1. Purpose of Use: FFMT is distributed exclusively for academic, educational, and non-commercial research purposes. FFMT was developed using public funding, and its use is therefore strictly limited to scientific research and education in academic settings. The software is licensed for use within MATLAB and must be installed and executed accordingly under a valid academic license.

2. Intellectual Property and Modifications: The software, including its source code and associated modules, is the intellectual property of the developers. Institutions and users are permitted to modify the source code to meet specific research or educational requirements. However, any modifications must be reported to the development team at ffmtsoftware@gmail.com to support proper maintenance, traceability, and continuous advancement of FFMT for the benefit of the research community. Modified versions do not grant ownership rights or permission to redistribute the software or its derivatives.

3. Distribution Restrictions: The software may only be distributed by the original developers.

• Redistribution by users or institutions without prior written consent is strictly prohibited.

• Each user within an institution must request and hold an individual license.

• FFMT may not be bundled with any commercial tools or services.

4. Use Monitoring and Data Collection: Information about FFMT usage is collected automatically to support ongoing development, debugging, and implementation of new modules, methods, and applications. Collected data may include technical parameters such as username, IP-based location, and FFMT version. This monitoring is conducted strictly for academic support and improvement, and complies with usage policies.

5. Disclaimer of Liability: The developers are not liable under any circumstances for:

• Software performance issues or execution failures

• Errors in calculations or scientific results

• Any misuse of the software, whether intentional or accidental

• Any damage, data loss, or misinterpretation resulting from the use of FFMT

FFMT is provided "as is" with no warranties, express or implied. The developers do not guarantee accuracy, reliability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Unless explicitly agreed upon, no support, training, or technical assistance is guaranteed. Users are solely responsible for interpreting and applying results derived from the software.

6. Scientific Collaboration and Publication: In cases where developer contributions result in scientific publications, co-authorship is expected in accordance with the level of technical or conceptual involvement. Failure to properly acknowledge the developers or collaborators in scientific outputs constitutes a breach of ethical software use.

7. Acknowledgment: Any scientific publication, official report, thesis, or institutional document that involves the use of any module or component of FFMT must include an explicit acknowledgment of the software and its developers. Scientific publications utilizing the nEMesis module must reference the following source:

Castro, C., Hering, P., Junge, A. (2025).
MAnTiS: Multivariate Analyzer of Electromagnetic Time Series.
Computers and Geosciences, in prep.

Failure to include appropriate acknowledgments or citations constitutes a breach of the license agreement and ethical use of FFMT.

8. License Duration: The software is distributed with an initial one-year academic license, renewable upon request for additional periods.

9. Termination of License and Revocation Rights: The developers reserve the right to revoke the license and terminate any granted usage rights of FFMT at any time if:

• The user violates any of the terms and conditions described in this license.

• Unauthorized redistribution, misuse, or modification is detected.

• Ethical or collaborative standards are not upheld by the user or institution.

In such cases, a formal notification sent via email to the license holder’s registered address shall constitute sufficient notice of termination. Upon receiving such notification:

• The user must immediately cease all use of FFMT.

• The software must be fully uninstalled and deleted from all local and institutional systems.

• Any ongoing collaboration will be considered void.

• Continued use after termination constitutes unauthorized use and a breach of the terms of software use.

10. Changes to License Terms: The developers reserve the right to modify, update, or amend these license terms at any time without prior notice. By continuing to use FFMT after such changes, users and license holders agree to be bound by the updated terms, even if those changes occur during the validity of an existing license grant. It is the responsibility of the user or institution to regularly review the license terms, which will be made available through the FFMT website.