Terms of Service

Definitions

• "Service" means the HQ Cortex website, application, APIs, and related documentation.
• "Customer Data" means data and files you or your users enter into the Service.
• "Organization" means the workspace or team account using the Service.
• "AI Features" means optional AI-assisted capabilities inside the Service.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you are using the Service for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization.

2. Description of Service

HQ Cortex is a manufacturing operations platform for independent brands. Current product areas include instruction records, ingredients, equipment, products, batches, suppliers, quality workflows, and related AI-assisted tools. Features may change as the product evolves.

3. Accounts & Registration

• You must provide accurate account information and keep it reasonably current.
• You are responsible for activity under your account and for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials.
• If you suspect unauthorized access, notify us promptly through the support or account channel associated with your workspace.
• You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service.
• Each user must have their own account.

4. Acceptable Use

• Do not use the Service for unlawful activity or to violate the rights of others.
• Do not attempt unauthorized access to the Service or other users' data.
• Do not interfere with the integrity, security, or availability of the Service.
• Do not upload malware, harmful code, or content you do not have the right to use.
• Do not use the Service to train competing AI systems using our application, outputs, or proprietary materials without written permission.

5. Your Data & Intellectual Property

You retain ownership of your Customer Data. You grant HQ Cortex a limited right to host, process, and use that data only as needed to operate, support, secure, and improve the Service, and to comply with law.

Some data can be exported through product features that exist today. Additional export or deletion help may require working directly with the HQ Cortex team.

6. AI-Powered Features

• AI outputs are machine-generated and may be incomplete, incorrect, or unsuitable for your use case.
• You are responsible for reviewing and validating AI-generated output before relying on it.
• AI Features may change, be limited, or be removed as the product evolves.

7. Regulatory Compliance Disclaimer

HQ Cortex is an operational software tool. It is not a regulatory approval, certification, or legal compliance service. You remain responsible for the compliance of your products, labels, manufacturing practices, and records.

8. Confidentiality

Each party will use reasonable care to protect the other party's confidential information. For us, your Customer Data is treated as confidential information, subject to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, applicable law, and the use of third-party infrastructure providers.

9. Subscriptions & Payments

• Some customers may access the Service under invite, pilot, or other early commercial arrangements.
• Self-serve billing and in-product subscription management are still being rolled out and are not yet fully available in the current product.
• If payment collection is enabled for your account, it may be handled by third-party providers such as Stripe or Clerk, and additional billing terms may apply at that time.

10. Service Availability

The Service is provided on an "as available" basis. We do not provide an uptime commitment or service-level agreement. The Service may be unavailable because of maintenance, bugs, security work, infrastructure issues, or provider outages.

11. Warranty Disclaimer

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HQ CORTEX WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify HQ Cortex against third-party claims arising from your misuse of the Service, your Customer Data, or your violation of law or these Terms.

14. Termination

• You may stop using the Service at any time and may request account closure through the support or account channel associated with your workspace.
• We may suspend or terminate access if you violate these Terms, create risk for the Service or other users, or if we discontinue or materially change the Service.
• If your access is removed, we may offer a reasonable opportunity to retrieve Customer Data where practical, but we are not promising a fixed export period.

15. Dispute Resolution

Before starting formal proceedings, the parties agree to try to resolve disputes through good-faith discussion.

16. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, excluding its conflict-of-law rules.

17. Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including infrastructure failures, natural disasters, acts of war, or government action.

18. General Provisions

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any separate pilot or order terms that explicitly apply to you, form the parties' agreement regarding the Service.

19. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms as the product and commercial terms evolve. When changes are material, we will try to provide reasonable notice through the Service, email, or your account contact.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms should be routed through the support or account channel associated with your workspace. We are not currently publishing separate monitored `security@`, `billing@`, `support@`, or `legal@` mailboxes on this page.