Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our websites, software, and services (collectively, the "Services"). "You" means the person accepting these Terms and, if you accept on behalf of an organization, that organization — you represent that you have authority to bind it. You accept these Terms by an affirmative act presented in the product (or, for the public websites, by using them). If you do not agree, do not use the Services. The Services are intended for users 18 years or older.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights that the law of your jurisdiction does not permit to be limited or waived; where such law grants you a non-waivable right, that right prevails over any conflicting provision of these Terms.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll post the new Terms and notify you before they take effect. Changes to dispute-resolution terms, automatic-renewal terms, or pricing, and other material adverse changes, require your renewed affirmative acceptance where the law of your jurisdiction requires it — continued use alone is not acceptance of those changes.

2. Who we are

Stirling PDF, Inc. provides an open-core PDF application available as self-hosted software and as hosted services. Some components may be offered under separate open-source licenses. If a component's open-source license conflicts with these Terms, that license controls for that component.

3. Accounts and eligibility

You must provide accurate information, keep your credentials confidential, and promptly notify us of any unauthorized use. We may suspend or terminate accounts for breach or risk to the Services.

4. Your use of the Services

4.1 Acceptable Use

To keep the Services safe and lawful, you agree not to:

• Break the law or infringe others' rights (IP, privacy, publicity).

• Upload malware, attempt to gain unauthorized access, or interfere with security.

• Scrape, spider, or harvest content or data (other than standard indexing by public search engines).

• Send spam or run high-risk/illegal activities.

• Impersonate others or misrepresent your affiliation.

4.2 Self-hosted vs. hosted

Self-hosted. You operate your own environment and are responsible for backups, security, and compliance. We do not access your self-hosted files or logs unless you choose to share them (e.g., for support). Self-hosted deployments of paid software validate their license online and transmit usage-metering data as described in the EULA (process counts, file sizes, and file hashes — never file names or file content); air-gapped deployments verify a signed activation bundle offline.

Hosted (Stirling Cloud). We provide the infrastructure and may process account, usage, and diagnostic data to operate and secure the Services. See the Privacy Policy for details.

5. Software and licenses

If a separate end-user license (EULA) or open-source license accompanies software, that license governs to the extent of any conflict with these Terms. The Stirling EULA & Commercial Terms is accepted by the same affirmative act as these Terms where presented together. Updates may be required and may install automatically.

6. Intellectual property

We (and our licensors) own the Services, including software, content, and trademarks. You may not use our marks without permission. Except for the limited rights these Terms grant, we retain all rights.

7. User files; feedback; DMCA

7.1 User Files

You retain ownership of any files you upload to or process through the Services. You grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to host, copy, transmit, display, and process your files solely to provide the functionality you request — through the manual tools you invoke and the policies, pipelines, and destinations you configure — plus the limited operational processing necessary to provide the Services safely: security scanning, abuse and fraud prevention, metering, backup and recovery, troubleshooting you request, incident response, and legal compliance. We use your files for no other purpose and we do not publish them. Your files are disclosed only: as you direct (for example, sharing features and the destinations you configure), to the subprocessors that operate the Services under contract, to our support personnel at your direction, or as required by legal process. Complete files are never transmitted to any AI provider; limited derived content (prompts, queries, and extracted text excerpts) is transmitted only as described in the EULA and our subprocessor list.

Where the Services store documents — the document library, processing records, and retention features of hosted deployments — storage duration is governed by the retention settings you configure (including retention policies you set on your own documents) and by the data-retention practices in the Privacy Policy. Files processed without a storing feature are held only as long as needed to deliver the requested operation. On self-hosted deployments, your file content and file names remain in your environment; the software transmits license-validation and usage-metering data as described in Section 4.2, and content leaves only if you share it with support or enable an optional cloud feature.

7.2 Feedback

If you submit feedback, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use it.

7.3 Copyright Concerns (DMCA)

Although we do not operate as a public hosting or publishing service, if you believe material processed through our Services infringes your copyright, you may notify our designated Copyright Agent. We will respond as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §512).

Copyright Agent Stirling PDF, Inc. — DMCA Notices 548 Market Street PMB 887643, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA [email protected] (subject line "DMCA Notice")

8. Third-Party Links and Services

The Services may link to or integrate with third-party sites or services (e.g., authentication providers, payment processors). We are not responsible for those services, and their terms and privacy policies govern your use.

9. Purchases, subscriptions, and trials

If you buy a paid plan, you authorize us (or our Payment Processor, e.g., Stripe) to charge your payment method for recurring subscription fees, metered usage where applicable, taxes, and any applicable charges. The EULA & Commercial Terms carry the prices, meters, and plan definitions; if they conflict with this section, the EULA controls.

Renewal. Subscriptions and prepaid terms renew automatically only where you separately and affirmatively consented to automatic renewal, as described in the EULA (including its renewal disclosures, acknowledgment, and reminders). Renewal prices follow the EULA's fee-change notice terms.

Cancellation. You may cancel at any time online from Usage & Billing — one click, no notice period, no phone call. Cancellation of a subscription takes effect at the end of the current billing term; you keep what you paid for through that date. Metered (pay-as-you-go) billing is not a subscription: switching the Processor off stops new metered charges, and accrued usage remains payable. Fees are non-refundable except where required by law or expressly stated.

10. Service changes; availability

We may change or discontinue features or the Services altogether. We aim for high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.

11. Termination

You may stop using the Services at any time and can cancel subscriptions in your account. We may suspend or terminate access if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or to protect the Services — with notice and an opportunity to cure where practicable. Upon termination, rights granted to you end. Before we delete a paid workspace's files from live systems, we will give you a reasonable opportunity to export your files and records, except where law, security, or your breach requires immediate removal. Deletion then follows the retention practices in the Privacy Policy. Installed copies of the free Editor remain usable under the free plan.

12. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not warrant that the Services will meet your requirements or be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.

13. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION.

Cap. Our total liability for all claims arising from or relating to the Services will not exceed the greater of: (a) the amounts you paid to us for the Services in the three (3) months before the event giving rise to liability, or (b) $100 if you paid nothing during that period.

14. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Stirling PDF, its affiliates, and personnel from and against any third-party claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your files, your use of the Services in violation of these Terms, or your violation of law or third-party rights.

15. Dispute resolution; arbitration; class-action waiver

Informal process first. Before filing a claim, you and we agree to try to resolve disputes informally. Send a written notice of the dispute to [email protected] and we'll schedule a teleconference within 45 days.

Arbitration. If we can't resolve a dispute informally, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this section. The arbitrator will have the authority to grant the same relief a court could, consistent with these Terms. Unless we agree otherwise, the arbitration will occur in the county of your residence. Either party may bring qualifying claims in small-claims court.

Class-action and jury waiver. You and we waive any right to participate in a class, collective, or representative action or to a jury trial. Claims must be brought individually.

Batch arbitration. If 100 or more similar arbitration demands are filed by the same counsel within 30 days, AAA will administer them in reasonable batches to increase efficiency.

30-day opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration by sending written notice to Stirling PDF, Inc., 548 Market Street PMB 887643, San Francisco, CA 94104 within 30 days of first accepting these Terms; include your name, email tied to your account, and a statement that you opt out of arbitration.

16. Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware (without regard to conflicts of laws), consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act. For any disputes that are not subject to arbitration or small-claims court, you and we consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts in San Francisco County, California.

17. Export and sanctions compliance

You must comply with applicable export control and sanctions laws and represent you are not prohibited from using the Services under U.S. law.

18. Electronic communications; signatures

You consent to receive notices and other communications electronically and agree that electronic signatures and records satisfy legal requirements.

19. California users & consumer rights

California residents may contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834 or (800) 952-5210.

20. Miscellaneous

These Terms are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Services. They do not create third-party beneficiary rights. We may assign these Terms; you may not assign them without our consent. If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect. Failure to enforce is not a waiver. We aren't liable for delays outside our reasonable control (force majeure).

21. How to contact us

Email: [email protected]

Mail: Stirling PDF, Inc. 548 Market Street PMB 887643 San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.