Terms of use.

The Services are provided by Virtual Franciscans OÜ, a private limited company incorporated in the Republic of Estonia under registry code 16190480, EU VAT EE102428687, registered at Sepapaja tn 6, 15551 Tallinn, Harju Maakond, Estonia.

You may use the Services only if you are at least 16 years of age and capable of forming a legally binding contract. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet these conditions and that your use is in compliance with all applicable laws. We may refuse, suspend, or terminate your access at any time, in our sole discretion and without notice, and without liability of any kind.

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access the Services and view their contents for your own non-commercial information purposes. All other rights are expressly reserved.

All content on the Services — including text, design, illustrations, photographs, code, graphics, marks, and the selection, coordination, and arrangement of such content — is owned by or licensed to Franciscans and is protected by copyright, trademark, database, and other intellectual property laws. The names "Franciscans," "Virtual Franciscans," and any associated logos and signs are trade marks of the company.

Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership or licence rights other than as expressly granted in section 03. You may quote brief excerpts of editorial content (such as Journal articles) with clear attribution and a working hyperlink to the source. Any other use — including reproduction, adaptation, public display, distribution, or commercial exploitation — requires our prior written permission.

You agree not to, and not to permit any person to:

• copy, scrape, download, harvest, index, mirror, or otherwise extract substantial or systematic portions of the Services by automated or manual means, except pursuant to a published robots policy;
• use, reproduce, or otherwise exploit the Services or their content for the training, fine-tuning, or evaluation of any machine-learning model, foundation model, or generative-AI system, in whole or in part;
• reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code or underlying ideas of the Services, except to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this restriction;
• introduce malware, viruses, worms, or other harmful code; probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Services without our prior written consent; circumvent, disable, or interfere with security or access controls; or otherwise impair the integrity or operation of the Services;
• use the Services to transmit unsolicited or unauthorised commercial communications, or to violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right;
• misrepresent your identity or your affiliation with any person or organisation when communicating with us through the Services.

If you submit any idea, suggestion, comment, or other material to us through the Services, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, sub-licensable, fully-paid licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, perform, and display such material in any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed, without obligation of compensation, attribution, or confidentiality. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant this licence.

The Services may include features that rely on third-party providers (for example, hosting, email delivery, analytics, calendaring) and may contain links to third-party websites or resources. We do not control, endorse, or assume responsibility for any third-party content, products, or services. Your use of any third-party service is subject to that provider's terms and privacy policy.

Nothing on the Services constitutes legal, technical, financial, or other professional advice; an offer; or a binding commitment to provide any service. Any engagement between you and Virtual Franciscans is governed exclusively by a separate written agreement signed by an authorised representative of the company. Marketing material, case studies, indicative timelines, fee ranges, or capacity statements published on the Services are illustrative only and may change without notice.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT, MATERIALS, AND FUNCTIONALITY MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THEM ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, OR FREEDOM FROM HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED OR THAT THE SERVICES OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE THEM AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL ELEMENTS.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL FRANCISCANS, ITS SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, BUSINESS, ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, DATA, OR USE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, THESE TERMS, OR ANY CONTENT, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, FRANCISCANS' AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED EUROS (€100) IN THE AGGREGATE. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS OR EXCLUDES LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED OR EXCLUDED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW (INCLUDING LIABILITY FOR FRAUD OR WILFUL MISCONDUCT).

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Franciscans and its shareholders, directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Services, (ii) your breach of these Terms, or (iii) your violation of any law or any third-party right.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Services or any part of them at any time, with or without notice. We may terminate or limit your access to the Services at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, and without liability. Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including 04 (Intellectual property), 06 (Submissions), 09 (Warranties), 10 (Liability), 11 (Indemnification), and 14 (Governing law) — will so survive.

We may revise these Terms at any time by updating this page. The revised Terms become effective on publication. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any revision constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to a revision, you must stop using the Services.

These Terms and any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in connection with them, including any non-contractual obligations, are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Estonia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The courts of Estonia, and in the first instance the Harju County Court (Harju Maakohus), have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute, save for mandatory consumer-protection rights you may have under the law of your habitual residence.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect, and the invalid provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to render it valid, legal, and enforceable. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of any right. These Terms, together with any applicable engagement contract, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Services and supersede any prior understanding. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent; we may assign them at any time without consent.

Questions about these Terms may be sent to [email protected].