Terms of Service

1. Who We Are

Scout IP is an AI-powered patent intelligence platform developed and operated by Scout IP S.r.l., a company incorporated under Italian law (Società a Responsabilità Limitata Innovativa), registered at Via Sile n. 41, 31056 Roncade (TV), Italy.

Scout IP helps researchers, investors, and IP professionals analyse the patent landscape relevant to a technology or invention idea. It is a validation and intelligence tool - not a legal service.

2. Acceptance of These Terms

By registering and accessing Scout IP, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you (or the organisation you represent) and Scout IP S.r.l.

3. Who Can Use Scout IP

Access to Scout IP is currently by invitation only, during our early pilot phase. You may use the platform if:

• you have received a valid invitation code from Scout IP;
• you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into contracts;
• you are acting in a professional or research capacity (as an investor, researcher, patent attorney, or similar role);
• your use complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction.

We reserve the right to refuse or revoke access at our discretion, particularly where these Terms are violated or to prevent abuse of our system resources.

4. Your Account

When you register, you provide an email address, a password, and select a role (investor, researcher, or lawyer). You are responsible for:

• keeping your password secure and confidential;
• all activity that occurs under your account;
• notifying us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

Do not share your account credentials with others. Each account is for individual use only, unless we have agreed otherwise in writing.

5. What Scout IP Does

Scout IP allows you to submit a description of an invention, technology, or research idea (your "idea text") and receive an AI-assisted patent analysis, including:

• identification of relevant patent classifications (CPC codes);
• a search of the European Patent Office (EPO) database via the EPO OPS API;
• semantic ranking of relevant prior art;
• an AI-generated report summarising potential patent overlaps, threat level, and landscape context.

These outputs are generated using Google Gemini, a third-party AI model. All analysis is automated and AI-assisted.

6. Important Limitations - AI Disclaimer

Please read this section carefully. It describes the nature and limits of Scout IP's outputs.

Scout IP provides AI-assisted patent analysis and does not replace professional legal advice.

Specifically:

• Scout IP is a validation and intelligence tool, not a legal opinion service. Nothing on the platform constitutes legal advice, freedom-to-operate analysis, or a formal patentability assessment.
• AI-generated reports may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Patent databases are large and evolving; no search is exhaustive.
• The platform does not analyse all jurisdictions, all patent offices, or all prior art. It focuses primarily on the EPO database.
• Threat levels (e.g. Red, Yellow, Green) are indicative signals, not legal determinations.
• Users remain fully responsible for any decisions made based on Scout IP's outputs, including filing, investment, or product development decisions.

We strongly recommend consulting a qualified patent attorney before making any legal or commercial decisions related to intellectual property.

7. Acceptable Use

7.1 What you may do

• Use Scout IP for legitimate research, investment due diligence, or IP strategy purposes, subject to reasonable fair use.
• Submit idea texts related to your own work or work you are authorised to analyse.
• Download and share reports generated by Scout IP for internal professional purposes.
• Share a report publicly using the platform's built-in share link feature.

7.2 What you may not do

• Submit idea texts that contain confidential information belonging to a third party without authorisation.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or extract data from the platform in bulk.
• Use the platform to generate outputs intended to mislead others about the IP landscape of a technology.
• Attempt to circumvent security measures, access controls, or rate limits.
• Use Scout IP for any unlawful purpose, including to support patent misappropriation or fraud.
• Impersonate another person, role, or organisation when registering or using the platform.

8. Intellectual Property

8.1 Platform and technology

All rights to the Scout IP platform - including its software, interface, workflows, and brand - are owned by Scout IP S.r.l. or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms grants you ownership of any part of the platform.

8.2 Your content

You retain all rights to the idea texts you submit. By using Scout IP, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to process your idea text solely for the purpose of providing the service to you - including sending it to our AI processing provider (Google Gemini) to generate your analysis.

We do not claim ownership of your ideas. We do not use your idea texts to train AI models. We do not share your idea texts with other users or third parties, except as described in our Privacy Policy.

8.3 Reports

AI-generated reports are provided for your use. We do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. Underlying patent data remains the property of the respective patent offices and rights holders.

8.4 Feedback

If you choose to provide feedback, suggestions, or feature requests regarding Scout IP, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, modify, and incorporate such feedback into our platform and services without any obligation or compensation to you.

9. Privacy and Data

How we collect, use, and protect your personal data is described in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. By using Scout IP, you agree to our Privacy Policy.

You can find the Privacy Policy at: scoutip.it/legal/privacy

Key points relevant to these Terms:

• Your idea text is your most sensitive input. You can choose "Local Mode" to prevent it from being stored in our database. In Local Mode, your idea text is processed in memory only and not retained after your session ends.
• In "Cloud Mode" (the default), your idea text is encrypted with a per-user encryption key before being stored.
• We log technical information (IP address, user agent) for security and fraud prevention purposes.

10. Pilot Phase - Free Access

Scout IP is currently in a free pilot phase. No fees are charged for access at this time.

We reserve the right to introduce pricing, usage limits, or subscription plans in the future. We will give you reasonable notice before any paid access model is introduced, and access to data you have already generated will not be contingent on payment without prior communication.

During the pilot, service availability is provided on a best-effort basis. We do not guarantee uptime or continuity.

11. Termination

You may stop using Scout IP at any time. If you wish to delete your account and associated data, contact us at scoutip.info@gmail.com.

We may suspend or terminate your access if:

• you violate these Terms;
• we reasonably suspect misuse, fraud, or security risks related to your account;
• we decide to discontinue the platform or your access for any other legitimate reason, with reasonable notice where possible.

Sections 6 (AI Disclaimer), 8 (Intellectual Property), 12 (Liability), 13 (Indemnification), and 14 (Governing Law) survive termination.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• Scout IP S.r.l. provides the Scout IP platform "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied.
• We do not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that results will be accurate, complete, or suitable for any particular purpose.
• In no event shall Scout IP S.r.l. be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of - or inability to use - the platform, including but not limited to loss of business opportunity, investment decisions, or IP filing strategies based on our reports.
• Our total aggregate liability, where it cannot be excluded by law, is limited to the amount you have paid us in the three months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. During the free pilot phase, this amount is EUR 0.
• Third-Party Services and Force Majeure: We rely on external providers (e.g., Google Gemini, EPO database) and cloud infrastructure. We are not liable for any interruptions, data inaccuracies, or failures caused by these third parties, nor for any delays or failures in performance resulting from events beyond our reasonable control (e.g., acts of God, internet outages, cyberattacks).

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under Italian or EU law.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Scout IP S.r.l., its directors, employees, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with:

• your access to or use of the platform;
• your violation of these Terms;
• any decisions, investments, or legal actions you take based on the platform's outputs;
• your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property or confidentiality rights.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by displaying a notice on the platform before the changes take effect. Continued use of Scout IP after the effective date of updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree with the updated Terms, you must stop using the platform.

15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of Italy. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Treviso, Italy, unless you are a consumer entitled to bring proceedings in your country of residence under applicable EU law. If you are using Scout IP in your capacity as a business or professional, you agree to resolve any disputes in the courts of Treviso.

16. Contact

For any questions about these Terms, to exercise your rights, or to request account deletion:

Scout IP S.r.l.
Via Sile n. 41, 31056 Roncade (TV), Italy
Email: scoutip.info@gmail.com
Website: scoutip.it