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Terms of Use for the Culture Bank Online Service

General information

The Culture Bank (www.kulttuuripankki.fi) is an online service used in 14 counties (Åland, South Karelia, South Ostrobothnia, South Savo, Kanta-Häme, Kymenlaakso, Pirkanmaa, Ostrobothnia, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, Päijät-Häme, Satakunta, Uusimaa and Southwest Finland). Professional cultural and arts field associations, companies, cooperatives, small working groups, and individual professionals offering on-demand cultural and artistic services may register as Creators with the Culture Bank. Anyone can register as a Purchaser.

The Culture Bank is administered by the City of Tampere’s Public Cultural Services unit in cooperation with the fourteen counties that have joined the service and the organisations that represent them (later referred to as the “Administrator”)

Creator refers to a professional cultural or arts operator who is resident in one of the listed counties and who has registered as a user of the Culture Bank (a “Creator”).

Purchaser refers to a purchaser who has registered as a Culture Bank user (a “Purchaser”).

A Client refers to a person visiting the Culture Bank website who is not registered as a Creator or Purchaser (a “Client”).

Moderator refers to a regional actor in the Culture Bank online service who is responsible, within their county, for approving Creators for the online service in accordance with jointly agreed criteria (a “Moderator”).

Operation of the service

Culture Bank is a free online service for Creators, Purchasers, and Clients. Registration as a Creator and/or Purchaser is required for uploading information to the online service. The Moderator reviews a Creator’s registration details as well as information concerning any new service submitted to the online service by a Creator before its publication. The registering Creator and any on-demand service to be published in the online service must meet the requirements listed under “Creator’s rights and obligations” in these Terms of Use.

The Creator will be notified by email once the Moderator has reviewed and approved the information. The information will only become publicly visible in the online service once it has been approved by the Moderator. While the Moderator aims to approve the information as quickly as possible, approval within a specific time frame cannot be guaranteed. Suomi.fi e-Identification is required to register as a Creator.

The Administrator’s or Moderator’s approval is not required for registration as a Purchaser. Purchaser information is not public, except in cases where the Purchaser has submitted an open request for tenders or a written recommendation for a Creator in the online service. In these cases, the Purchaser’s name and organisation will be visible to service users. Suomi.fi e-Identification is required to register as a Purchaser.

While the Administrator strives to ensure uninterrupted operation of the online service, error-free or continuous operation cannot be guaranteed.

The Culture Bank can be used in Finnish, Swedish, or English. To switch to their preferred language, users can click on a button at the top of the page, after which the user interface texts will automatically be displayed in that language.

Creator’s rights and obligations


A Creator (freelancer/sole trader) must meet the following conditions:

  • The Creator’s municipality of residence is located in one of the following counties: Åland, South Karelia, South Ostrobothnia, South Savo, Kanta-Häme, Kymenlaakso, Pirkanmaa, Ostrobothnia, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, Päijät-Häme, Satakunta, Uusimaa, or Southwest Finland
  • The Creator is aged over 18
  • The Creator is a professional in the field of arts or culture
  • The Creator has either a qualification in culture or arts, or at least two years of work experience in the fields of culture and arts
  • The Creator complies with the law and good practice 
  • The creator provides on-demand cultural or artistic services, such as workshops or performances.

A Creator (working groups, communities, companies, art institutions) must meet the following conditions:

  • The Creator’s municipality of residence is located in one of the following counties: Åland, South Karelia, South Ostrobothnia, South Savo, Kanta-Häme, Kymenlaakso, Pirkanmaa, Ostrobothnia, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, Päijät-Häme, Satakunta, Uusimaa, or Southwest Finland
  • The Creator is a professional in the field of arts or culture
  • The Creator provides on-demand cultural or artistic services, such as workshops or performances
  • The Creator’s activities involve professionals in the fields of arts and culture.
  • The Creator complies with the law and good practice

The Creator (working groups, communities, companies, art institutions) must additionally meet the following conditions:

  • The Creator primarily employs professionals in the fields of arts and culture
  • The Creator operates professionally and is officially registered (for example, a limited company or cooperative).

The Culture Bank does not accept the following creative industries:

  • Art sales companies: Mediate and sell artworks online or in physical stores
  • AV equipment rental: rentals of sound, lighting, filming, and display equipment as well as other audiovisual equipment for events, occasions, or projects
  • Studio and space rental: workspaces and equipment for artists
  • Advertising and communications agencies
  • ICT services
  • Amusement parks, fairs, etc.
  • Press and news agencies
  • Translation and interpretation
  • Interior design
  • Publishing of sound recordings and music
  • Publishing of books
  • Publishing of computer games

On-demand services published in the online service must meet the following conditions:

  • The service can be ordered to be performed on the client’s premises or at other similar location
  • The service concerns the fields of arts or culture (not, for example, tourism, wellbeing [except cultural wellbeing], health, or the environment)
  • The service provider is an approved Creator in the Culture Bank
  • The service complies with laws and regulations
  • The service does not include the promotion or practice of religion
  • The service does not contain sexual or violent content.

The Creator’s username and password are personal and must not be transferred, disclosed, or shared. The Creator is responsible for all use made of the online service with their username and password.

The Creator is responsible for the information and materials they upload to the online service. The Creator must additionally ensure that all information and materials they upload are appropriate and up to date. The Creator must correct without delay any information that has changed or become outdated.

The Creator is responsible for ensuring that they hold all necessary copyrights and other rights and/or permissions provided by rights holders to any material they publish in the online service or otherwise upload to or store in it.

The Creator must be able to provide the service under the terms they have stated in the online service.

Should they wish, the Creator may request the deletion of their data from the online service. In this case, the data will be permanently deleted from the system within 30 days of the request being made. The user ID and the personal data linked to it of a user registered with the Culture Bank online service will be automatically deleted if the user has not logged in to the service for two (2) years.

The Creator is liable in full for any damage resulting from breaches of these Terms of Use.

Rejected applicants will be notified of the grounds for rejection by email, and their data will be permanently deleted from the system within 30 days.

Purchaser’s rights and obligationsaser

The Purchaser is responsible for all use made of the online service with their username and password.

The Purchaser complies with the law and good practice.

The Purchaser is responsible for ensuring that they hold all necessary copyrights and other rights and/or permissions provided by rights holders to any material they publish in the online service or otherwise upload to or store in it.

Should they wish, the Purchaser may request the deletion of their data from the online service. In this case, the data will be permanently deleted from the system within 30 days of the request being made. The user ID and the personal data linked to it of a user registered with the Culture Bank online service will be automatically deleted if the user has not logged in to the service for two (2) years.

The Purchaser is liable in full for any damage resulting from breaches of these Terms of Use by them.

Administrator’s rights and obligations

The Administrator is only responsible for ensuring that their own information is correct and up to date. The Administrator is also responsible for the content and copyrights of the material they produce for the online service. The Administrator is not responsible for ensuring that any information or material uploaded by Creators or Purchasers is accurate, up to date, or compliant with copyrights, nor for any other content available through the online service, even if the Administrator has reviewed it. The Administrator is not responsible or liable for any issues related to the content or operation of the online service, or for the loss of information or material stored in the online service, or for any other damages.

The Administrator does not have, without the Creator’s permission, a right to use information or material shared by a Creator for any purpose other than those described in these Terms of Use, except when promoting or marketing the online service. If necessary, the Administrator has the right to edit material provided by a Creator without violating the Creator’s rights and within the limits of the Copyright Act. At their discretion, the Administrator has the right but not the obligation at any time to remove, edit, or refuse to publish information or material it deems inappropriate, as well as to remove from the online service any Creator who has provided false information or otherwise violated these Terms of Use, the law, or good practice.

Ownership and all other rights related to the technical platform of the online service belong to the Administrator, except for the copyrights related to the technical platform, which belong to Red&Blue Oy (Business ID: 2085087-0).

Client’s rights and obligations


The Client is aware of the fact that ownership rights as well as copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property rights of the online service and its parts belong to the Administrator, Creators, and Purchasers, and that no rights other than the usage rights specified in these Terms of Use are transferred to the Client.

The Client may accept or reject non-essential cookies used in the online service. However, accepting YouTube/Google cookies is a prerequisite for viewing the YouTube videos embedded in the online service.

Personal data and their use


The Administrator collects personal data when Creators and Purchasers register with the service. Personal data are collected both on the registration form and in the course of Suomi.fi e-Identification. By agreeing to these Terms of Use, the Creator and Purchaser authorise the Administrator to process the personal data collected in the online service as stated in the Privacy Policy.

When the Creator or Purchaser agree to the Terms of Use of the Culture Bank online service, the legal basis for processing their personal data is performance of a contract with the Controller (Article 6 of EU General Data Protection Regulation).

Use of an automatic translation tool in the online service

The service may offer automatic translations of user-generated content produced with licensed AI-based translation technology (DeepL). Users can choose whether or not they wish to enable automatic translations. This choice can be made in the service settings, and it can be changed at any time.

If a user enables automatic translations, they give their approval for the transfer of their content for the purpose of providing the translation service. In compliance with applicable data protection legislation and agreements, the content will not be used for developing or training AI technology.

The transmitted data will be deleted immediately after processing, and they will not be used to improve service quality. User content will not be stored or disclosed to third parties.

The Administrator is not responsible for the accuracy of automatic translations or for any change in meaning that may occur during translation. The user is responsible for ensuring that the translated content corresponds to the original intent and is suitable for publication or sharing.

Other terms and conditions


The Administrator has the right to cease to provide the service, in full or in part, without prior notice if there is a technical or legal reason for this. The Administrator will make reasonable efforts to inform users of the cessation in advance.

A force majeure releases the Administrator from the obligation to comply with these Terms of Use while the force majeure is effective.

These Terms of Use are governed by Finnish law. Any disputes concerning or relating to the use of the online service will be resolved in the District Court of Pirkanmaa.

The Administrator has the right to modify the purpose and availability of the online service as well as the Terms of Use. The Terms of Use in force at any given time will be available online.