Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the FirmwareDepot website (www.firmwaredepot.com), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use, all applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws.
If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site.

2. Nature of Service – What FirmwareDepot Is and Is Not

FirmwareDepot is an e-commerce platform specifically designed for DIY kits that involve microprocessors that need to be flashed with firmware.
The platform enables product sellers (contributors) to set up product pages and upload related digital resources for buyers to purchase.
Products purchased are digital artifacts such as firmware, STL files (3D model files), and instructions (e.g., PDF or JSON files).
FirmwareDepot, at its inception, will not be selling physical hardware. Any necessary hardware components (e.g., development boards, sensors, or cables) for DIY kits must be purchased separately by the buyer, often through external links provided on the parts list tab.
FirmwareDepot does not physically ship any products.

3. User Accounts and Responsibilities

Users must create an account and log in to purchase products.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account information and password.
You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account.

4. Product Purchases and Artifact Access

Purchasing of firmware works similarly to most e-commerce sites: users can add products to a cart, check out, and purchase the cart items.
Payment processing is managed through Stripe integration.
Upon purchase, the artifacts (e.g., firmware, STL files) that allow the user to download the file or flash the firmware are enabled.
The number of product purchases controls how many times the firmware can be downloaded or burned onto the microcontroller. Once a download or burning process has occurred, the artifact generally becomes disabled.
Artifact Re-enablement: If you experience difficulty burning firmware, you may request that the artifact be re-enabled through a customer support link. Re-enablement will preferably happen automatically for the first request after a period of one hour; subsequent requests for re-enablement will require approval by an administrator.

5. Firmware Use and Risks (Integration of Disclaimer)

Your use of any firmware obtained from FirmwareDepot is subject to our explicit Disclaimer. This Disclaimer outlines significant risks associated with flashing firmware and is required to be acknowledged by you before any firmware artifact download can be enabled.
Key points from the Disclaimer, which you agree to, include:
- The firmware you download could potentially be malicious or contain vulnerabilities.
- The responsibility for guaranteeing that the firmware will not harm your systems or devices rests entirely with you, the purchaser.
- FirmwareDepot provides no warranty for the firmware, its functionality, or for any devices, hardware, or systems that may be harmed, damaged, or rendered inoperable as a result of using firmware obtained from this site.
- Untrusted firmware should not be linked to networks that have critical public or private systems.

6. Copyright and Intellectual Property

Contributors are required to provide all copyrights for all libraries used in the development of their firmware.
When a product is purchased, you, as the user, must acknowledge these copyrights before the download can be enabled.
All content on the FirmwareDepot site, including text, graphics, logos, and digital downloads, is the property of FirmwareDepot or its content suppliers and protected by copyright laws [Implied from general e-commerce practice and platform nature].

7. Contributor Terms

Eligibility: Only users designated as "contributors" by a Firmware Admin Superuser can manage product content.
Content Management: Contributors have enhanced access to manage and modify product page content. This includes:
- Managing product categories.
- Adding new products and uploading related resources like artifacts, manuals, and images.
- Creating detailed product descriptions, overviews, build instructions, specifications, and parts lists using rich text editors.
- Managing parts lists, including providing external links for purchase, which can be affiliate links.
Copyright Provision: Contributors must provide all copyrights for all libraries used in their firmware development.
Product Status and Approval: Products created by contributors go through a workflow. They can be Draft, Submitted for admin review, Public (approved and visible), Rejected by an admin, or Archived. Products are not visible to general users until an administrator has approved them (made Public).
Payment: FirmwareDepot retains a percentage of the product purchase payment, with a default of 10%, which can be customized per contributor.

8. Content Standards

You agree not to upload, post, or otherwise transmit any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable.

9. User-Submitted Content (Gallery)

Customers may submit projects they have built to be listed in a "Gallery". Such submissions require a title, builder name, and a description created using an HTML editor.
Submitted projects are subject to approval by an administrator before being displayed.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, FirmwareDepot and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (a) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the services; (b) any conduct or content of any third party on the services; or (c) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless FirmwareDepot, its operators, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the services or your violation of these Terms.

12. Governing Law

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

13. Changes to Terms

FirmwareDepot reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. We will provide notice of any material changes.

14. Returns and Refund Policy

Due to the nature of digital products (firmware, STL files, and instructions), FirmwareDepot does not offer full refunds for purchases.
In cases where a refund is deemed appropriate (e.g., due to an error on our part), please note that the total amount will not be refunded.
Any refunded amount will not include credit card processing fees, which are currently 3% of the transaction amount plus 50 cents. This fee is non-recoverable by FirmwareDepot from the payment processor.

15. Miscellaneous

A link to these "terms of use" will be available in the footer of the website.
For inquiries or support, a "customer support contact link" is available in the footer.
Please refer to our separate Privacy Policy for information on how we collect, use, and disclose information from our users.