Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of ScholarBits at scholarbits.com (the “Service”), operated by the Foresight Institute of Research and Translation (“we”, “us”, “our”). By using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using ScholarBits, you confirm that you are at least 13 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

2. Description of Service

ScholarBits provides a collection of free and premium browser-based micro-tools for academic researchers, covering citation management, academic writing, data and figures, literature review, PDF reading, and research organisation. Some features require a free account; premium features require a paid subscription.

3. Free and Premium Tiers

• Free tier — Most tools are available without an account. No credit card required.
• Free account tier — Creating a free account unlocks additional features. No payment required.
• Premium subscription — A paid subscription unlocks AI-powered features and any other premium capabilities. Billing is handled by Polar.sh; see Section 7 for payment terms.

4. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately at hi@scholarbits.com if you suspect unauthorised access.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy. Prohibited uses include but are not limited to: automated scraping, reverse engineering, attempting to circumvent rate limits or access controls, or using the Service to generate content that violates applicable law.

6. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, code, and content, is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from the Service without our written permission.

You retain ownership of any content you input into the tools. By using the Service you grant us a limited licence to process your input solely to provide you with the tool output.

7. Payments and Subscriptions

• Subscriptions are billed on a recurring basis (monthly or annual) via Polar.sh.
• You authorise us to charge your payment method on each billing cycle until you cancel.
• Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain access to premium features until that date.
• See our Refund Policy for refund eligibility.

8. Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any output is accurate, complete, or fit for any particular purpose.

Tool output, including AI-generated content, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon without independent verification. You are solely responsible for how you use any output.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Service, including loss of data or profits, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or USD $10 if no amount was paid.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Foresight Institute of Research and Translation, its officers, directors, and employees from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service or violation of these Terms.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that we believe violates these Terms or is harmful to other users, us, or third parties. You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us.

12. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms here and update the “Last updated” date. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. For material changes, we will provide notice via email where possible.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by applicable law. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of the jurisdiction in which the Foresight Institute of Research and Translation is registered.

14. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at hi@scholarbits.com.

This document is provided for informational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. We recommend consulting a qualified lawyer to ensure full compliance with applicable laws.