Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") form a legally binding agreement between you ("you", "your", or the "User") and William Griffiths, sole proprietor, with its principal place of business in the Republic of South Africa ("William Griffiths," "we," "us," or "our"). These Terms govern your access to and use of our websites, dashboards, application programming interfaces ("APIs"), software applications, documentation, and all related products or services (collectively, the "Service"). By registering for, accessing, or using any part of the Service, you: (a) acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy; (b) represent that you are at least thirteen (13) years of age and, where required, have obtained verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian; and (c) affirm that you are not a person barred from receiving the Service under the laws of any applicable jurisdiction or any other applicable rules or regulations, including export-control or sanction regimes. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access or use the Service.

1. Definitions

For ease of reference, the following capitalised terms shall have the meanings set forth below. Other capitalised terms appear where defined in context.

"Access Code" means the randomly generated alphanumeric string embedded in a dashboard link that permits viewing of associated data without separate authentication.

"Applicable Law" means all laws, statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances, administrative orders, court orders, treaties, and other legally enforceable requirements in any jurisdiction that apply to the parties or to the activities contemplated by these Terms.

"Content" means all information, data, text, images, video, audio, software, code, and other materials, in whatever form or medium, posted, provided, uploaded, submitted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the Service.

"Dashboard" means any visual interface generated by the Service that displays User Content.

"High-Risk Activities" means uses of the Service in which errors or downtime could lead to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage, including but not limited to operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control, life-support or medical devices, or weapons systems.

"Subscription" means any paid plan or tier of the Service, as further described on the Service or in an order form, that recurs automatically unless cancelled.

"Third-Party Service" means any product, service, website, component, or technology that is not owned or controlled by us but that may interoperate with or be used in connection with the Service, including without limitation cloud-hosting providers and payment processors.

"User Content" means Content that you or any person acting under your credentials submits to, stores on, or transmits through the Service.

2. Modification of Terms

We may revise these Terms in our sole discretion from time to time. We will provide you with notice of material changes by email or by conspicuous posting within the Service at least thirty (30) days before the changes take effect, unless Applicable Law requires a shorter period. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must cease all use of the Service before the effective date.

3. Eligibility; Restricted Jurisdictions

You must be at least thirteen (13) years old to use the Service. If you are between thirteen (13) and eighteen (18) years old (or the age of majority where you reside, if higher), you may use the Service only with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. You may not use the Service if you are a resident of, or are ordinarily located in, a country or territory that is subject to comprehensive trade sanctions or embargoes imposed by the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, or the Republic of South Africa, or if you are otherwise designated on any applicable sanctions list.

4. Accounts and Security

You may be required to create an account to access certain features of the Service. You are responsible for: (a) providing accurate, current, and complete account information; (b) maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and Access Codes; and (c) all activities that occur under your account or via any shared Access Code. You must promptly notify us of any suspected or actual unauthorised use of your account or any breach of security. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account, or to disable any Access Code, if we reasonably believe that it has been compromised or is being misused.

5. Licence Grant and Acceptable Use

5.1 Limited Licence. Subject to your ongoing compliance with these Terms, we grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable licence to access and use the Service solely for your internal business or personal purposes.

5.2 Prohibited Conduct. You shall not, and shall not permit any third party to: (a) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the Service except to the limited extent expressly required by Applicable Law; (b) interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service; (c) bypass or breach any security device or protection used by the Service; (d) use the Service to store or transmit infringing, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful or tortious material; (e) use the Service for High-Risk Activities; (f) resell, lease, lend, distribute, or otherwise commercially exploit the Service except as expressly permitted; or (g) use the Service or any Content to create, train, or enhance any machine-learning or artificial-intelligence model without our prior written consent.

6. User Content; Ownership; Licence to Use

6.1 Ownership. You retain all right, title, and interest in and to your User Content, subject to the licences granted herein. We do not claim ownership of your User Content.

6.2 Licence to Us. By submitting User Content to the Service, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up, sublicensable (through multiple tiers), transferable licence to host, store, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, display, perform, distribute, and otherwise use such User Content (a) as necessary to provide, maintain, secure, and improve the Service; (b) to develop new products and services; and (c) to create de-identified, aggregated, or anonymised data that does not identify any individual user for analytics, benchmarking, and other lawful purposes.

6.3 Your Responsibility for User Content. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant the foregoing licences and that your User Content, and our exercise of the licences, will not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third-party rights or Applicable Law. You shall indemnify and hold harmless William Griffiths from any claim arising out of or related to your User Content, including any allegation that it violates third-party rights or Applicable Law.

6.4 Access Codes. The Service allows you to generate Dashboard links containing Access Codes. Anyone possessing an Access Code can view the associated Dashboard and User Content. You are solely responsible for determining with whom you share Access Codes and for all consequences of such sharing. We disclaim all liability for any unauthorised access that results from your disclosure of an Access Code.

7. Data Processing and Cross-Border Transfers

We use cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services and other reputable vendors to host and process User Content. Data may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in multiple jurisdictions, including the Republic of Ireland (eu-west-1) and the United States (us-east-1). By using the Service, you expressly consent to such international transfers and acknowledge that different data protection laws may apply in those jurisdictions.

We implement commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and organisational measures designed to protect User Content against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If you are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"), or any analogous law, then you are the "controller" and we are a "processor" (or equivalent terms) with respect to personal data in User Content, and the parties shall comply with all obligations under such laws. You shall ensure that you have provided all necessary notices and obtained all necessary consents to permit lawful processing by us.

8. Third-Party Services

The Service may reference, integrate with, or enable access to Third-Party Services. Your use of any Third-Party Service is at your sole risk and is governed by the third party's terms and policies, not these Terms. We are not responsible for, and make no representations or warranties regarding, any Third-Party Service or any acts or omissions of such third parties.

9. Subscriptions, Fees, and Payment

9.1 Free and Paid Plans. We offer a free plan with limited features and one or more Subscription plans requiring payment of fees, as described on the Service.

9.2 Billing. All Subscription fees and applicable taxes are due and payable in advance, are non-refundable (except as expressly provided in these Terms or required by Applicable Law), and will be charged to the payment method you provide to our third-party payment processor. Subscriptions renew automatically for successive billing periods of equal duration unless cancelled at least twenty-four (24) hours before the end of the current period.

9.3 Price Changes. We may change Subscription fees upon at least thirty (30) days' prior notice. Continued use of the Service after the new fees take effect constitutes acceptance.

9.4 Taxes. All fees are exclusive of any applicable value-added, sales, use, or other taxes, levies, or duties imposed by taxing authorities. You are solely responsible for payment of all such taxes except those based on our net income.

9.5 Refunds. If you are dissatisfied with a Subscription, you may request a refund of amounts paid for your first month within thirty (30) days of purchase. No refunds are available for subsequent billing periods, except where required by Applicable Law.

9.6 Chargebacks. Before initiating a chargeback or payment dispute, you must contact us to attempt to resolve the issue in good faith. We reserve the right to contest illegitimate or unsubstantiated chargebacks and to permanently suspend or terminate the accounts of users who initiate fraudulent or bad-faith chargebacks.

9.7 Failure to Pay. If any fee is not paid when due, we may, without limiting any other right or remedy, suspend or downgrade your access to the Service until all outstanding amounts are paid in full.

10. Intellectual Property

Except for User Content, all intellectual property rights in and to the Service, including without limitation all software, design, text, graphics, and logos, are and shall remain the exclusive property of William Griffiths or our licensors. You acquire no ownership interest therein by reason of these Terms or your use of the Service.

11. Availability; Support; Force Majeure

We endeavour to maintain the Service in operational status but do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, or error-free availability. The Service may be unavailable for scheduled maintenance or due to factors outside our reasonable control, including force majeure events such as natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labour shortages, utility failures, or Internet or telecommunication outages. We shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from any such force majeure event.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR TRADE USAGE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE SECURE, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, FREE OF HARMFUL CODE, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR NEEDS, NOR THAT OPERATION WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU ASSUME ALL RISK FOR ALL USE OF THE SERVICE, INCLUDING ANY RELIANCE ON THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY CONTENT.

13. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL WILLIAM GRIFFITHS, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO US FOR THE SERVICE DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE FIRST EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, OR, IF NO AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN PAID, ONE HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD $100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES; ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

14. Indemnification

You shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless William Griffiths and our officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your breach of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any rights of a third party or any Applicable Law.

15. Term; Suspension; Termination; Data Retention

These Terms commence on the earlier of your acceptance or first use of the Service and continue until terminated under this Section. We may suspend or terminate your access to all or part of the Service immediately and without liability if you breach these Terms, if required by Applicable Law, or if we reasonably believe such action is necessary to protect the Service or other users. You may terminate your account at any time via the Service interface or by written notice to us; however, no refunds will be provided except as expressly stated herein. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will cease. We may, but are not obligated to, delete User Content after thirty (30) days, except to the extent retention is required by Applicable Law or for legitimate business purposes (such as dispute resolution or compliance).

16. Governing Law; Dispute Resolution; Waiver of Class Actions

These Terms and any dispute arising hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be finally settled by binding arbitration administered by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) in accordance with its Commercial Rules. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of a single arbitrator appointed in accordance with those Rules, and the arbitration shall be conducted in English in Johannesburg, South Africa, unless the parties agree otherwise. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. EACH PARTY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION AGAINST THE OTHER. Nothing in this Section prevents either party from seeking provisional or injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.

17. Communications; Marketing

You consent to receive transactional or relationship communications from us via email or through the Service, including notices regarding your account, security, and changes to these Terms. You may opt out of receiving non-essential marketing communications at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in such messages. If you are an organisation, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use your name and logo in our marketing materials and client lists, unless and until you notify us in writing to cease such use.

18. Notices

Except as otherwise set out herein, all notices required or permitted under these Terms shall be in writing and shall be deemed effectively given: (a) when sent by confirmed email to the addresses provided by the parties; (b) when delivered by nationally recognised overnight courier; or (c) when delivered in person. Notices to William Griffiths shall be sent to: support@makerdata.io.

19. Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous understandings, whether written or oral, relating thereto. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights or obligations hereunder without our prior written consent; any purported assignment in violation of the foregoing shall be void. We may freely assign these Terms. Nothing in these Terms shall be construed to create any partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship between the parties. The headings used in these Terms are for convenience only and shall not affect interpretation.

If you have any questions about these Terms or the Service, please contact us.

Email: support@makerdata.io