The agreement, in plain terms.
In plain terms
You may use ScholarVera's tools for their intended purpose. The tools surface observations to support academic conversations; they are not automated verdicts, and should not be used as the sole basis for an accusation. Access is tied to your account. The software is provided as-is, and ScholarVera LLC owns the software.
Agreement to these terms
These Terms of Use ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and ScholarVera LLC ("ScholarVera," "we," "us") governing your use of the WriteSight and InForm Microsoft Word add-ins and any related ScholarVera reference-verification service (together, the "Software"). By installing, signing in to, or using the Software, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Software.
If you use the Software through an institution that has a separate written agreement with ScholarVera, that agreement governs to the extent it conflicts with these Terms.
License granted
Subject to these Terms and to your account having valid access, ScholarVera grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the Software for its intended educational and scholarly purposes.
Accounts and access
The Software requires an account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your sign-in credentials confidential. You agree not to share your account, and to let us know promptly if you believe it has been used without your permission.
Access to the Software is granted to your account by ScholarVera or by an institution acting through us, and may be tied to a specific role (for example, writing mode or review mode). We may grant, change, suspend, or revoke access, for instance at the end of a pilot, a term, a beta, or a subscription period, or if these Terms are breached.
Some features are offered on a prerelease, pilot, or beta basis. Prerelease features may be incomplete, may change materially or be discontinued, and may contain errors, and availability is not guaranteed. If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them to improve the Software.
What you may not do
You agree not to:
- copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive the source code of the Software, except where that restriction is prohibited by law;
- resell, sublicense, rent, or redistribute the Software as your own;
- share account credentials, or use access granted to another person;
- use the Software to violate any law, or any policy of an institution you are subject to;
- attempt to defeat, forge, or tamper with the integrity-protection or authentication features of the Software;
- use the Software to harass, falsely accuse, or harm another person.
Intended use: observations, not verdicts
This matters to us, so we put it in the agreement. ScholarVera's tools surface information, how a document was constructed, whether a citation resolves to a real source, to support a human conversation about scholarly work.
The Software does not produce, and must not be treated as producing, a definitive judgment that a person engaged in misconduct. WriteSight's signals are context for a conversation; InForm flags formatting issues and citations that warrant a closer look. You are responsible for any decisions you make, and you agree not to treat the Software's output as the sole basis for a disciplinary finding or accusation.
Outputs are informational aids, not a substitute for independent academic, professional, or institutional judgment. Process information from WriteSight does not by itself establish authorship or misconduct, and an inability to verify a citation in InForm does not by itself establish that a source was fabricated.
Accuracy and "as-is" nature
We work hard on accuracy. InForm is designed to distinguish a source it cannot verify from one that is demonstrably invalid, and an inability to verify a source should not by itself be treated as proof that the source does not exist. Even so, no tool is infallible. The Software is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Software will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that every result will be correct.
Intellectual property
The Software, including its code, design, and the "ScholarVera," "WriteSight," and "InForm" names, is owned by ScholarVera LLC and protected by intellectual-property law, including one or more patent applications pending. These Terms do not transfer any ownership to you. Your own documents and content remain yours; using the Software does not give us any claim to what you write.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, ScholarVera LLC will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss arising from your use of or inability to use the Software. To the extent any liability is not excludable, it is limited to the amount you paid us for the Software in the twelve months before the claim (which may be zero).
Changes to the Software and these Terms
We may update, change, or discontinue the Software, and we may revise these Terms. When we revise them, we will update the version and effective date above. For material changes we will provide notice appropriate to the change, which may include notice in the product or by email, and changes apply prospectively from their effective date. Your continued use after a change takes effect means you accept the revised Terms.
Termination
You may stop using the Software at any time. We may suspend or end your license or account access if you breach these Terms. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination, such as intellectual property, disclaimers, and limitation of liability, will survive.
Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Oklahoma, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.