Terms of Use

Hiply respects your privacy and permits you to control the treatment of your personal information. A complete statement of Hiply's current Privacy Policy can be found on our website. Hiply's Privacy Policy is expressly incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

When you open an account to use or access certain portions of the Site, Applications, or the Services, you must provide complete and accurate information as requested on the registration form. You will also be asked to provide a user name and password. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. You may not use a third party's account, user name or password at any time. You agree to notify Hiply immediately of any unauthorized use of your account, user name or password. Hiply shall not be liable for any losses you incur as a result of someone else's use of your account or password, either with or without your knowledge. You may be held liable for any losses incurred by Hiply, our affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents and representatives due to someone else's use of your account or password.

In connection with the use of certain Hiply products or services, you may be asked to provide personal information in a questionnaire, application, form or similar document or service. This information will be protected pursuant to our Privacy Policy. In addition, you grant Hiply a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, publish and translate this personal information solely for the purpose of enabling your use of the applicable service. You may revoke this license and terminate rights held by Hiply at any time by removing your personal information from the applicable service.

This Site and Applications are owned and operated by Hiply.ai. All right, title and interest in and to the materials provided on this Site and Applications, including but not limited to information, documents, logos, graphics, sounds and images (the "Materials") are owned either by Hiply or by our respective third party authors, developers or vendors ("Third Party Providers"). Except as otherwise expressly provided by Hiply, none of the Materials may be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, uploaded, posted, displayed, transmitted or distributed in any way and nothing on this Site or on any Applications shall be construed to confer any license under any of Hiply's intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. Hiply does not sell, license, lease or otherwise provide any of the Materials other than those specifically identified as being provided by Hiply. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by Hiply.

Hiply hereby grants you permission to download, view, copy and print the Materials on any single, stand-alone computer solely for your personal, informational, non-commercial use provided that (i) where provided, the copyright and trademark notices appearing on any Materials not be altered or removed, (ii) the Materials are not used on any other website or in a networked computer environment and (iii) the Materials are not modified in any way, except for authorized editing of downloadable forms or templates for personal use. This permission terminates automatically without notice if you breach any of the terms or conditions of these Terms of Use. On any such termination, you agree to immediately destroy any downloaded or printed Materials. Any unauthorized use of any Materials contained on this Site or Applications may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, laws of privacy and publicity and communications regulations and statutes.

This Site and Applications may contain links to websites controlled by parties other than Hiply (each a "Third Party Site"). Hiply works with a number of partners and affiliates whose sites are linked with Hiply. Hiply may also provide links to other citations or resources with whom it is not affiliated. Hiply is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the availability, contents, products, services or use of any Third Party Site, any website accessed from a Third Party Site or any changes or updates to such sites. Hiply makes no guarantees about the content or quality of the products or services provided by such sites. Hiply is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Third Party Site. Hiply is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Hiply of the Third Party Site. You acknowledge that you bear all risks associated with access to and use of content provided on a Third Party Site and agree that Hiply is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort you may incur from dealing with a third party. You should contact the site administrator for the applicable Third Party Site if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on any such Third Party Site.

Connection Services. Hiply provides a platform that connects inventors with independent patent attorneys and patent agents. Patent attorneys and patent agents who use our platform are independent professionals who maintain their own practices and are solely responsible for the legal services they provide. Hiply does not employ, supervise, or control patent attorneys and patent agents who use our platform.

No Attorney-Client Relationship with Hiply. Your use of Hiply's platform does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Hiply. Any attorney-client relationship that may arise exists solely between you and the patent attorney or patent agent you select through our platform. Hiply is not responsible for the services provided by patent attorneys and patent agents, including the quality, timeliness, or outcomes of such services.

Tools and Resources. We may provide tools, templates, and resources related to intellectual property matters. These are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with a patent attorney or patent agent regarding your specific circumstances.

Resale of Services Prohibited. By using the Services, you agree that access to our platform may only be used by you for your personal or business use and may not be sold or redistributed without the express written consent of Hiply.ai.

(a) No Representative Actions

You and Hiply agree that any dispute or claim between us, including those arising out of or related to these Terms or our Services, is personal to you and Hiply and that any dispute will be resolved solely through individual action, and will not be brought as a class arbitration, class action or any other type of representative proceeding. For the purposes of this Arbitration Agreement, references to "Hiply," "you," and "us" include our respective subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, employees, employers, business partners, shareholders, predecessors in interest, successors, and assigns, as well as all authorized or unauthorized users or beneficiaries of services or products under these Terms or any prior agreements between us.

(b) Arbitration of Disputes

Most concerns can be resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction by contacting our Customer Care Center. In the unlikely event that the Hiply Customer Care Center is unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction (or if we have not been able to resolve a dispute after attempting to do so informally), this Section 6 applies. Except for (i) individual actions in small claims court located in the county of your billing address or (ii) actions in court seeking injunctive or other equitable relief for the alleged infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property, you and Hiply agree to waive your rights to a jury trial and to have any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between us (collectively, "Disputes") resolved in arbitration. Disputes include, but are not limited to, (a) those arising out of or related to these Terms or our Services, and (b) those related to advertising, privacy, data security, and the use of our website. This Arbitration Agreement applies to all Disputes based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory, Disputes arising before you accepted these or any prior Terms, Disputes that are currently the subject of purported class action litigation in which you are not a member of a certified class, and Disputes asserted against Hiply by those you list as authorized contacts.

(c) Arbitration Procedures

For any Dispute that you have against Hiply, or that Hiply has against you, you and Hiply agree to attempt to resolve the Dispute informally via the following process. If you assert a claim against Hiply, you will first contact Hiply by sending a written notice of your Dispute ("Claimant Notice") to Hiply by U.S. certified mail addressed to Notice of Dispute, General Counsel, Hiply.ai, 453 Dauphin Street, Mobile, AL 36602; a courtesy copy of the Notice should also be sent by email to legal@hiply.ai. The Claimant Notice must (a) include your name, residence address, email address, and telephone number; (b) describe the nature and basis of the Dispute; and (c) set forth the specific relief sought. For any Dispute that Hiply may have against you, we will provide you notice ("Hiply Notice") in similar form to that described above via the mailing address and email address associated with your account. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled for thirty (30) days from the date that either you or Hiply first send the applicable Notice so that the parties can engage in this informal dispute resolution process.

If you and Hiply cannot reach an agreement to resolve the Dispute within thirty (30) days after notice is provided, then either party may submit the Dispute to binding confidential arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") or, under the limited circumstances set forth herein, in court. All Disputes submitted to AAA will be resolved through binding arbitration before one arbitrator. Unless the parties agree in writing to a different location, arbitration proceedings will be held in Mobile County, Alabama; if you are a Consumer, however, you may elect to hold the arbitration in your county of residence. For purposes of this Section 6, a "Consumer" means a person using the Services for personal, family or household purposes.

If you are a Consumer, you and Hiply agree to use the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules. If you are not a Consumer, you and Hiply agree to use the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules, including the Expedited Procedures for all Disputes with a value of $75,000 or less. The most recent versions of the AAA Consumer and Commercial Arbitration Rules are available on the AAA's website at adr.org/Rules and such rules are hereby incorporated by reference into this Arbitration Agreement. You either acknowledge and agree that you have read and understand the applicable AAA Arbitration Rules or waive your opportunity to read the AAA Arbitration Rules and waive any claim that such rules are unfair or should not apply for any reason.

You and Hiply acknowledge that the purpose of this Section 6 is to streamline the dispute resolution process and that Coordinated Filings are likely to frustrate that purpose. As a result, you agree not to assert a demand for arbitration as part of a Coordinated Filing. A "Coordinated Filing" is any demand for arbitration where the underlying claim is similar to at least ten (10) or more other pending demands for arbitration and where representation for that demand is consistent or coordinated with such other demands. Without limiting any remedies, in the event your demand is part of a Coordinated Filing, we may, at our option, decline arbitration and instead litigate the claim in a civil court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the terms of Section 18.

(d) Individualized Arbitration Proceedings and Remedies

You and Hiply agree that these Terms affect interstate commerce and that the enforceability of this Section 6 will be substantively and procedurally governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. (the "FAA"), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. As limited by the FAA, these Terms and the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have exclusive authority to grant any relief that would otherwise be available in court and to make all procedural and substantive decisions regarding any Dispute, including those arising out of or relating to interpretation or application of this Arbitration Agreement, including the enforceability, revocability, or validity of the Arbitration Agreement or any portion thereof. The arbitrator may conduct only an individual arbitration and may not consolidate more than one individual's claims, preside over any type of class or representative proceeding, or preside over any proceeding involving more than one claimant.

(e) Confidentiality

The arbitration will allow for the discovery or exchange of non-privileged information relevant to the Dispute. You and Hiply agree to cooperate to seek from the arbitrator protection for any confidential, proprietary, trade secret, or otherwise sensitive information, documents, testimony, and/or other materials that might be exchanged or the subject of discovery in the arbitration. You and Hiply agree to seek such protection before any such information, documents, testimony, and/or materials are exchanged or otherwise become the subject of discovery in the arbitration.

(f) Payment of Arbitration Fees

The costs of arbitration shall be governed by the AAA's fee schedules, available at adr.org/Rules. If you are a Consumer and you initiate arbitration of a Dispute, you agree to pay the applicable AAA Consumer Case Filing Fee, and Hiply will pay the remaining AAA fees and costs. If you are not a Consumer and you initiate arbitration of a Dispute valued at less than $75,000, you agree to pay $250 towards any arbitration filing fees and Hiply will pay the remaining AAA fees and costs. If you are not a Consumer and your arbitration proceeding is valued at $75,000 or more, you and Hiply will share equally the costs and fees of AAA Commercial Arbitration. If, however, the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), then the payment of all AAA fees will be governed by the applicable AAA Rules.

(g) Opt Out of Arbitration

You have the right to opt out of binding arbitration within 30 days of the date you first accepted the terms of this Section 6 by sending, via U.S. certified mail, a written Notice of Opt Out to Hiply. The Notice of Opt Out must be addressed to: Notice of Opt Out, General Counsel, Hiply.ai, 453 Dauphin Street, Mobile, AL 36602; a courtesy copy of the Notice of Opt Out should also be sent by email to legal@hiply.ai. In order to be effective, the opt-out notice must include your full name and address and clearly indicate your intent to opt out of binding arbitration. By opting out of binding arbitration, you are agreeing to resolve Disputes in accordance with Section 18, though, as stated above, you agree any such action will be brought as an individual action, and will not be brought as a class arbitration, class action or any other type of representative proceeding.

(h) Additional Terms

If any portion of this Section 6 is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, (a) the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall be severed from these Terms; (b) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of this Section 6 or the parties' ability to compel arbitration of any remaining claims on an individual basis pursuant to this Section 6; and (c) to the extent that any claims must proceed on a class, collective, consolidated, or representative basis, such claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration, and the parties agree that litigation of those claims shall be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration.

If you wish to seek public injunctive relief against Hiply, such claim (and only such claim) must be severed from the arbitration and brought in court in accordance with the provisions of Section 18.

You and Hiply agree that the state or federal courts of the State of Alabama and the United States sitting in Mobile County, Alabama have exclusive jurisdiction over the enforcement of an arbitration award made pursuant to this Arbitration Agreement.

Some Hiply Services may be subject to additional posted guidelines, rules or terms of service ("Additional Terms") and your use of such Services will be conditioned on your agreement to the Additional Terms. If there is any conflict between these Terms of Use and the Additional Terms, the Additional Terms will control for that Service, unless the Additional Terms expressly state that these Terms of Use will control.

At various locations on the Site or through Applications, Hiply may permit visitors to post ratings, reviews, comments, questions, answers, and other content (the "User Content"). Contributions to, access to and use of the User Content is subject to this paragraph and the other terms and conditions of these Terms of Use.

Rights and Responsibilities of Hiply

Hiply is not the publisher or author of the User Content. Hiply takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party.

Although we cannot make an absolute guarantee of system security, Hiply takes reasonable steps to maintain security. If you have reason to believe system security has been breached, contact us by email for help.

If Hiply's technical staff finds that files or processes belonging to a member pose a threat to the proper technical operation of the system or to the security of other members, Hiply reserves the right to delete those files or to stop those processes. If the Hiply technical staff suspects a user name is being used by someone who is not authorized by the proper user, Hiply may temporarily disable that user's access in order to preserve system security. In all such cases, Hiply will contact the member as soon as feasible.

Hiply has the right (but not the obligation), in our sole and absolute discretion, to edit, redact, remove, re-categorize to a more appropriate location or otherwise change any User Content.

Rights and Responsibilities of Hiply Users or Other Posters of User Content

You are legally and ethically responsible for any User Content - writings, files, pictures or any other work - that you post or transmit using any Hiply service that allows interaction or dissemination of information. In posting User Content, you agree that you will not submit any content:

• that is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
• that infringes anyone's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
• that violates any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, antidiscrimination, or false advertising);
• that is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing, or advocates or encourages illegal conduct harmful to any individual, partnership or corporation;
• that includes advertisements, spam, or content for which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any third party;
• that includes information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information;
• that contains any computer virus, worms, or other potentially damaging computer programs or files;
• that otherwise violates these Terms of Use.

Patent attorneys and patent agents that submit User Content and provide advice do so at their own risk.

Under United States federal law, you retain copyright on all works you create and post as User Content, unless you choose specifically to renounce it. In posting a work as User Content, you authorize other members who have access to that service to make personal and customary use of the work, including creating links or reposting, but not otherwise to reproduce or disseminate it unless you give permission for such dissemination.

You grant Hiply a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, sell, distribute, and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium, or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. You have the right to remove any of your works from User Content at any time.

You are not required to provide your real name when signing up as a user of Hiply. Hiply permits anonymous or pseudonymous accounts. Any user may request that such member's email address be hidden to provide for additional privacy.

Ratings and reviews will generally be posted in two to four business days.

By submitting your email address in connection with your rating and review, you agree that Hiply may use your email address to contact you about the status of your review and other administrative purposes.

Except as may be required in connection with your use of Hiply Services, Hiply does not want you to submit confidential or proprietary information to us through this Site or any Applications. All comments, feedback, information or material submitted to Hiply through or in association with this Site shall be considered non-confidential and Hiply's property. By providing such submissions to Hiply you hereby assign to Hiply, at no charge, all worldwide right, title and interest in and to the submissions and any intellectual property rights associated therewith. Hiply shall be free to use and/or disseminate such submissions on an unrestricted basis for any purpose. You acknowledge that you are responsible for the submissions that you provide, including their legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality and content.

When accessing Hiply or using the Hiply Services, you agree to obey the law and you agree to respect the intellectual property rights of others. Your use of the Service and the Site is at all times governed by and subject to laws regarding copyright, patent, trademark and other intellectual property ownership. You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit or otherwise distribute any information or content in violation of any third party's copyrights, trademarks, patents or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. You agree to abide by laws regarding copyright, patent and intellectual property ownership and use, and you shall be solely responsible for any violations of any relevant laws and for any infringements of third-party rights caused by any content you provide or transmit or that is provided or transmitted using your Hiply user account.

Hiply has adopted a policy that provides for the immediate removal of any content, article or materials that have infringed on the rights of Hiply or of a third party or that violate intellectual property rights generally. Hiply's policy is to remove such infringing content or materials and investigate such allegations immediately.

Copyright Infringement

Hiply has in place certain legally mandated procedures regarding allegations of copyright infringement occurring on the Site or with the Service. The Company has adopted a policy that provides for the immediate suspension and/or termination of any Site or Service user who is found to have infringed the rights of the Company or of a third party, or otherwise violated any intellectual property laws or regulations. If you have evidence, know, or have a good faith belief that your rights or the rights of a third party have been violated and you want the Company to delete, edit, or disable the material in question, you must provide the Company with the information specified in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)).

The written information must be sent to our registered Copyright Agent:

When accessing the Site, any Applications, or using Hiply's Services, you agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit or otherwise distribute any content that: (i) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive or threatening; (b) advocates or encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or foreign law or regulation; or (c) advertises or otherwise solicits funds or is a solicitation for goods or services. Hiply reserves the right to terminate or delete such material from its servers. Hiply will cooperate fully with any law enforcement officials or agencies in the investigation of any violation of these Terms of Use or of any applicable laws.

You may not access, download, use or export the Site, Applications, or the Materials in violation of United States export laws or regulations or in violation of any other applicable laws or regulations. You agree to comply with all export laws and restrictions and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority and to assume sole responsibility for obtaining licenses to export or re-export as may be required. You acknowledge and agree that the Materials are subject to the United States Export Administration Laws and Regulations and agree that none of the Materials or any direct product therefrom is being or will be acquired for, shipped, transferred or re-exported, directly or indirectly, to proscribed or embargoed countries or their nationals or used for any prohibited purpose.

The site is made available for your personal use on your own behalf.

Minors are not eligible to use the Site or Applications and we ask that they do not submit any personal information to us.

Hiply aims to provide full access to its website and product offerings regardless of disability. If you are unable to read any part of the Hiply website, or otherwise have difficulties using the Hiply website, please contact our customer care team and we will assist you.

Any dispute arising from these Terms and your use of the Services or the Site will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of Alabama, without regard to conflict of law rules or principles (whether of Alabama or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any dispute between the parties that is not subject to arbitration or cannot be heard in small claims court will be resolved in the state or federal courts of Alabama and the United States, respectively, sitting in Mobile County, Alabama. You consent to personal and exclusive jurisdiction in these courts.

All Site design, text, graphics, the selection and arrangement thereof, Copyright ©, Hiply.ai. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Hiply, Hiply.ai, all images and text, and all page headers, custom graphics and button icons are service marks, trademarks and/or trade dress of Hiply. All other trademarks, product names and company names or logos cited herein are the property of their respective owners.

Hiply facilitates connections between inventors and independent patent attorneys and patent agents. Patent attorneys and patent agents who use our platform are independent professionals who are not employees or agents of Hiply. Hiply does not verify, guarantee, or make representations about the qualifications, experience, or performance of patent attorneys and patent agents who use our platform. Users are responsible for conducting their own due diligence when selecting a patent attorney or patent agent. Any references to experience or qualifications are based on information provided by the patent attorneys and patent agents themselves.

You acknowledge that Hiply reserves the right to refuse service to anyone and to cancel user access at any time.