These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and MatBook, Inc. ("MatBook," "we," "us," or "our"), a company incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with principal offices at Boston, MA, USA, governing your access to and use of the MatBook website at thernatbook.com and the MatBook research data management platform (collectively, the "Services"). Please read these Terms carefully before using our Services.
By accessing or using our Services, creating an account, or clicking "I agree" to these Terms, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you are using the Services on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms, and all references to "you" in these Terms apply to both you as an individual and to the organization you represent. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use our Services.
MatBook provides a cloud-based research data management platform designed for materials science research and development organizations, including academic research groups, national laboratories, and industrial R&D teams. The platform enables users to record and manage experimental protocols, track laboratory samples, store and organize characterization data from scientific instruments, build and query materials property databases, collaborate with team members and external collaborators, and integrate with scientific instrumentation and analysis software.
We offer the Services under various subscription plans, including a free academic tier and paid tiers with additional features, storage capacity, and support levels. The specific features available to you depend on the subscription plan applicable to your account. Details of available subscription plans are set forth on our pricing page.
You must be at least 16 years of age to use our Services. By accepting these Terms, you represent and warrant that you are at least 16 years old, that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement, and that you are not barred from using the Services under applicable law. If you are using the Services on behalf of a legal entity, you represent and warrant that the entity is validly existing and that you have the authority to bind the entity to these Terms.
We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will provide notice by posting the updated Terms on our website and, for changes that materially affect your rights or obligations, by sending an email to the address associated with your account at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Services and close your account.
To access certain features of our Services, you must create an account by providing accurate, complete, and current information as prompted by the registration process. You agree to keep your account information accurate and up to date. Accounts are non-transferable and may not be shared with other individuals without our written consent.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials, including your password, and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at security@matbook.io of any unauthorized access to or use of your account. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain the security of your account credentials.
If you access the Services through an organizational subscription, your organization's administrators may have the ability to access, modify, or delete your account and associated data, and to manage your permissions within the platform. You agree that your use of the Services may be subject to your organization's policies, and that we may comply with instructions from your organization's designated administrators regarding your account.
Subject to your compliance with these Terms and payment of applicable fees, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use the Services for your internal research and development purposes during the term of your subscription. This license does not include the right to resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Services or any aspect thereof.
You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:
You retain all right, title, and interest in and to the research data, experimental records, and other content you submit to the Services ("Your Data"). These Terms do not transfer ownership of Your Data to MatBook. You grant MatBook a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to store, process, and transmit Your Data solely as necessary to provide the Services to you. This license terminates when you delete Your Data or close your account, subject to backup retention periods described in our Privacy Policy.
You are solely responsible for the accuracy, quality, integrity, legality, reliability, and appropriateness of Your Data. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to upload Your Data to the Services and to grant us the license described above, and that Your Data does not violate applicable law or infringe the rights of any third party.
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect Your Data, as described in our Privacy Policy. However, we strongly recommend that you maintain independent backups of Your Data outside of the MatBook platform. We are not liable for any loss or corruption of Your Data, except to the extent caused by our gross negligence or willful misconduct.
We may analyze aggregated, anonymized data derived from Your Data and users' use of the Services to generate insights about research workflows, platform performance, and usage patterns. Such aggregate data does not identify you or your organization and may be used for product improvement, research, or publication.
The Services, including the software, algorithms, user interface, design, text, graphics, and all other content created by MatBook, are the exclusive property of MatBook, Inc. and are protected by copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws. All rights in the Services not expressly granted to you in these Terms are reserved by MatBook.
The MatBook name, logo, and all related product and service names, design marks, and slogans are trademarks or service marks of MatBook, Inc. You may not use these marks without our prior written consent. All other trademarks mentioned in the Services are the property of their respective owners.
If you provide MatBook with suggestions, ideas, enhancement requests, recommendations, or other feedback relating to the Services ("Feedback"), you grant MatBook a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and incorporate such Feedback into the Services or other products and services, without any obligation to compensate you or to keep such Feedback confidential. Nothing in these Terms limits MatBook's right to independently develop features that are similar to your Feedback.
We offer various subscription plans, as described on our pricing page. Plan features, storage limits, and user seat allowances are as specified for each plan. We reserve the right to modify the features and pricing of subscription plans with reasonable notice.
Paid subscription plans require payment of the applicable subscription fees as set forth on our pricing page. All fees are non-refundable except as expressly stated in these Terms or as required by applicable law. Fees are exclusive of taxes; you are responsible for all applicable taxes associated with your use of the Services.
Subscription fees are billed in advance on a monthly or annual basis, depending on the billing cycle you select. By providing payment information, you authorize us to charge your payment method for all fees associated with your subscription. If payment fails, we will notify you and may suspend your access to paid features until payment is resolved. We reserve the right to terminate accounts with unresolved payment failures after 30 days.
We may change subscription pricing at any time with at least 30 days' notice. For annual subscriptions, price changes will take effect at the next renewal date following the notice period. Continued use of the Services after the price change takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the new pricing.
These Terms are effective from the date you first accept them and continue until terminated as described in this section.
You may terminate your account at any time by following the account closure procedure in the platform settings. Account closure takes effect immediately for free accounts. For paid subscription accounts, you retain access to the Services through the end of the current billing period, after which access terminates. No refunds are provided for unused portions of paid subscription periods, except as required by applicable law.
We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, without prior notice, if: you materially breach these Terms and fail to cure the breach within 10 business days of receiving written notice; you engage in illegal activity using the Services; you use the Services in a way that creates legal liability for MatBook; you provide false registration information; or we are required to do so by applicable law. We may also terminate free accounts that have been inactive for more than 24 consecutive months, with 30 days' prior notice.
Upon termination: your license to use the Services ceases immediately; MatBook will retain Your Data for 90 days following termination, during which time you may export it; after 90 days, Your Data will be permanently deleted. Sections 5.1, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of these Terms survive termination.
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, MATBOOK DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. MATBOOK DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL CODE. MATBOOK DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY CONTENT ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, INCLUDING MATERIALS PROPERTY DATA OR SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED FOR RESEARCH AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS THE SOLE BASIS FOR ANY SCIENTIFIC, ENGINEERING, OR COMMERCIAL DECISION WITHOUT INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION. MATBOOK IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN RESEARCH DATA OR EXPERIMENTAL RECORDS THAT YOU UPLOAD TO THE PLATFORM.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW: (A) IN NO EVENT SHALL MATBOOK BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF RESEARCH OUTPUT, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, OR LOST SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITY, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; AND (B) MATBOOK'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO MATBOOK IN THE TWELVE MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR, IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID ANY FEES, ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100).
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN DAMAGES. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms.
Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity thereof, or to the use of the Services, shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, except that either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights. The arbitration shall be conducted in Boston, Massachusetts. The arbitrator's award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, you waive any right to bring claims against MatBook as part of a class, consolidated, or representative action. Claims may only be brought on an individual basis.
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and any additional terms applicable to specific features of the Services, constitute the entire agreement between you and MatBook with respect to the Services and supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements, representations, and understandings.
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.
No waiver of any provision of these Terms shall be effective unless in writing and signed by an authorized representative of MatBook. No waiver of a provision shall be construed as a continuing waiver or as a waiver of any other provision.
You may not assign or transfer these Terms, or any rights or obligations under these Terms, without our prior written consent. We may freely assign or transfer these Terms, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with notice to you.
Questions about these Terms should be directed to: legal@matbook.io, or by mail to MatBook, Inc., Attn: Legal, Boston, MA, USA.