Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and Qern ("Qern," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of qern.net and all associated platforms and services (collectively, the "Services").

By accessing or using any Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Services. If you're using the Services on behalf of an organization, you confirm you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

2. Description of Services

Qern provides the following Services, each subject to these Terms:

QAIM — identity and access management, with SSO, RBAC, and OIDC-based authentication.

Nexus — a centralized data hub and integration engine for connecting and routing data in real time.

Qpedia — a collaborative knowledge base and documentation platform.

Qguard — a browser extension and secure chat interface that redacts sensitive information before it reaches external AI models, with policy enforcement and audit logging.

Qpost — a sovereign, high-throughput mail engine exposing a Mailgun-compatible REST API for developers.

3. Account Registration and Security

Certain Services require an account. You agree to provide accurate and current information and to keep it up to date. You're responsible for safeguarding your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately at security@qern.net of any unauthorized use of your account. We may suspend or terminate accounts we reasonably believe violate these Terms.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes. You must not: transmit unlawful, harassing, or infringing content; attempt unauthorized access to any part of the Services or other accounts; disrupt or interfere with the Services; distribute malware or engage in phishing; reverse engineer or decompile any part of the Services; resell or redistribute the Services without our written consent; or use automated tools to access the Services outside of our published APIs.

5. Subscriptions, Fees, and Payment

Access to paid Services or features requires an active subscription. Fees are as stated on the applicable plan and exclude taxes unless noted otherwise. By providing payment information you authorize us to charge the applicable fees. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless cancelled beforehand. We'll give at least 30 days' notice of any pricing change before it applies to your next billing cycle. Non-payment may result in suspension of access.

6. Intellectual Property

All content, features, and functionality of the Services — including text, graphics, logos, and underlying technology — belong to Qern or its licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. These Terms grant you no rights beyond the limited right to use the Services as authorized.

You retain ownership of content you submit through the Services ("User Content"). By submitting User Content you grant Qern a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use and store it solely to provide the Services to you.

7. Data Protection and Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, incorporated into these Terms by reference. Data processing agreements are available for enterprise customers on request.

8. Service Level and Availability

We aim to maintain high availability across all Services. Specific commitments, where applicable, are set out in separate Service Level Agreements for enterprise customers. We may perform scheduled maintenance, during which a Service may be temporarily unavailable, and will give reasonable advance notice where practical.

9. Third-Party Services and Integrations

Some Services integrate with third-party tools, including AI model providers, cloud infrastructure, and payment processors. These third parties are governed by their own terms. Qern is not responsible for the availability or content of third-party services, and your use of them is at your own risk.

10. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR COMPLETELY SECURE.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, QERN AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Qern and its officers, employees, and agents from claims arising out of your use of the Services, your violation of these Terms or applicable law, your User Content, or your violation of any third party's rights.

13. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time through account settings or by contacting us. We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without cause, upon reasonable notice. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including intellectual property rights, disclaimers, and limitations of liability — will survive. On request made within 30 days of termination, we'll provide a copy of your data in a standard machine-readable format before deletion.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws applicable in Qern's jurisdiction of operation, without regard to conflict of law principles. Disputes will first be addressed through good-faith negotiation, and if unresolved, through binding arbitration, without prejudice to either party's right to seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date above, with additional notice provided to registered users where required. Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

16. General Provisions

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any Service-specific terms, form the entire agreement between you and Qern regarding the Services. If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect. Our failure to enforce a right or provision is not a waiver of that right. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them without restriction.

17. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms can be directed to support@qern.net.