Terms of Use (TOU)
The website accessible at https://www.le-comptoir-geologique.com (hereinafter referred to as "the Website") is a platform specializing in Earth sciences, offering its users access to a variety of complementary content : scientific documentation, editorial publications, as well as an e-commerce service dedicated to minerals, fossils, gems, and related products.
The Website is operated by Mr. Rémi Bornet, whose contact details are provided in Article 11 – Contact and in the footer of the entire Website. This document constitutes the Terms of Use (TOU) of the Website, governing access to and use of the services offered therein.
1. - Purpose of the TOU
The purpose of these Terms of Use is to define, on the one hand, the terms and conditions of access and use of the Website, and on the other hand, the rights and obligations of users and the Website publisher.
They govern, in particular, the conditions of use of content, editorial services, online purchasing features, as well as specific rules relating to the security and integrity of the Website.
2. - Acceptance of the TOU
Access to and use of the Website implies unconditional acceptance by all users of these Terms of Use.
Before using this website, it is the user's responsibility to read this document and fully understand its implications.
If you disagree with one or more of these clauses, you are advised not to use the Website.
The publisher reserves the right to modify these Terms os Use at any time, with these modifications becoming effective as soon as they are posted online. Users are therefore advised to regularly consult the latest available version.
3. - Description of the services offered
The Website offers several services to users :
Scientific information and documentation : provision of articles, fact sheets, data, and specialized resources relating to Earth sciences, minerals, fossils, geology, gemology, and related disciplines. This content aims to enrich the knowledge of users, whether they are professionals, researchers, students, or enthusiasts.
Editorial publication : regular distribution of editorial content in the form of articles, columns, news, or thematic reports, contributing to the sharing and promotion of knowledge related to the fields covered.
E-commerce : online store offering for sale a selection of minerals, fossils, collectibles, and other products related to geology or gemology. This service includes the presentation of articles, order management, secure payments, and customer delivery.
Each service is subject to specific conditions, particularly in terms of availability, price, and ordering methods, and may be subject to specific additional terms and conditions (terms of sale).
4. - Access and Browsing Conditions
The Website is accessible free of charge to any user with Internet access via a standard web browser.
Access is via manual and reasonable navigation, in accordance with standard website browsing practices.
The publisher reserves the right to temporarily or permanently suspend access to the Website, particularly in the event of technical maintenance, updates, incidents, or for any other reason related to security, compliance, or service continuity.
Users are encouraged not to disrupt the operation of the Website or attempt to alter its security or availability. Any non-compliant use may result in sanctions, including blocking of access.
5.- Intellectual Property
All content accessible on the website www.le-comptoir-geologique.com, including but not limited to text, illustrations, images, photographs, videos, logos, diagrams, databases, page structures, source codes, scripts, and downloadable documents, is protected by the provisions of the French Intellectual Property Code and international copyright treaties.
This content is the exclusive property of the publisher, unless expressly stated otherwise. Any reproduction, representation, modification, adaptation, translation, distribution, extraction, or reuse, in whole or in part, on any medium and by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, is strictly prohibited.
5.2- Conditions for Reusing Photographs
The publisher, as the author of the photographs published on the site, authorizes their reuse for non-commercial purposes, subject to strict and cumulative compliance with the following conditions :
- The photograph to be reused must bear the copyright notice "© Rémi Bornet" on the site or not contain any explicit copyright notice (photos from sales catalogs).
- Images bearing a copyright notice other than "© Rémi Bornet" remain subject to the rights of their respective authors and may not be reused without their express permission.
- educational blogs
- specialized forums
- scientific information websites
- course materials for internal use in schools or universities
- educational documents not distributed on physical media (no books, printed brochures, or public displays)
- Sharing on social media is permitted, in a respectful context, provided there is no derogatory language or misuse.
- Photographs must not be modified, retouched, or altered. Only simple cropping is permitted, without altering the subject, color, or removing the original visual elements.
- The mention "© Le Comptoir Géologique" must be visibly affixed below or on top of the image, clearly and unobtrusively.
Any failure to comply with these conditions may result in the withdrawal of authorization, a request to remove the content concerned, or even prosecution for counterfeiting or infringement of moral rights.
5.3- Third-Party Photographs Published with Permission
Certain photographs on the website www.le-comptoir-geologique.com have been posted online with the written or contractual authorization of their authors or rights holders, for strictly editorial, scientific, or documentary purposes, and for non-commercial purposes. These images are included with their prior authorization, in accordance with intellectual property rules.
The rights to this content remain the exclusive property of their respective authors, who may, if they deem it necessary, send the publisher a reasoned request to correct the credit note or remove it. Any request must be accompanied by supporting evidence regarding the origin of the image and the rights claimed.
The publisher undertakes to examine in good faith any formally justified complaint and, if necessary, to make the appropriate adjustments (credit, removal, or modification of the content). This provision in no way constitutes an implicit acknowledgment of any infringement or damage.
The website www.le-comptoir-geologique.com strictly respects copyright. Anyone who believes that content may infringe their rights is invited to use the contact details provided in Article 11 – Contact, to initiate a constructive dialogue, without resorting to any abusive or automated procedures.
5.4 – Right to Quotation (Texts, Images, Documents)
The publisher of the website www.le-comptoir-geologique.com reserves the right to quote, for the purposes of illustration, criticism, comparison, analysis, or information, excerpts from protected works, including texts, images, tables, diagrams, graphs, or documents, in accordance with the provisions of Article L122-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code and the uses authorized by case law.
These quotations are included in an editorial, scientific, or educational context and meet the following cumulative conditions :
- The quoted excerpt is short, justified, and proportionate to the intended purpose.
- It is inserted into original content, providing added intellectual or informative value.
- The full source and the name of the author of the quoted work are systematically mentioned, in a spirit of transparency and respect for copyright.
- In the case of visual content, quotations may include neutral cropping, clipping (without altering the subject or its characteristics), or explicitly indicated educational modifications, in the form of a caption such as : modified from [author's name].
This strictly regulated use does not constitute illicit reproduction or counterfeiting, but is a legitimate exercise of the right to quotation, within the framework of scientific popularization or critical analysis.
Any request for clarification, rectification or removal concerning a quote used on the site may be addressed to the publisher via the contact details provided in Article 11 – Contact. It will be examined in good faith, without any automated procedure or litigation.
6. - Publisher and User Responsibility
6.1- Publisher's Responsibility
The publisher strives to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the information published on the Website. However, it cannot be held responsible for errors, omissions, interruptions, defects, computer viruses, or other damages resulting from the use or inability to use the Website or its contents.
The content is provided for informational purposes only, without any guarantee of suitability for a particular purpose.
The publisher cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damages related to the use of the Website, including those caused by third parties.
6.2- User Responsibility
The user agrees to use the Site in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and these Terms and Conditions.
The user is solely responsible for the content they may transmit via the Site, particularly in the context of orders or contact requests.
Any fraudulent or abusive use, particularly aimed at disrupting the operation of the Site, harming third parties or illegally exploiting the content, may result in legal action.
7. - Personal data
The Website collects and processes certain personal data from users as part of browsing, order management, or service registration. This data is processed in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the French Data Protection Act.
The user is informed of their rights to access, rectify, erase, object to, limit, and transfer their data.
For more information, see the privacy policy available on the Website.
8. - Automated Access to the Website and Protection of the Information System
8.1 Purpose of the Clause
The purpose of this clause is to regulate automated access to the Website in order to protect the integrity, security, and stability of the automated data processing system (ADPS) on which the Website is based, as well as the content it hosts (texts, images, files, page structures, databases, etc...).
Normal access to the Website requires manual and reasonable navigation by a human user. Any access via automated or semi-automated systems is strictly regulated.
8.2 Prohibition of Unauthorized Automated Access
Unless expressly authorized in advance in writing by the publisher, access to the Website, its files, directories, or digital resources by automated means is strictly prohibited, including :
- crawlers (bots, spiders, crawlers) other than those expressly authorized
- scripts for scraping or extracting data or files (images, text, HTML, JSON, etc...)
- content detection or monitoring tools, including those used for business intelligence, private indexing, or content detection purposes
- headless browsers or anonymous agents (Selenium, Puppeteer, PhantomJS, etc...)
- automated requests via command-line tools (cURL, wget, Python requests, etc...) without transparent User Agent identification
- browsing files or URLs not referenced in the Website's public pages, or located in Protected directories
- Any attempt to bypass the HTTPS redirect or to directly query the Website via an HTTP version not accessible during normal browsing.
8.3 Authorized Robots
Subject to compliance with the robots.txt file available at the root of the domain, indexing robots belonging to recognized general search engines and identifiable by their User Agent are authorized, including : Googlebot (Google), Bingbot (Microsoft), Qwantbot, DuckDuckBot, and any other bot that complies with IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) standards or conforms to standard open web practices.
A prior and reasoned request must be sent to the publisher for any other robot or technical agent, otherwise it may be blocked or reported.
8.4 Legal Basis
In accordance with Article 323-1 of the French Criminal Code, any person who fraudulently accesses or remains within an automated data processing system, even without breaching security measures, is liable to a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of €100,000.
Consequently, any unauthorized access contrary to this clause may result in :
- immediate technical blocking
- logging of connection data (IP, timestamp, URL, HTTP header)
- reporting to the relevant authorities (ANSSI, CNIL, Public Prosecutor)
- or even legal action for intrusion, damage to a ADPS (awareness-raising site), or commercial parasitism.
8.5 Purpose of the Clause
This clause is intended solely to protect the legitimacy of the Website's uses, ensure smooth navigation, and preserve the digital resources made available. It does not in any way affect the freedom of human users to consult the Website, nor access its content for its intended purposes (reading, browsing, ordering, scientific documentation).
Automated, regulated access remains possible subject to a clear, justified written request, particularly for scientific, institutional, or journalistic collaborations.
9. - Modification of the Terms of Use
The publisher reserves the right to modify these General Terms of Use at any time and without notice in order to adapt them to developments in the Website, the services offered, technical constraints, regulatory or legal requirements, and market practices.
Modifications come into effect as soon as they are posted on the Website.
It is the user's responsibility to regularly consult the Terms of Use to review the most recent version.
Continued browsing of the Website after modification constitutes express and unreserved acceptance of the new Terms of Use.
10. - Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms of Use are governed by French law. Any dispute relating to their interpretation, validity or execution, and in the absence of an amicable settlement, will fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts within the jurisdiction of the Comptoir Géologique’s registered office, including in the event of summary proceedings, incidental claims, third-party claims or multiple defendants, regardless of the place of residence or nationality of the parties.
11. - Contact
For any questions, requests for information, reports, or complaints regarding the Website or these Terms of Use, the user may contact the publisher at the following address :
Email address : contact@le-comptoir-geologique.com
Postal address : 3 rue des gages, 63360 Saint-Beauzire, France
Phone : +33632664746
12. - Miscellaneous Provisions
12.1 Entire Agreement
These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between the user and the publisher regarding the use of the Website and supersede any prior agreements.
12.2 Partial Invalidity
If one or more provisions of these Terms of Use are deemed invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
12.3 Non-Waiver
The publisher's failure to enforce a breach by the user of any of the obligations set forth in these Terms of Use shall not be construed as a waiver of the right to enforce such breach at a later date.