Terms of Service


Last modification: November 2014

We’re developers too!

We have tried to keep this document short, and to be easily understandable by everyone.

If you’re on the fast track and just want to get started, read the informal green descriptions in this agreement, and leave the rest to your legal department.

About these terms of service

Who are the parties?

Within these Terms of Service (“Terms“) the terms “Optimaize”, “NameAPI”, “we” or “us” will refer to Optimaize GmbH Switzerland, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates that own and operate Websites and Internet Services on their behalf. The terms “you”, “user” or “customer” refers to you as a user of our Websites or Services described below.

What do these Terms cover?

These Terms set forth the terms and conditions through which we will permit you to use these websites and services operated and owned by us:

  1. the web services (“APIs”) at optimaize.com, api.nameapi.org, and alternative domains providing the same service
  2. the website at www.nameapi.org (and alternative domains pointing to the same website)
  3. all software, programs, websites, data, documentation, tools, internet-based services, components, updates (including software maintenance, service information, help content, bug fixes or maintenance releases) provided by us, collectively the “Service”

Accepting These Terms

You accept these terms.

In order for you to use any of the Service, you must first agree to abide by the Terms. You can accept these Terms by:

  • Signing up on the website to create your account.
  • Using any of the services, in which case you understand and agree that these Terms will apply to your use of those services (or any parts of them).

Before you continue to use the service, you should print or save a local copy of the Terms for your records.

Registration

We may list you as a reference. Don’t create fake accounts.

In order to use the Service you may be required to provide information about yourself (such as identification or contact details) as part of the registration process. You agree that any registration information you give to us will be accurate, correct, and current. You also agree to keep this information up to date.

The Service is made available worldwide.

You may choose to register as an individual (sole proprietor) or as a company or business. If you register as a company or business, you must also provide information about an owner or principal of the business and you must be authorized to act on behalf of the business and have the authority to bind the business to this Agreement. In order to sign up a business to use the Service, you must agree to this Agreement on behalf of the business. If you have so agreed, the term “you” will mean you, the natural person, as well as the business you represent.

You agree that we may use your name and/or logo in reference material such as a user/customer list published on the website.

Account types, contracts and credits

The Service is offered partially free of charge, and extended account types exist for a one time or recurring fee.

Requests that result in an exception caused by the server are not charged to your account.

Free accounts, free credits

One free account per website/application.

Every newly created account starts as a free account. Such accounts are well suited to get to know the Service, for development and testing, and may be used for live websites and applications where the offered features and request limits are sufficient.

Only one free account is permitted per one application or website, and per one IP address. We keep the right to apply our own judgment of what “one website” is. If in doubt, contact us to avoid account suspension or termination.

The amount of credits assigned to free accounts per time unit is published on the Website, and may change at any time.

Paid contracts and credits

Pay in advance, no refunds.

Accounts can be upgraded by purchasing a paid contract. Such contracts are available on the Website in an online shop after logging in.

Such contracts are paid in advance, and become active after your payment has been received. They end either when all credits have been used up, or when the expiration date has passed, whichever comes first.

In case that multiple contracts are active, service requests charge the contract that expires the soonest. If you intend to purchase multiple contracts and you need to be able to control which contract is billed by which service request, then you need to create multiple separate accounts.

Payments made are non-refundable.

We keep book over service requests per account, our accounting is authoritative.

Changes to the Service and Versioning

Our Service is not a frozen set of functionality. Evolution means change. Read about our Service Versioning concept.

We keep working on all parts of the Service, including the underlying data, the published API methods, and the software libraries accessing these methods.

Our web services are made available by web addresses (URLs) that contain the version number of the API. Software libraries that use these services under the hood may document the API versions they use.

We keep changes to published stable APIs to a minimum to avoid conflicts with your integration. Bugfixes and data updates are applied to existing versions. API changes are only applied if we consider it important.

Each version is available for a certain documented amount of time until it is removed, and users are forced to update to a newer version. Methods in newer versions may be changed or completely removed.

Termination

You may terminate this Agreement by closing your Service Account at any time by following the instructions on our website in your Account Profile. We may suspend or terminate this Agreement and your Service Account at any time in case you violate these terms or you do not comply with any of the provisions of this Agreement.

Effects of Termination

Upon termination and closing of your Service Account, we will immediately discontinue your access to the Service. You will not be refunded the remainder of any unused credits that you have paid for.

Termination does not relieve you of your obligations as defined in this Agreement.

Upon termination you agree: (i) to immediately cease your use of the Service, (ii) that the license granted under this Agreement shall end, (iii) that we reserve the right (but have no obligation) to delete all of your information and account data stored on our servers, and (iv) we will not be liable to you for compensation, reimbursement, or damages in connection with your use of the Service, or any termination or suspension of the Service or deletion of your information or account data.

Prohibited Businesses

Don’t engage in fraudulent activities.

By registering for a Service Account, you are confirming that you will not use the Service in connection with the following businesses, business activities or business practices: (1) door-to-door sales, (2) engaging in deceptive marketing practices, (3) chain letters, (4) illegal products or services, (5) multi-level marketing or pyramid schemes, (6) unsolicited email marketing (better known as “Spam”).

Prohibited Uses

Don’t be evil.

You specifically agree not to:

  • register under the name of, nor attempt to use the Service under the name or account of, another person;
  • allow another person to access the Service using your account or credentials;
  • access (or attempt to access) the Service through any automated means (including use of scripts or web crawlers), except through APIs or other interfaces specifically provided for this purpose, or violate the instructions set out in any robots.txt or similar file present within the Service;
  • engage in the systematic retrieval of data or other content from the Service, to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory, without our prior written consent;
  • attempt to or actually circumvent any method used by us to control access to the Service, including, but not limited to, spoofing or otherwise impersonating an IP address for your computer that is not actually assigned to your computer or setting up a proxy or other device that allows others to access the Service through it;
  • reverse engineer. Any reproduction of the data, databases, software, and services of the Service is strictly prohibited;
  • make program changes that alter the original purpose of it;
  • use the data results or the Service to develop your own solutions as a similar or competing product or service.

Your Credentials and Unauthorized Use of Your Account

Keep your passwords safe, don’t share your account.

You agree and understand that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the credentials including api-key(s) and password(s) you use to access the Service. Accordingly, you agree that you will be solely responsible to us for all activities that occur under your accounts, and will be responsible for any breach of these Terms caused by these activities. If you become aware of any unauthorized use of your credentials or of your account, you agree to notify us immediately.

Privacy

To understand how we use information you provide in our account and when using the Service, please read the Privacy Policy.

Security

We can’t guarantee to never be hacked.

We maintain commercially reasonable administrative, technical and physical procedures to protect all the personal information regarding you and your customers/users that are stored in our servers from unauthorized access and accidental loss or modification. However, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat those measures or use such personal information for improper purposes. You acknowledge that you provide this information at your own risk. We recommend you review our Privacy Policy, which will help you understand how we collect, use and safeguard the information you provide to us.

Linking to the Sites

Link to us! 😉

We welcome links to the pages (homepage as well as “deep links”) of any of the our Sites. You are free to establish a hypertext link to these pages so long as the link does not state or imply any affiliation, connection, sponsorship, or approval of your site by us. We do not permit framing or inline linking to our Sites or any portions of them.

Ownership and License

You use our Service, we keep the rights on it.

Your License

We grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable license, without the right to sublicense, to electronically access and use the Service for your personal or commercial purposes. You will be entitled to download updates to the Service, subject to any additional terms made known to you at that time, when we make these updates available.

Ownership

The Service is licensed and not sold. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you in this Agreement. The Service is protected by copyright, trade secret and other intellectual property laws. We own the title, copyright and other worldwide Intellectual Property Rights (as defined below) in the Service and all copies of the Service. This Agreement does not grant you any rights to our trademarks or service marks.

For the purposes of this Agreement, “Intellectual Property Rights” means all patent rights, copyright rights, mask work rights, moral rights, rights of publicity, trademark, trade dress and service mark rights, goodwill, trade secret rights and other intellectual property rights as may now exist or hereafter come into existence, and all applications therefore and registrations, renewals and extensions thereof, under the laws of any state, country, territory or other jurisdiction.

You may choose to or we may invite you to submit comments or ideas about the Service, including without limitation about how to improve the Service or our products (“Ideas”). By submitting any Idea, you agree that your disclosure is gratuitous, unsolicited and without restriction and will not place us under any fiduciary or other obligation, and that we are free to use the Idea without any additional compensation to you, and/or to disclose the Idea on a non-confidential basis or otherwise to anyone. You further acknowledge that, by acceptance of your submission, we do not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to us, or developed by our employees, or obtained from sources other than you.

No Warranties

THE SERVICE AND ALL ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM OR THROUGH THE SERVICE OR FROM US, SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS, AGENTS, DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES OF ANY OF THE ENTITIES LISTED (COLLECTIVELY, THE “DISCLAIMING ENTITIES” AND INDIVIDUALLY A “DISCLAIMING ENTITY”), AND WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE DISCLAIMING ENTITIES DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE INFORMATION THEY PROVIDE OR THAT IS PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE IS ACCURATE, RELIABLE OR CORRECT; THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION, THAT THE SERVICE WILL FUNCTION IN AN UNINTERRUPTED MANNER OR BE SECURE; THAT ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED; OR THAT THE SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ANY SUBJECT MATTER DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DOWNLOADED AT YOUR OWN RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR PROPERTY OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM SUCH DOWNLOAD. THE DISCLAIMING ENTITIES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT HOW LONG WILL BE NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE PROCESSING OF A SERVICE REQUEST.

Limitation of Liability and Damages

IN NO EVENT SHALL A DISCLAIMING ENTITY BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF, IN CONNECTION WITH OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE USE OF, INABILITY TO USE, OR UNAVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ANY OF THE DISCLAIMING ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE, LOSS OR INJURY RESULTING FROM HACKING, TAMPERING OR OTHER UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS OR USE OF THE SERVICE OR YOUR SERVICE ACCOUNT OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN.

THE DISCLAIMING ENTITIES ASSUME NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY (A) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE SERVICE; (B) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF SERVERS USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN; (C) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION TO OR FROM THE SERVICE; (D) ANY SOFTWARE BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR OTHER HARMFUL CODE THAT MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SERVICE; (E) ANY ERRORS, INACCURACIES OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION, FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION, IN EACH CASE POSTED, EMAILED, STORED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE; AND/OR (F) USER CONTENT OR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY.

THE DISCLAIMING ENTITIES’ CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL BE LIMITED TO DIRECT DAMAGES AND IN ALL EVENTS SHALL NOT EXCEED IN THE AGGREGATE THE AMOUNT OF FEES PAID BY YOU TO US DURING THE THREE (3) MONTH PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM FOR LIABILITY.

THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SECTION APPLIES REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ON WHICH THE CLAIM IS BASED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS. THE LIMITATIONS APPLY EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION.

The Service is controlled from its facilities in Switzerland, and operated in various countries worldwide. We make no representations that the Service is appropriate or available for use in your location. Those who access or use the Service from jurisdictions other than Switzerland do so at their own volition and are entirely responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws and regulations, including but not limited to export and import regulations.

Disputes; Choice of Law; Jurisdiction and Venue

You may only initiate legal proceedings against us in Zurich.

You agree that any disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the Service shall be resolved in accordance with this Section.

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the country of Switzerland. The exclusive venue for any actions or claims arising under or related to this Agreement shall be in the appropriate court located in Zurich, Switzerland. ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY AND ALL RIGHTS THEY MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY JUDICIAL PROCEEDING INVOLVING ANY CLAIM RELATING TO OR ARISING UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. Headings are included for convenience only, and shall not be considered in interpreting this Agreement. The Agreement does not limit any rights that we may have under trade secret, copyright, patent or other laws. Our failure to assert any right or provision under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. No waiver of any term of this Agreement shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term.

Right to Amend

We can change these conditions.

We have the right to change or add to the terms of this Agreement at any time, and to change, delete, discontinue, or impose conditions on any feature or aspect of the Service or software with notice that we in our sole discretion deem to be reasonable in the circumstances, including such notice on our website for the purposes of providing services in terms of this Agreement. Any use of the Service or software after our publication of any such changes shall constitute your acceptance of this Agreement as modified.

Parties

This Agreement binds you and your respective heirs, representatives, and permitted and approved successors (including those by merger and acquisition) or any permitted assigns.

Force Majeure

We will not be liable for delays in processing or other nonperformance caused by such events as fires, telecommunications failures, utility failures, power failures, equipment failures, labor strife, riots, war, terrorist attack, or other causes over which the we have no reasonable control.

Entire Agreement

These terms and conditions and all policies and procedures that are incorporated herein by reference constitute the entire agreement between you and us, with respect to the provision of the Service. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and any other policy, this Agreement shall prevail on the subject matter of this Agreement. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, these terms describe the entire liability of us and our vendors and suppliers and sets forth your exclusive remedies with respect to the Service and your access and use of the Service. If any provision of this Agreement (or portion thereof) is held to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, then it shall be changed and interpreted to accomplish the objectives of such provision to the greatest extent possible under applicable law, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Organization Disclosure

Our mailing address is Optimaize GmbH, Im Oberdorf 16, CH-8602 Wangen bei Zürich, Switzerland.