This document presents an ontology designed to represent the contractual terms of Software as a Service (SaaS) Terms of Service (ToS) using the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL). The ontology supports the formal representation of deontic modalities, enabling the precise definition of terms related to arbitration, applicable law, content removal, liability and modification/termination clauses. By leveraging ODRL, it ensures structured semantics for clear and precise interpretations of contractual obligations, permissions and prohibitions within SaaS agreements.
Abusive services are characterised by the inclusion of terms in their Customer Agreements (CAs), resulting in a substantial imbalance between the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, to the detriment of consumers. Legal frameworks such as the EU Directive on Unfair Contract Terms (UCTD) seek to protect consumers from the adverse effects of unilaterally drafted contracts imposed by service providers. However, identifying unfair terms remains a challenging task, requiring meticulous legalese analysis. This process is often tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone, resulting in a lack of awareness among consumers about the potential risks associated with accepting a service provider’s terms of service.
The ODLR Profile for Terms of Service Language (TOSL) aims to address the complexities of CAs by providing a formal mechanism for structuring and organising the set of responsibilities described in the ToS, in order to ultimately perform analysis operations on the structured knowledge. Specifically, TOSL extends the ODRL by incorporating the representation of liabilities, their limitations, and dispute resolution mechanisms, concepts that are difficult to represent using the existing ODRL framework. Additionally, it introduces new terms in the base vocabulary, as well as relationships and entities specific to this domain to represent the terms more accurately. The expanded terminology supports responses to the defined CQs, which partially ensures transparency and fairness, contributing to the creation of more equitable and understandable ToS, and mitigating operational risks.
Competency Questions | Domain Concepts |
---|---|
A. Is arbitration mandatory before taking any court action? | Arbitration, Litigation, Dispute |
LAW. Is the governing law fixed and different from the consumer's country of residence? | Law, Consumer Country |
CR. Can the service provider remove the consumer's content? | Remove, Consumer Content |
USE. In what ways does the consumer provide consent to the terms of a contract? | Consent, Implicit, Explicit |
J. Does the jurisdiction require dispute resolution outside the consumer's residence? | Jurisdiction, Consumer Courts, Dispute Resolution |
LTD. Does the contract state that the provider is liable for any damages or losses? | Liability, Any Damages, Limit |
CH. Does the contract require the provider to give notice before making changes? | Change, Prior Notice |
TER. Can the provider terminate the contract unilaterally? | Terminate, Justification |
The figure below illustrates the concepts defined by the ODRL Profile for Terms of Service. These concepts facilitate the modeling of statements outlined in cloud provider agreements and enable the evaluation of the previously formulated questions to identify potentially abusive contractual terms.
Prefix | Namespace | Description |
---|---|---|
owl | http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl# | [owl2-overview] |
rdf | http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns# | [rdf-concepts] |
xsd | http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema# | xmlschema |
rdfs | http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema# | [rdf-schema] |
odrl | http://www.w3.org/ns/odrl/2/ | [ODRL Vocabulary] |
skos | http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core# | [skos-reference] |
dcterms | http://purl.org/dc/terms/ | [dcterms] |
vann | http://purl.org/vocab/vann/ | [vann] |
profile | http://www.w3.org/ns/dx/prof/ | profile |
tosl | https://w3id.org/tosl/ | ToS Language Profile |
The TOSL profile focuses on specifying Terms of Service (ToS) terms by representing obligations, rights, prohibitions, limits of responsibilities for the parties, and conflict resolution aspects, enabling operations such as identifying potentially unfair terms. New objects that have been added, as well as extensions to the core ODRL vocabulary, are defined below.
Label |
Dispute Resolution |
Definition |
Employed to specify the mechanisms for resolving disputes among the parties involved in the agreement |
Term |
|
Sub-classes |
|
Property |
Label |
Governed By |
Definition |
Establishes the connection to the specific legal framework that governs the agreement |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Takes Place In |
Definition |
This term describes the relationship between Dispute Resolution and Jurisdiction, specifying the location where disputes are to be resolved |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
On Dispute |
Definition |
Represents the relationship between a Policy and its associated Dispute Resolution mechanism, specifying how, where, and under which law disputes arising under the Policy will be resolved |
Property |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Has Condition |
Definition |
This relationship enables the specification of particular restrictions that apply to the dispute |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Arbitration |
Definition |
Arbitration is a process for resolving disputes without recourse to conventional judicial systems, typically managed by an arbitrator |
Term |
|
Property |
Label |
Litigation |
Definition |
Litigation is a legal process in which the provider or customer, acting as the plaintiff, initiates proceedings against the other party, called the defendant, before a civil court in a settlement dispute |
Term |
|
Property |
Label |
Requires |
Definition |
This relationship specifies that all disputes must be resolved through arbitration |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Jurisdiction |
Definition |
Jurisdiction refers to the specific location or legal authority where a dispute must be resolved |
Term |
|
Property |
Label |
Law |
Definition |
Law refers to the specific statutes and regulations that govern an agreement and are applicable in resolving any disputes arising from it |
Term |
|
Property |
Label |
Consumer Place Law |
Definition |
This provision states that the law governing the agreement is that of the consumer's country or the law that affects the consumer |
Term |
Label |
California Law |
Definition |
This instance denotes that the governing law applicable to the agreement is that of California |
Term |
Label |
European Law |
Definition |
this stipulates that the law regulating the agreement is European law |
Term |
Label |
Liability |
Definition |
Liability refers to the specific provisions that define and restrict the extent to which each party in the agreement can be held accountable for damages or losses |
Term |
|
Property |
tosl:limitationOfLiability, tosl:liability, tosl:liableParty, tosl:limitation |
Label |
With Liability |
Definition |
Establishes the relationship between a rule, policy or asset and the applicable liabilities, describing the duties or obligations to be assumed in a specific context |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Liable Party |
Definition |
This term establishes the connection between liability and a party to whom they apply |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Has Limitation |
Definition |
Defines a relationship that allows specifying particular restrictions or conditions related to the limitation of liabilities of a party |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
With Limitation Of Liability |
Definition |
Defines the relationship that links a rule, policy or asset to the limitations of liability applicable to one or more parties, specifying the scope and restrictions in cases of damages or breaches |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Any Liability |
Definition |
This liability provision specifies that the designated party may or may not be held liable for damages caused by the other party. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Physical Injuries |
Definition |
This provision outlines the liability of the party in cases of physical damages caused to the other party |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Harm Caused By Malware |
Definition |
The party is or not is responsible for any damages resulting from malware |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Triggers |
Definition |
Represents the relationship where a permission can trigger a specific duty for a party |
Term |
|
Domain |
|
Range |
Label |
Remove |
Definition |
This action may authorize, obligate, or prohibit the deletion of content from the provided services |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Consent |
Definition |
This action signifies your acceptance of the associated asset |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Allow Download |
Definition |
Allow download refers to the action that permits one of the parties, typically the client, to download personal information or information about contracted services |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Terminate |
Definition |
This action permits the termination of an asset, whether it be the agreement, services, or any other associated entity |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Publish |
Definition |
This action mandates the public release of an asset |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Integrate |
Definition |
This action allows, obligates, or prohibits the integration of the provided service with your application. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Test |
Definition |
This action permits, mandates or prohibits the use of the services to test a software application. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Develop |
Definition |
This action permits, mandates or prohibits the use of the services to develop a software application. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Service |
Definition |
An asset that includes the service affected by the action as a resource |
Term |
|
Parent class |
Label |
User Content |
Definition |
An asset that encompasses either all or part of a user's content |
Term |
|
Parent class |
Label |
Justification |
Definition |
This condition mandates that specific actions can only be undertaken with appropriate justification |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Calculate Amount |
Definition |
This stipulates the amount derived from a previous metric or calculation, which is used to compare against a specified threshold, such as a maximum or minimum allowable amount, in the context of a constraint. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Inactivity Period |
Definition |
This stipulates the duration of time a service may remain inactive or unused, serving as a parameter for triggering specific actions or evaluating compliance with constraints. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Consumer Resident Country |
Definition |
This stipulates the country of residence of the consumer, used to compare against a list of countries in the context of constraints or conditions. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Consent Type |
Definition |
This term refers to the specific manner in which consent is given by a party within an agreement, outlining whether it is implicit, explicit, or expressed through other defined actions |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Compliance |
Definition |
This left operand refers to the adherence to an specific rule or policy. I can be used to refine the semantics of an action that has to be performed in accordance to another policy. Permited values are and IRI, a odrl:Policy or an xsd:string |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Licensing Type |
Definition |
This stipulates the type of license or permission required by a party to perform a specific action or activity, such as a written permission. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Effect |
Definition |
This stipulates the effect or impact that an action may or must not cause, serving as a parameter to evaluate the outcomes of an action. |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Implicit Consent |
Definition |
This type of consent implies that by merely utilizing the service, the customer agrees to the terms of the agreement by default |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Explicit Consent |
Definition |
This form of consent requires that the customer explicitly affirm or accept the agreement through a formal action, such as signing a document |
Term |
|
Class |
Label |
Degradation |
Definition |
Indicates a significant and unreasonable degradation of some metric, such as response time or availability, caused by the action of the Rule to the target of the Rule |
Term |
|
Class |