Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the websites, applications, and services offered by Apex Vanguard LLC ("Apex Vanguard", "we", "us"), including the Vanguard IP-Researcher subscription, the licensing services, and the IP & license consulting services (collectively, the "Services"). By creating an account, starting a free trial, subscribing, or otherwise using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Eligibility & accounts

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract. You are responsible for the activity under your account and license key, and for keeping your license key confidential. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use.

2. Subscriptions, free trial & billing

• Vanguard IP-Researcher is offered at US$200 per month, preceded by a 30-day free trial for new customers.
• Unless you cancel before the trial ends, your subscription will automatically convert to a paid monthly subscription and your payment method will be charged $200/month thereafter, until cancelled.
• Subscriptions renew automatically each month. You may cancel at any time, effective at the end of the current billing period; fees already paid are non-refundable except where required by law.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. By subscribing you also agree to Stripe's terms. We do not store your full card details.
• Consulting engagements are billed at US$400 per hour (or as otherwise agreed in a written statement of work).
• We may change pricing on prospective renewal with reasonable notice.

3. License to use the Services

Subject to these Terms and your active subscription or license, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to use the Services for your internal business purposes. You may not resell, sublicense, reverse engineer, scrape at abusive volumes, or use the Services to build a competing product, except as expressly permitted.

4. Your content & data

You retain ownership of the queries, materials, and information you submit ("Your Content"). You grant us a limited license to process Your Content solely to provide and improve the Services. We retain operational records (account, billing, usage metering) as needed to run the Services and meet legal obligations. See our Privacy practices for details.

5. Third-party sources

The IP-Researcher aggregates results from third-party and public sources (e.g. USPTO, arXiv, Crossref). We do not control and are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or availability of those sources, and results may be incomplete or out of date.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Services unlawfully, to infringe others' rights, to transmit malware, to attempt to gain unauthorized access, or to interfere with the integrity or performance of the Services.

7. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not warrant that results are accurate, complete, or suitable for any legal or commercial purpose.

8. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, APEX VANGUARD LLC WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR LOST PROFITS OR DATA. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

9. Termination

We may suspend or terminate access for breach of these Terms or non-payment. You may stop using the Services at any time. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (e.g. payment owed, disclaimers, liability limits) will survive.

10. Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted here with an updated effective date; continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

11. Governing law & contact

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Questions or notices: [email protected] — Apex Vanguard LLC.