To start with, in plain words: during the beta, epc.is is free of charge and meant for businesses. We are still building the platform, so we promise neither a particular availability nor particular features, and you should keep your own copies of your data. We are liable for intent and gross negligence and wherever the law requires it. Please publish only under GS1 numbers your company holds, and treat the platform the way you would expect others to. Accounts that do otherwise get suspended. The full text below is what applies.
1. Who we are and what these terms cover
epc.is is operated by benelog GmbH & Co. KG, Maarweg 133, 50825 Köln, Germany, "we" in the following. These terms cover everything you do on epc.is with a user account: the management interface, the APIs and the publication of data under epc.is and id.epc.is. Terms and conditions of users do not become part of the agreement.
2. Businesses only
We offer epc.is to businesses within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), to public-law entities and to research institutions. By creating an account you confirm that you are not acting as a consumer, and if you act for a company, that you are authorised to do so.
3. What the beta is
During the beta, epc.is is free of charge. We provide the platform as it is at the time and keep developing it. In day-to-day use that means features may change or disappear, there may be maintenance and outages that we do not always announce in advance, and we cannot commit to particular features, response times or support in this phase.
We back up the platform regularly. During the beta, however, we do not owe you a backup, and if something is lost we may be unable to restore it. Please keep your own copies of everything that matters to you; the export functions and the APIs are there for that.
There is no entitlement to take part in the beta, and we may end it. If we do, we will e-mail you at least 30 days in advance so that you have time to export your data. Only an important reason, such as a security incident, can make this faster.
What happens after the beta we do not know yet. One thing is certain: a paid offering starts for you only once you have expressly agreed to it.
4. Account and approval
After registering and confirming your e-mail address you can apply for access to a tenant, the area that holds your company's data. We review every application personally and look above all at whether you may act for the company named and its GS1 number range. We may decline an application without giving reasons.
Please give correct and complete information in the application and keep it up to date. Passwords, API keys and tokens stay with you; everything done with your credentials is attributed to you until you have reported misuse to us. Please do that immediately if you suspect anything.
5. Your data and what publishing means
The data you create in your tenant remains your data. You grant us the rights we need to store it, process it and publish it the way you have configured. These rights end when the data is deleted.
What you mark as public can be retrieved worldwide through GS1 Digital Link addresses, including by scanning a QR code, and may be found and picked up by search engines and third parties.
epc.is registers links (linksets) for your GS1 numbers with the GS1 registry. This is the registry GS1 runs in production, so an entry there takes effect beyond epc.is, and some entries cannot be fully withdrawn. Please publish only what you actually want published.
You are responsible for the content. This applies in particular to product information, to the mandatory information of a digital product passport and to environmental claims. We do not check content for accuracy, and we do not give legal advice.
The beta is not designed for processing personal data on your behalf. Business contact details in master data, such as the contact person of a location, are fine. If you need more than that and therefore a data processing agreement, please talk to us first.
6. Fair use
We ask you to treat the platform and the other companies on it fairly. A few things are expressly prohibited:
- using GTINs, GLNs, GS1 company prefixes or brands your company does not hold, or posing as another company;
- publishing content that is illegal, misleading or offensive, or that infringes the rights of others;
- distributing malware, phishing pages or redirects to such places through epc.is or through Digital Link addresses;
- placing excessive load on the platform, for example through load tests, bulk retrieval or automated requests far beyond normal integration use;
- circumventing security measures, spying on other tenants or testing the platform for vulnerabilities without our prior consent;
- reselling access or offering it to third parties as your own service.
If you happen to come across a vulnerability, we would appreciate a confidential note to info@benelog.com.
7. Suspension and termination
If you breach these terms, or your use endangers the platform, other users or third parties, we may remove content or make it inaccessible, withdraw publications, restrict your access and suspend or delete your account. We choose the mildest measure that serves the purpose.
We inform you of each such measure by e-mail and give our reasons, as Art. 17 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 requires. Usually we do this beforehand. In the case of serious breaches or acute danger we act first and explain afterwards. You can object to any measure at info@benelog.com, and we will look at the case again.
You can close your account at any time without notice; an e-mail to us is enough. We may end your use with 14 days' notice; suspension under the first paragraph remains unaffected.
After the end we delete your account and your tenant's data within 30 days, unless a statutory retention obligation applies to us. We withdraw entries in the GS1 registry as far as GS1 allows.
8. Reporting illegal content
Anyone who considers content on epc.is illegal can report it to info@benelog.com. Please give us the exact address (URL), explain why you consider the content illegal, and state your name and e-mail address. For child sexual abuse material you do not need to give a name. We confirm receipt, review the report carefully and tell you how we decided.
9. Liability
Because we provide epc.is free of charge during the beta, we are liable for intent and gross negligence. We are not liable for slight negligence, in particular not for outages, data loss, lost profits, indirect damage or the accuracy of published data.
This does not affect liability for injury to life, body or health, under the German Product Liability Act, for fraudulently concealed defects and in all other cases where the law makes liability mandatory.
Where we are liable for loss of data, liability is limited to the effort that restoration would have required had you backed up your data regularly yourself.
These provisions also apply in favour of our employees, representatives and agents.
10. Indemnity
If your content infringes the rights of others or you breach these terms, you indemnify us against the resulting third-party claims, including reasonable costs of legal defence. This applies only as far as you are responsible for the breach.
11. Changes to these terms
We may adjust these terms when the platform or the law changes. We announce changes by e-mail at least four weeks before they take effect. If you do not object by then, the new terms apply; we point this consequence out expressly in the announcement. If you object, either side may end the use when the change takes effect.
12. Final provisions
German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If you are a merchant, a public-law entity or a special fund under public law, Cologne is the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this use. Should a provision be invalid, the others remain valid; the statutory rule takes the place of the invalid provision. The German version is binding, the English version is for information.
Version: 8 October 2026