Licence Terms
railML.org provides free and open data for use in railway research projects and railway-specific software. We highly appreciate your interest in using railML® for your work; however, it is important to follow certain terms and conditions associated with the use of railML schemas, models, documentation and logos:
railML schemas
All railML schemas are available for data exchange across the entire railway sector, regardless of their use. This can include the development of interfaces, contribution to the further developement of the railML schemas or the usage of software with railML interfaces. The railML schemas may be used free of charge, after accepting the license conditions. Registered railML users are welcome to contribute to the further schema development.
Since railML has been continuously evolving since 2002, different versions have been released under slightly varying license conditions. Please select the relevant railML version to access more detailed information regarding its specific terms and conditions.
railML.org allows you the permanent, non-exclusive, non-chargeable, worldwide right and license to use the railML.org specification and to copy, publish, or share it according to the copyrights in the specification.
railML.org is also willing to grant under the terms of the authors' property rights a cost-free license for implementation and use of the railML.org tags and schema principles for the development of computer programs that follow these principles.
This license is granted on the condition that you agree not to claim from railML.org or other parties any intellectual property rights related to implementations of the railML.org specification. railML.org expressly reserves for itself all other rights concerning the content and the subject of the railML.org specification. railML.org explicitly refuses any kind of warranty for the specification, including any warranty that this specification or its implementation violates no rights of a third party.
If you publish, copy, share or distribute this specification, you must add the following copyright notice: "Copyright ©2000-2008 railML.org". If, on the other hand, you make any changes to the specification, the name of the new version of the specification must be devoid of the string "railML.org", and the altered version must contain the following notice: "Parts of this specification are based on the railML.org standard (Copyright ©2000-2008 railML.org)"
For interfaces that have been registered up to June 2013 the Creative Commons "Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic" (CC BY-ND 2.0) Licence applies. Please follow the link to the Creative Commons Website for more details on the licence.
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The railML schemes (Version 2) must be used according to the restricted Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Following further requirements must be fulfilled:
- Free of charge registration at railML.org is a prerequisite for starting implementation work (i.e. creation of any import-; export- or transformation programmes for railML data; also for test- or research purposes) of railML schemas.
- A successful certification through railML.org is mandatory before any productive or commercial use of the interface. Please see the certification manual for further details.
- The railML schemas must only be distributed through http://www.railML.org. Any further distribution is prohibited.
- railML.org must be mentioned in any software component, handbook or leaflet where the software is described with its characteristics.
Furthermore, please mind the conditions of the CC-BY-NC-ND-3.0-License. Please take notice of the licence in a summarised version and the full and binding legal code before using any railML® schemes.
Commercial use
After the successful certification of a railML interface, the use of the railML schemas in this program/service will be switched from the previous CC-BY-NC-ND-3.0 to the free CC-BY-ND-3.0 license, which allows commercial use of the railML interface (the above-mentioned additional conditions 3 and 4 remain in force).
The railML partner will receive a written confirmation in the certification report.
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The railML schemes (Version 3) must be used according to the restricted Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.
Following further requirements must be fulfilled:
- Free of charge registration at railML.org is a prerequisite for starting implementation work (i.e. creation of any import-; export- or transformation programmes for railML data; also for test- or research purposes) of railML schemas.
- A successful certification through railML.org is mandatory before any productive or commercial use of the interface. Please see the certification manual for further details.
- The railML schemas must only be distributed through http://www.railML.org. Any further distribution is prohibited.
- railML.org must be mentioned in any software component, handbook or leaflet where the software is described with its characteristics.
Furthermore, please mind the conditions of the CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0-License. Please take notice of the licences in a summarised version and the full and binding legal code before using any railML® schemes.
Commercial use
After the successful certification of a railML interface, the use of the railML schemas in this program/service will be switched from the previous CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0 to the free CC-BY-ND-4.0 license, which allows commercial use of the railML interface (the above-mentioned additional conditions 3 and 4 remain in force).
The railML partner will receive a written confirmation in the certification report.
Additional remarks and conditions for all scheme versions
The license conditions are accepted with the download of the schemas and its additional material or the use of railML files.
Additional or different license conditions must be agreed with the railML coordinators via email.
Please note, that certifications and commercial usage of railML schemes are currently not available for all versions (e.g. railML 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 2.1; from July 2021: railML 2.2).
railVIVID
Using railVIVID is free of charge for registered members of railML.org for the purpose of data validation and representation of railML data.
- The software and source code will be distributed as-is. Neither UIC, railML.org, subcontractors, nor third parties are responsible for any data loss, revenue loss, business interruption or any other damages caused by railVIVID.
- The use of railVIVID does neither require railML.org to certify software interfaces nor allow the use of railML trademarks or logos.
- railVIVID must only be distributed through http://www.railML.org. Do not offer any additional download options.
Logo and trademark policy
The Creative Commons license does not apply to the label railML®/RTM RailTopoModel and the logos of railML.org/railML/RTM RailTopoModel, as they are registered with the European Union Intellectual Property Office:
- railML as a trademark with the number 12576492
- RTM RailTopoModel as a trademark with the number 18894735.
Registered railML users may download the logos from the logo website in different file formats and resolutions. Please note that the logo downloads are only available for logged in users. For any commercial use of the label or logos, written consent from the railML coordinators is required.