websites linked from IRTA.cat.

IRTA does not necessarily endorse the opinions expressed by collaborators.

Right of Exclusion

IRTA reserves the right to deny or withdraw access to its websites and/or services, without prior notice, at its own discretion or at the request of a third party, from users who fail to comply with these general conditions.

Chats, Forums, Surveys, and Interactive Features

The portal may include public and participatory sections (forums, chats, surveys, etc.) accessible to all users. Participation conditions must be accepted in advance, as well as mandatory user registration, which also implies consent for personal data use in compliance with data protection legislation.

Conditions include:

1. Responsibility: IRTA is not responsible for user messages or opinions. It reserves the right to block or remove illicit or harmful content.

2. Intellectual Property: IRTA may reproduce, adapt, and publish user-submitted content (texts, photos, graphics, etc.) for promotion, activities, or publications. Users may only submit content they own or have rights to.

3. IRTA will not return submitted content nor is it obliged to respond.

4. Personal data included in interactive content cannot be used without explicit authorization from the owner.

5. Users must respect others’ opinions and refrain from offensive, defamatory, racist, or violent language.

6. No unauthorized commercial communications.

7. Personal data provided may be visible to other participants. Consent is required to share third-party data.

8. For surveys, participation is anonymous, and IRTA is not responsible for how users use the results.

Subscriptions

Subscription (free or paid) to products or newsletters from IRTA via IRTA.cat is voluntary and implies acceptance of the terms specified in each case. It also implies consent to receive commercial information from IRTA and partner entities. Users may revoke consent by written notice as indicated by IRTA.

General Provisions

IRTA will pursue violations of these conditions and any misuse of its websites through civil and criminal actions where applicable.

IRTA cannot guarantee that the portal and server are virus-free and accepts no liability for damages caused by such anomalies or other technical issues.

Modification of Conditions and Duration

IRTA may modify these conditions at any time, with changes duly published as shown here. Conditions remain valid until replaced by updated versions.

Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

The relationship between IRTA and users will be governed by Spanish law, and any disputes will be submitted to the courts of Barcelona.

Reuse of Content

According to article 17.1 of Law 19/2014, the Generalitat de Catalunya permits the reuse of content and data provided that the source and update date are cited, the information is not altered (article 8 of Law 37/2007), and it does not conflict with a specific license.