Aviso lLegal notice and privacy policyegal
Legal information
The Instituto Cervantes, holder of Spanish Tax Identity Number (NIF) Q-2812007-I, is a public non-profit entity assigned to the [Spanish] Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación], created and regulated by Spanish Act 7/1991 of 21 March, with offices at C/ Alcalá 49, 28014, Madrid (Spain).
The following paragraphs making up this legal notice and privacy policy document regulate the use of all the services and contents which the Instituto Cervantes makes available to users through its Internet domain https://www.cervantes.org and the various sites and contents located on its numerous subdomains (hereinafter cervantes.org).
The present “Legal notice and privacy policy” was drafted in accordance with the provisions of the following regulations:
- [Spanish] Act 34/2002 on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce (hereinafter LSSICE)
- EU Regulation 679/2016 of 27 April on General Data Protection (hereinafter GDPR)
- [Spanish] Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007 of 16 November, approving the revised text of the General Law on Defence of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws [
- Spanish] Act 7/1998 on General Contracting Conditions
cervantes.org is protected, without any limitations, by the Laws on intellectual and industrial property of the Kingdom of Spain and applicable international treaties and conventions.
General conditions
By using or navigating the cervantes.org website, the user acknowledges full acceptance without reservation of the conditions of this legal notice, which may be modified by the Instituto Cervantes at any time. Therefore, the user shall read this notice closely before each use of our sites.
The use of certain services offered the users through cervantes.org may be regulated by terms and conditions, which depending on the case, replace, complete or modify this legal notice, so the user should therefore read and accept such terms and conditions when intending to acquire said services. Certain services offered by third parties collaborating with the Instituto Cervantes may likewise contain their own conditions, and in this case, the user should also read their terms and conditions carefully before using said services provided by third-party collaborators of the Instituto Cervantes.
The services offered by the Instituto Cervantes at cervantes.org are, in principle and except where the contrary is stated, free of charge.
Access to the services supplied through cervantes.org do not usually require prior user subscription or registration, although you may be requested to fill in the corresponding user registration form first in order to access certain services.
The user name and password, if applicable, provided to the user by the Instituto Cervantes are identifying and enabling elements for access to its services and are personal and non-transferable. The Instituto Cervantes may make changes in the user name or password with sufficient advance warning.
The user is committed to using the contents and services available through cervantes.org in accordance with this legal notice, or under the terms and conditions of services containing them, and according to law, morals, good customs and public order.
Any user wishing to insert a hyperlink on his website to any cervantes.org website page shall comply with the following conditions:
- It may not cause confusion with other potential users concerning the origin and property of the two websites, and therefore, the hyperlink must be inserted without shrinking the Instituto Cervantes website pages or any of their contents, nor create a frame containing them.
- The website on which the hyperlink is inserted may not contain false, untrue or illegal information or contents against the law, moral, good customs or public order or host contents against third-party rights.
- Insertion of the hyperlink shall in no case imply any relationship between the Instituto Cervantes and the owner of the website on which it is inserted nor acceptance or approval by the Instituto Cervantes of its contents or services. It therefore shall not declare or imply that the Instituto Cervantes has authorized the hyperlink or that it has supervised or assumed the services made available on the website on which such hyperlink may be inserted.
Thus, the Instituto Cervantes authorizes the insertion of links or hypertext (hyperlinks) on other websites to any of the cervantes.org pages as long as they appear in a complete window and with the corresponding electronic address [URL]. Any rights not expressly granted remain reserved to the Instituto Cervantes or, if applicable, to the third-party owners of those rights.
All the content and elements which the user may have access to through cervantes.org, including, but not limited to: distinguishing signs and marks, elements, text, images, sound or audio-visual files of any kind in code format or in the form of computer or multimedia applications expressed in any code or language, etc., are subject to the intellectual property, industrial property or economic rights of content analogous to Instituto Cervantes or third parties as applicable.
In no case shall it be understood that permission for user access to cervantes.org implies total or partial waiver, transfer, licence or cession of said rights by the Instituto Cervantes.
Therefore, the access to such content or elements through cervantes.org does not grant users any right to them, nor may they alter, modify, exploit, reproduce, distribute or communicate them publically, or exercise any right corresponding to the owner of the right affected. Thus, the user has only the right to view and make copies, when allowed, of the contents for their exclusive and personal use, exercising these rights according to the principles of good faith and applicable legislation.
Any infraction of these limitations on the use of or rights to the intellectual, industrial or other proprietary rights or of current law will be prosecuted by the Instituto Cervantes by taking legal actions as applicable.
Any violation of the intellectual property rights corresponding to contributions created under the initiative or co-ordination of the Instituto Cervantes, owner of the rights which these contributions are derived from, will likewise be prosecuted.
4.1. For its functioning
The Instituto Cervantes does not guarantee availability or continuity of cervantes.org, of its services or its contents, and therefore shall in no case be liable for damages of any kind which could be due to its lack of availability or continuity, or failures in access to its various websites from which any services are provided.
4.2. For its content and services
The Instituto Cervantes does not guarantee the use of cervantes.org or of its spaces on other internet platforms for any activity in particular, or the suitability of its contents and services for particular purposes, and therefore, the user is solely and exclusively liable for the use of any information, contents and services.
Contents included in sites and blogs of the Instituto Cervantes and other Internet spaces on its various social media platforms are provided by the Instituto Cervantes in good faith with information proceeding from both internal and external sources. Based on this circumstance and the large amount of information made available to the user in its several different Internet spaces, the Instituto Cervantes cannot guarantee it to be absolutely reliable, accurate and up-to-date, even though it uses its best efforts for their achievement. Likewise, in spite of carefully applying the best preventive measures existing, neither can it guarantee the absolute absence of viruses or other damaging components on its Web pages or the servers which provide them.
Furthermore, according to Article 16 of the [Spanish] LSSICE, the Instituto Cervantes shall not be held directly or subsidiarity liable for any of its content, information, communication, opinion or manifestation of any kind coming from external sources and communicated, spread, transmitted or exhibited on its Internet spaces (sites, blogs, social media platform pages, etc.). It also sets these basic rules for the publication of content from external sources on participatory Instituto Cervantes Internet spaces:
- No text whatsoever containing insults, defamation, threats or harassment of any person or institution, or obscene, racist or xenophobic expressions shall be admitted.
- No contents promoting illegal activities or inciting to violence shall be permitted.
- No comments or contents from external sources which are directly or indirectly advertising or promotional for a product or brand shall be admitted. This is without detriment to what may be established for its sponsors in Instituto Cervantes sponsorship programmes.
- No messages, comments or contributions interrupting or disrupting conversation shall be admitted.
- Repeated or reiterated messages or any including repetitions or reiterations of characters shall be considered annoyances, and contents which are sent by computerized robots for the purpose of ‘generating noise’ or which may be considered ‘spam’ shall also be eliminated.
cervantes.org makes available to its users a multitude of links to websites belonging to or managed by third parties of which the Instituto Cervantes is neither the owner nor has any binding relationship with. Therefore, the Instituto Cervantes shall not be held responsible for control or surveillance of third-party content, nor shall it assume any direct or subsidiary liability for said websites, their contents or their services.
4.3. For use made of the site by its users
The Instituto Cervantes cannot control the use the users may make of its sites, services or their content, and therefore shall not be held liable for damages of any kind which may be due to the use which users make of them. Thus, the user shall be solely and exclusively liable for any legal, judicial or economic damages which could be derived from the use of Instituto Cervantes digital spaces. And therefore, the user expressly exonerates the Instituto Cervantes of any liability which could be charged to it for damage to third parties from the use of any product, service, content or tool provided on cervantes.org.
The users are solely and exclusively liable for their identification passwords and access to cervantes.org. The Instituto Cervantes may not be held liable for improper use of such access passwords or of the consequences of any type derived from user misuse, loss or forgetting or use by unauthorized third parties.
In accordance with the provisions of (EU) 679/2016 General Data Protection Regulation and current legislation, the Instituto Cervantes informs its users of its data protection policy for them to decide freely and voluntarily whether they wish to provide the personal data which may be requested of them for subscribing or unsubscribing to some services offered on cervantes.org or its subdomains. Except in the fields where stated the contrary, answers to questions about personal data is voluntary.
The Instituto Cervantes reserves its right to modify this policy to adapt it to novelties or legislative and legal demands and industrial good practice, keeping legitimate consumer or user interests in mind at all times. Certain services provided on cervantes.org may contain terms and conditions concerning personal data protection.
5.1. Confidentiality in automated processing of user’s personal data
The personal data acquired through the Instituto Cervantes sites shall be processed confidentially according to the provisions of the GDPR.
The Instituto Cervantes, with offices at C/ Alcalá 49, 28014 Madrid (Spain), is the controller of the personal data processing mentioned above.
As the Instituto Cervantes is affiliated with the [Spanish] Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y de Cooperación], the Data Protection Officer is identified as the [Spanish] Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Service Inspection (dpd@cervantes.es).
The Instituto Cervantes shall provide users with adequate technical resources for them to access this personal data protection policy notice or any other relevant information, and may give their informed consent so that the Instituto Cervantes can proceed to process the personal data of its users. Such user acceptance of processing their personal data may always be revoked, although not retroactively so.
5.2. Purpose and lawfulness of personal data processing
Processing of personal data is at all times requested for the purpose of management, administration, provision, expansion and improvement of the services offered by the Instituto Cervantes; the quantitative and qualitative study of visits and use made of its services by users; and sending by traditional or electronic media information, whether commercial or other, related to the functions of the Instituto Cervantes and its collaborators following concrete parameters selected by users in the forms or registration filled out by them.
The legal basis for processing, which shall be adequately informed on every data collection form, shall be a service contract, or the consent of the interested party when necessary.
The user assures that he/she is of legal age or legally emancipated, or otherwise, has the permission of parents or guardian to access our pages, as well as the truth and authenticity of the information given on the various forms or user registration, and is committed to keeping this information updated.
Users are not obligated to receive the abovementioned information or survey forms if they so indicate in the ways provided for the purpose by the Instituto Cervantes, whether on the subscription form for services offered or in writing or directly by the procedure given on each communication sent.
If the user provides data for third parties, the Instituto Cervantes cannot be held responsible for complying with the principles of information and consent, and therefore, the user shall be the one to ensure that the data subject has been previously informed and consented to such data being communicated.
The Instituto Cervantes may send communications referring to its own products or services, or those of collaborators, similar to those which were originally subject of authorisation by the user, without having to request permission or express application. However, the user, in all cases, shall have the means to object to receiving this type of communications.
5.3. Data addressees
Personal data may not be transferred or communicated to third parties except in such cases as may be necessary for the development, control and compliance with the purposes expressed above, in the cases provided for by law.
Furthermore, we inform users that certain data, within the framework of current legislation or their contractual relationship with the Instituto Cervantes may be communicated to:
- Government authorities when so stipulated by current legislation
- [Spanish] National security forces and corps by virtue of the stipulations of current legislation
- Banks and financing entities for collecting payment of services offered
- Institutions collaborating with the Instituto Cervantes, when said communication is required by regulation or for the execution or performance of the corresponding services or activities.
User acceptance for transferring data to third parties may always be revoked, but not retroactively so.
5.4. Data storage
The Instituto Cervantes shall store personal data of the interested party for the minimum time necessary.
The information shall be stored while the contractual relationship lasts, until the user revokes consent or exerts the right of erasure, and later during the periods legally provided for by law.
5.5. Rights of the interested party
The interested party may exercise the right to access, rectification, removal, opposition, data portability and restriction of processing by addressing such request by e-mail to lopd@cervantes.es.
The Instituto Cervantes has forms available for exercising such rights which may be requested by email to lopd@cervantes.es, or use those drafted by the Spanish Data Protection Agency or third parties. These forms must bear an electronic signature or be accompanied by a photocopy of the Spanish National Identity Card Number (DNI). If acting through a representative, it must also be accompanied by copy of the DNI or electronic signature.
The interested party has the right to make a claim to the Spanish Data Protection Agency if he/she believes his/her rights have not been properly dealt with.
The user authorizes use of his/her personal data when required by the competent government authorities or by legal mandate.
In no case shall the Instituto Cervantes make use of the personal data of its users for purposes other than those mentioned above without prior warning and shall give reasonably sufficient advance notice for the user to object.
5.6. Use of «cookies» and activity file
The Instituto Cervantes may use cookies when users browse through cervantes.org websites and pages with a Web server to record their activities in the site without providing any personal data.
Users may configure their browser to receive notice of reception of such cookies. They may also impede installation of this type of file in their computers for which they must see their browser’s instructions for use.
5.7. Safety measures
In accordance with the principle of proactive responsibility, the Instituto Cervantes shall adopt adequate technical and organisational measures in its information system to guarantee the safety and confidentiality of stored data, thereby avoiding their alteration, loss, processing or unauthorized access, bearing in mind the state of the art, the application costs and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the variable likelihood and severity associated with each process.
Provision of services and making the contents of cervantes.org available to the public has, in principle, indefinite duration. The Instituto Cervantes, however, is authorized to eliminate, terminate or suspend any of the services or contents of its sites at any time. When reasonably possible, the Instituto Cervantes, shall give prior notice of the termination or suspension of provision of its services.
The Instituto Cervantes may withdraw or suspend at any time and without prior notice provision of services to those users not complying with the stipulations of this legal notice or the terms and conditions of a certain service.
This legal and privacy notice is governed by the Spanish Law and is written in Spanish. Should any controversy would be derived from the use of the services of cervantes.org and the user, with express waiver of their own jurisdiction, it shall submitted to the courts and tribunals of Madrid.