Appendix 9: Support Terms

These Qt support terms and conditions (“Support Terms”) set forth the legal framework, where under The Qt Company (“The Qt Company”) provides support services (as herein defined) to the Licensee. 

1 DEFINITIONS 

 “Application Code” shall mean a computer software program written strictly using the Qt programming language, by or for the Licensee, with a user interface, enabling the Licensee or their users to accomplish a specific task and display any results of the task on the display monitor or screen  

“Customer Portal” shall mean The Qt Company’s web-based service and support user interface located at https://account.qt.io/ or at another location designated by The Qt Company. Customer Portal is used by a Designated User with Qt Account, and it provides downloads, license management, license certificate and other services for Designated Users.

“Dedicated Contact” shall mean the employee of The Qt Company who will be the first point of contact for all Designated Users’ requests for Support.

“Errors” shall mean an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in Licensed Software that prevents it from behaving as described in the relevant documentation or as agreed between the Parties. Designated User can follow the state and progress of Errors in Customer Portal.

“Extended Support” shall mean a continuation to the normal Support period, which allows Designated Users to receive selected Support (Standard Support or Premium Support) for a version of Licensed Software that is no longer generally supported by The Qt Company.

”Install Support” shall mean Support that is limited to installation-related Error(s) on Development Platforms specified as supported host platforms for each Qt release under doc.qt.io. Install Support covers also operational use of the QA Tools, but not operational use of Qt Software.

“Maintenance Release” shall mean a release or version of Licensed Software containing bug fixes, error corrections and other changes targeted to maintaining and improving product stability and quality. Maintenance Releases are generally depicted as a change to the third digit of Licensed Software version number.

“Platforms” shall mean both Development Platforms and Deployment Platforms. Supported host and target Platforms may vary from for each Qt release as defined under doc.qt.io.

“Premium Support” shall mean an upgraded level of Support that The Qt Company provides pursuant to these Support Terms to Licensee if Licensee has purchased Premium Support instead of Standard Support. Premium Support also covers what is included in Standard Support. Premium Support shall always be purchased for all Designated User(s) in the respective development team of the Licensee.

“Qt Account” shall mean the Qt Account for a Designated User used for using Qt services and Customer Portal. A Qt Account is mapped to the Licensee company with the corporate email domain or domains.

”Qualification Kit” shall mean a set of documents and validation test cases used for product certification needs as defined in section 2.6.

“Response Time” shall mean the period of time from when Licensee notifies The Qt Company about an Error or requests Support until The Qt Company provides Licensee with a response that addresses (but not necessarily resolves) the reported Error or provides the requested Support.

“Standard Support” shall mean standard level of Support that The Qt Company provides pursuant to these Support Terms to Licensee. Standard Support also covers what is included in Install Support.

“Security Issue” shall mean an Error that may cause a vulnerability in a system or application that uses the Licensed Software.

“Support” shall mean developer assistance that is provided by The Qt Company to assist eligible Designated Users in Licensed Software installation, usage and functionality problem resolution for Error(s) and Error workarounds pursuant to the terms of these Support Terms. Support for different products is available as specified in the below table (‘X’ marking the Support that is included in the license price, optional Add-on Support services are marked as ‘O’):

“Support Validity Term” shall mean the Development License Term or any other fixed time period agreed between the Parties during which time the Licensee is eligible to receive Support from The Qt Company.

2 SUPPORT SERVICES 

2.1  Support Services Provided by The Qt Company 

Subject to these Support Terms and during the Support Validity Term, The Qt Company will via its Customer Portal, provide Designated User(s) with Support for the Licensed Software which Licensee has licensed under the Agreement.

The Qt Company will make commercially reasonable efforts to solve any Errors reported by Designated User(s). Resolution of an Error may be provided through Designated User(s) themselves downloading of a later released version of the applicable Licensed Software product(s) or providing the Designated User with a workaround addressing such Error or providing the Designated User with an updated tool configuration.

2.2  Licensee’s Obligations 

To report an Error, the Designated User shall register the Error on the Customer Portal.

If the Designated User considers the reported Error to be a Security Issue, the Error shall be marked as a Security Issue.

The Designated User must provide adequate information and documentation to The Qt Company to enable it to recreate the Error or problem for which the Designated User has sought assistance.

To ensure efficient handling of Errors, the Designated User must provide the following information, where relevant: 

• A clear, detailed description of the problem, question or suggestion; 
• Identification of which Licensed Software product and version is affected; 
• Identification of the operating environment (e.g. operating system, hardware Platform, build tools, etc.) on which the problem exists;
• Marking the issue as a Security Issue, when reporting a Security Issue;
• On Standard Support: A complete and compilable test case of not more than 500 lines of code that demonstrates the problem;
• On Premium Support: A complete and compilable test case that demonstrates the problem or access to Application Code source codes. 

Additional relevant content, such as screenshots, etc. Additional content should be included as attachments. The preferred image formats are JPEG and PNG. Compressed content should be included in zip or tar.gz archives. Executable content and documents in platform-specific formats such as Microsoft Office® are not accepted.

In order for The Qt Company to provide prompt handling of Errors, the Designated User shall promptly respond to any requests from The Qt Company for additional information. 

2.3  Support Limitations 

General limitations: 

Each version or release of the Licensed Software will be Supported under Standard Support or Premium Support only for limited time period as set forth in doc.qt.io or in documentation provided with the respective Licensed Software product. If nothing is documented, a release of Licensed Software is supported for one (1) year from the release date of the version x.y.0 and Long Term Support (LTS) Releases are supported for a period of three (3) years from the release date of the LTS version x.y.0.

The Qt Company shall only provide Support for Designated User(s) through Customer Portal.

Support is made available for the entire development teams only: It is not allowed to purchase Support only for some members of the development team, and all Designated Users of the respective development team must be eligible for the same level of Support.

Support is not provided for snapshots, preview releases, beta releases or release candidates.

The Qt Company shall have no obligation to provide Support for 3rd party components, hardware or operating system specific problems or problems arising from improper use, accident, neglect, or modification of Qt.

Limitations with Install Support: 

Support limited to (i) Error(s) regarding installation and setting up of the Qt development environment on host Platforms, or (ii) Errors impacting operational use of the QA Tools.

Limitations with Standard Support: 

The Qt Company shall not provide Support for third-party software or problems caused by third-party software even if such third-party software is distributed together with Licensed Software product(s).

The Qt Company shall only provide Support for Error(s) that are reported on and can be reproduced on Platforms that are officially supported for the release of the Licensed Software.

Limitations with Premium support: 

The Qt Company shall not provide Support for third-party software or problems caused by third-party software. However, if such third-party software is distributed together with Licensed Software, The Qt Company will make commercially reasonable efforts to solve such problems.

The Qt Company shall only provide Support for Error(s) that can be reproduced on Platforms that are officially supported for the release of the Licensed Software. If the Error is on a Platform that is not supported, The Qt Company will make commercially reasonable efforts to provide a solution on closest corresponding supported Platform.

Premium Support is optional and purchased for an agreed bucket of hours (“Bucket”). Hours can be used by any Designated User in the respective development team. To encourage continuous usage of the Support, ten percent (10%) of the purchased Bucket shall automatically expire (regardless of whether such support hours are actually used or not by the Licensee) each month after three (3) months from the purchase of the Premium Support.

2.4 Handling of Security Issues

The reported Errors marked as Security Issues will be assessed by experts to determine the severity of the issue and to verify if it indeed is a valid Security Issue. The Designated User who reported the issue may be contacted for more details. If the reported issue is not deemed to be a Security Issue, it will be treated as a normal Error and handled accordingly.

A verified Security Issue will be fixed as soon as possible. Qt Company will notify all Licensees via appropriate channels about the Security Errors and availability of patches for Licensed Software. Typically, a fix for the Security Issue is included in the next Maintenance Release of Licensed Software.

If the Security Issue is reported in a third-party library used in Licensed Software, The Qt Company will notify the relevant third party of such Security Issue detected in their library. When the Security Issue is fixed in the third-party library, the new version of the third-party library will be in the next feasible Maintenance Release of the Licensed Software. If a fixed version of the third-party library is not available, The Qt Company may instead decide to include documentation regarding the issue, or a patch for this third-party library.

All known Security Issues in Licensed Software will be mentioned as part of the change notes released with each version of Licensed Software.

2.5 Extended Support

Extended Support extends the Support Validity Term for a release of Licensed Software that is no longer generally supported.

Extended Support includes and is by default provided with Standard Support rules and limitations, unless Extended Support is purchased together with Premium Support in which case Premium Support rules and limitations will apply.

Extended Support is optional and purchased with annual fee and separately per each Licensee product. Extended Support will need definition of (i) Licensee product, (ii) used Platform(s) and (iii) Licensed Software version(s). For avoidance of doubt, Extended Support requires that the Designated User has a valid license for the respective Licensed Software.

2.6 Qualification Kit

The Qt Company shall provide a set of documents and validation tests that enable the Licensee to qualify QA testing tool (subject to a separate fee) or Qt Safe Renderer for the purpose of safety certification of Licensee end-to-end solution. Exact complied safety standards may vary between products, used features, use case, and industry.

3 RESPONSE TIME 

In performing Support, The Qt Company shall commit to following, non-binding, Response Times:

Standard Support: Errors and Support requests will have a Response Time not to exceed two (2) business days.

Premium Support: Errors and Support requests will have a Response Time not to exceed one (1) business day.

Security Issues: Errors that are Security Issues will have a Response Time not to exceed one (1) business day.

For complex issues, The Qt Company may provide an initial response to the Designated User and then follow up, without undue delay, with additional communication before an Error is properly addressed or Support provided.

4 ADDITIONAL SERVICES IN PREMIUM SUPPORT 

The Designated User(s) will be assigned a Dedicated Contact to handle requests for Support. Dedicated Contact is subject to change in cases such as sick leave, vacation and other similar reasons.

The Designated User(s) can on request ask The Qt Company to access their computer remotely in order to resolve problems directly.

The Designated User(s) can request a session via Instant Messaging or phone call in the support request to The Qt Company.

Premium Support can assist Licensee in implementing new features, bug fixes and accessing patches in Licensed Software or Application Code.

All Support requests will be handled with high priority.

5 MAINTENANCE RELEASES, UPDATES AND UPGRADES 

Under the Support the Licensee is eligible for Maintenance Releases and Updates that The Qt Company generally makes available to customers who has purchased Support. Unless otherwise decided by The Company at its free and absolute discretion, Upgrades will not be provided under the Support.

The primary focus of Maintenance Releases is product quality. Therefore, each Maintenance Release typically includes the following types of changes to the previous version of Licensed Software:

• Bug fixes caused by changes to previously working code;
  
• Fixes related to build issues on supported Platforms; 
• Error corrections specific to a single Platform that are not present on other Platforms; 
• Corrections to Security Issues;
• Critical Error corrections such as crashes, data corruption, loss of data, race conditions; and 
• Updates to documentation and license information when deemed necessary by The Qt Company. 

The primary focus of Updates is introducing new features to Licensed Software and covering new platforms. Therefore, each Updates typically includes the following types of changes to the previous version of Licensed Software:

• New platform support; 
• New toolchain support; 
• New features and Qt modules; 

6 WARRANTY DISCLAIMER 

The Qt Company makes no warranties that the Support provided will be successful in resolving any difficulties or problems or in diagnosing faults reported by Licensee. Support is provided to Licensee on an “as is” basis. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, The Qt Company disclaims all warranties and conditions, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose for the Support provided by The Qt Company to Licensee.