Terms of Service

Welcome to ScholarBase. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the ScholarBase website, platform, and services (collectively, the “Service”), operated by ScholarBase (“we,” “us,” or “our”).

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service. Your access to and use of the Service is also conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with our Privacy Policy.

1. Acceptance and Eligibility

By creating an account or using the Service, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 13 years of age (or the age of digital consent in your country).
• You have the full power and authority to enter into these Terms.
• You are not located in a country subject to a U.S. or Indian government embargo.
• You will comply with these Terms and all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations.

2. Account Registration and Security

To access certain features of the Service, you must create an account. You may register via email or using Google OAuth authentication.

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account.
• You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account at connect@scholarbase.app.
• We reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, or remove or edit content at our sole discretion.

3. Google OAuth and Third-Party Authentication

ScholarBase offers sign-in via Google OAuth for your convenience. By using Google sign-in, you agree to:

• Allow ScholarBase to access your Google account email address and profile information as described in our Privacy Policy.
• Comply with Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
• Acknowledge that your use of Google services is governed by Google's own terms.

4. User-Generated Content

4.1 Ownership

You retain all ownership rights to the content you post on ScholarBase, including publications, blog posts, comments, feed updates, survey responses, and any other materials (“Content”).

4.2 License to ScholarBase

By posting Content on ScholarBase, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and display such Content solely for the purpose of operating, providing, and improving the Service. This license ends when you delete your Content or your account, except to the extent your Content has been shared with others and they have not deleted it.

4.3 Content Representations and Warranties

You represent and warrant that:

• You own the Content or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions.
• Your Content does not infringe the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other rights of any third party.
• Your Content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

5. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Post, upload, or transmit any Content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or hateful.
• Impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
• Engage in spam, phishing, or any form of unsolicited communication.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other accounts, or computer systems.
• Use the Service for any commercial purpose without our prior written consent.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
• Collect or harvest any personally identifiable information from the Service.
• Use the Service to distribute malware, viruses, or other harmful code.

6. Scholar Shield and AI Tools

Scholar Shield provides an on-device AI writing-risk detector and three optional rewriting paths: local Gemini Nano in supported Chrome installations, Local CPU through Transformers.js, and server-assisted Groq. By using Scholar Shield you agree to the following:

• Diagnostic only: Shield scores are statistical estimates, not proof of AI authorship or plagiarism. Do not use a score as the sole basis for academic discipline, rejection, or public accusation. Always verify with human review.
• Your rights to the text: Only scan or rewrite text you own or have permission to process. Detector scans stay on your device; Humanizer submissions are transmitted to our AI sub-processor (Groq Cloud) as described in our Privacy Policy.
• No misuse: Do not use Shield to facilitate academic dishonesty, evade detection systems, harass scholars with scores, or process others' confidential work without consent.
• Rewrites need review: AI restructures may introduce errors or change meaning. You are responsible for accuracy, citations, and originality of anything you submit after rewriting.

Scholar Shield requires a signed-in account. We may rate-limit or suspend Shield access for abuse.

7. Copyright and DMCA Compliance

ScholarBase respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide us with a written notice containing the following information:

• A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized representative.
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, with sufficient detail for us to locate it.
• Your contact information, including address, telephone number, and email.
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized.
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Send copyright infringement notices to: connect@scholarbase.app

8. Platform Content and Third-Party Links

ScholarBase contains academic content, publications, and information posted by its users. We do not verify, endorse, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any Content. You rely on Content at your own risk.

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or resources. ScholarBase is not responsible for the availability, content, or practices of any third-party websites. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to their terms and privacy policies.

9. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account and access to the Service at any time, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including if you breach these Terms.

Upon termination:

• Your right to use the Service will immediately cease.
• We may delete your account and Content, though we are not obligated to do so immediately.
• Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including ownership, warranty disclaimers, indemnification, and limitations of liability) will continue to apply.

You may delete your account at any time by contacting us or using account deletion features where available.

10. Service Modifications

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service (or any part thereof) at any time with or without notice. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the Service.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. SCHOLARBASE MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE.
• THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
• REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR QUALITY OF ANY CONTENT POSTED ON THE SERVICE.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL SCHOLARBASE, ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY:

• INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.
• LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES.
• DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.
• CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID US IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, OR (B) $100 USD. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ScholarBase, its directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your Content or your use of the Service.
• Your violation of these Terms.
• Your violation of any rights of another person or entity.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Informal Resolution: Before filing a claim, you agree to attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at connect@scholarbase.app. We will attempt to resolve the dispute within 30 days.

Jurisdiction: Any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms that cannot be resolved informally shall be resolved in the courts of New Delhi, India. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of these courts.

International Users: If you access the Service from outside India, you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws. Nothing in these Terms limits your statutory rights under the laws of your country of residence.

15. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Terms on this page and, where appropriate, via email or platform notification. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

We encourage you to review these Terms periodically for any updates. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when these Terms were last revised.

16. Contact Information

For any questions, concerns, or notices relating to these Terms, please contact us:

• Email: connect@scholarbase.app
• Address: ScholarBase, New Delhi, India

17. Miscellaneous

• Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and ScholarBase regarding your use of the Service.
• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
• Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights.
• Assignment: You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms without restriction.
• No Agency: Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, agency, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and ScholarBase.

Open Source Notice: ScholarBase is open-source software. You can view and contribute to our codebase on our repository. The open-source license governs the code itself, while these Terms govern your use of the ScholarBase platform as a hosted service.