Terms of Service

Effective: March 10, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of "OpenPharos" ("Service"), operated by Hideki Baba, sole proprietor doing business as Altevia ("Operator," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Scope

These Terms apply to all relationships between users ("you") and the Operator regarding the Service. By using the Service, you also agree to our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal data (including your rights under applicable data protection laws such as the GDPR).

2. Description of the Service

The Service uses data from OpenAlex — an open scholarly metadata database published under the CC0 public domain dedication — to deliver email alerts of research papers matching your interests.

The Service provides multilingual translation of paper titles and AI-generated summaries of open-access papers. Translation and summarization are performed using third-party AI services (such as the OpenAI API and Anthropic API). AI service providers may change without prior notice.

The Service is intended to assist in the discovery of scholarly information. The Operator does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information provided.

3. Nature of Information and Disclaimer

3.1. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE OPERATOR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

3.2. Without limiting the foregoing, the Operator makes no warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, comprehensiveness, timeliness, or usefulness of the information provided.

3.3. The Service includes content generated by AI. Due to the nature of AI, the content may contain mistranslations, inaccurate summaries, misinterpretations, or hallucinations (information that differs from the facts). AI-generated features are experimental and may be modified or discontinued without prior notice.

3.4. Users shall use the information provided by the Service at their own risk. For research-related decisions, users must always verify against primary sources (original papers, etc.).

3.5. The Service does not constitute professional advice.

The information provided is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, financial, or other expert advice. Users should consult qualified professionals before making any decisions based on information obtained through the Service. In particular:

• AI-generated summaries of medical or health-related research must not be used as a basis for diagnosis, treatment, medication, or any other clinical or health-related decisions.
• AI-generated summaries of legal, regulatory, or financial research must not be relied upon as legal or financial advice.
• The Operator assumes no responsibility for any actions taken or not taken based on information provided by the Service.

3.6. The Service relies on the following external services, and may become unavailable due to failures, specification changes, or discontinuation of these services:

• Scholarly database (OpenAlex)
• AI services (OpenAI API, Anthropic API, etc.)
• Email delivery (Resend)
• Payment processing (Stripe)
• Cloud infrastructure (AWS, etc.)

3.7. The Operator shall not be liable for any unavailability of the Service caused by the interruption or discontinuation of external services, force majeure events (including but not limited to natural disasters, pandemics, war, government actions, infrastructure failures, cyberattacks, or unauthorized third-party access to the Operator's systems), or any other circumstances beyond the Operator's reasonable control (subject to the limitation of liability set forth in Section 11).

4. Account and Security

4.1. You must provide accurate and complete information when creating an account and keep it up to date.

4.2. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

4.3. You must notify the Operator promptly if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account.

4.4. The Operator reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that are found to contain fraudulent information or that are used in violation of these Terms.

5. Prohibited Activities

Users shall not engage in the following activities:

• 5.1. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or sale of summaries, translations, or other content provided by the Service beyond the scope permitted by applicable law and these Terms. (For exceptions relating to content derived from CC-BY licensed papers, see Section 10.)
• 5.2. Placing excessive load on the Service's systems, including but not limited to automated scraping, bulk downloading, or any use that impairs the Service's availability to other users.
• 5.3. Sharing account credentials with third parties or using a single account on behalf of multiple users.
• 5.4. Decompiling, reverse engineering, or otherwise attempting to derive the source code of the Service.
• 5.5. Abusing the free plan, including but not limited to creating multiple accounts to circumvent plan limitations.
• 5.6. Any activity that violates applicable laws, these Terms, or public order and morals.
• 5.7. Any activity that infringes the rights or interests of the Operator or third parties.

6. Modification, Suspension, and Termination of the Service

6.1. The Operator may modify, temporarily suspend, or permanently discontinue the Service at any time, with or without notice where reasonably necessary.

6.2. In the event of termination of the Service, users will be given at least 30 days' advance notice via email, except in cases of emergency or circumstances beyond the Operator's control.

7. Fees and Refund Policy

7.1. The Service offers a free plan and a paid plan ("Pro"). Plan details and pricing are as determined by the Operator and displayed on the Service's website.

7.2. Pro subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annual, as selected by the user). Unless canceled before the renewal date, the subscription renews automatically.

7.3. Payments are processed through Stripe. Users agree to comply with the terms of such payment service. All prices are displayed inclusive of applicable taxes unless otherwise stated.

7.4. If payment fails, the Operator may suspend or downgrade the user's account until payment is resolved.

7.5. Upon cancellation, access to Pro features continues until the end of the current billing period. No prorated refunds will be provided for the remaining period after cancellation.

7.6. The Operator may revise pricing due to changes in external API costs or other factors. Users will be notified at least 30 days before any price change takes effect. Users who do not agree to the revision may cancel before the effective date.

7A. Referral Program

7A.1. The Operator may offer a referral program that allows users to share a unique referral code. Participation is optional and subject to these Terms.

7A.2. Rewards under the general referral program are provided as discounts on service fees. They are not points, credits, or any other instrument of value, and cannot be redeemed for cash or transferred to another account. Ambassador agreements under Section 7A.8 may provide for different forms of compensation.

7A.3. Users are solely responsible for any tax obligations arising from rewards they receive under the referral program.

7A.4. The Operator reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to invalidate rewards and to suspend or terminate accounts that obtain referrals through fraudulent activity, including but not limited to self-referral, use of multiple accounts, shared payment methods intended to circumvent eligibility checks, or any other circumvention of program rules.

7A.5. When sharing a referral code on social media or other public channels, users must disclose the commercial nature of the share by including appropriate hashtags such as #ad or #referral, consistent with applicable advertising disclosure guidelines.

7A.6. The Operator may modify, suspend, or terminate the referral program at any time. Changes that materially reduce accrued benefits will be notified to users in advance through the service or by email. Rewards already confirmed at the time of termination will be honored.

7A.7. The Operator may share aggregated statistical information (such as the number of successful referrals and conversions) with referral code holders. The Operator will not share personally identifiable information of referred users with referral code holders, except as required by law or with the explicit consent of the referred user.

7A.8. The Operator may enter into separate ambassador agreements with specific users, providing terms different from those of the general referral program. Such agreements shall be governed by their own terms, which take precedence over this Section 7A to the extent of any conflict.

8. Termination and Cancellation

8.1. Users may cancel their subscription or delete their account at any time.

8.2. After the retention period specified in the Privacy Policy, the Operator will securely delete user data.

8.3. The Operator may suspend or terminate a user's access if the user violates these Terms.

9. Communications

9.1. By creating an account, you consent to receive service-related communications from the Operator via email, including notifications about pricing changes, Terms updates, and important service announcements.

9.2. You may opt out of non-essential communications at any time, but transactional and legal notices will still be sent as necessary.

10. Intellectual Property

10.1. Subject to the rights of authors, publishers, licensors, and other rights holders in original works and source materials, the Operator retains rights, if any, only in the Service's original software, user interface, and service-specific original content.

10.2. Copyrights in original papers belong to their respective authors, publishers, or other rights holders. The Service does not claim any rights over such original works.

10.3. Scholarly metadata sourced from OpenAlex is available under the CC0 public domain dedication and is not subject to copyright restrictions.

10.4. Content generated by the Service (including AI-generated summaries and translations) is provided under the usage conditions set forth in these Terms. Users are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use such content for personal and research purposes within the scope of the Service.

10.5. Users may not redistribute or sell AI-generated content from the Service for commercial purposes. However, this restriction does not apply to content derived from papers published under open-access licenses (such as CC-BY), provided that:

• The user complies with the applicable license terms, including attribution to the original authors; and
• Any modifications are clearly indicated as required by the license.

10.6. The Operator does not warrant that the use of AI-generated content will not infringe the rights of third parties.

11. Limitation of Liability

11.1. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IF THE OPERATOR IS LIABLE FOR DAMAGES TO A USER, SUCH LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO DIRECT AND ACTUAL DAMAGES THAT ORDINARILY ARISE, AND THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES RECEIVED FROM THE USER DURING THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS.

11.2. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE OPERATOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES, OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM RELIANCE ON AI-GENERATED CONTENT.

11.3. This limitation does not apply in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence by the Operator.

11.4. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

12. Indemnification

12.1. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Operator from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

• Your use of the Service in violation of these Terms;
• Your redistribution, republication, or commercial use of content obtained through the Service; or
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation, or the rights of any third party.

13. Dispute Resolution

13.1. Informal Resolution. Before initiating any formal proceedings, you agree to contact the Operator and attempt to resolve any dispute informally for at least 30 days.

13.2. Governing Law. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan.

13.3. Jurisdiction. Any disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Yokohama District Court or the Yokohama Summary Court as the court of first instance.

14. Minors

If you are a minor under the law applicable to you, you must obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian before using the Service.

15. Changes to These Terms

15.1. The Operator reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time.

15.2. Material changes will be notified to users via email or a prominent notice on the Service at least 14 days before they take effect.

15.3. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you may cancel your account before the effective date.

16. Copyright Notices and Takedown

16.1. The Operator respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any content provided through the Service infringes your copyright, please contact us at [email protected] with the following information:

• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed;
• Identification of the content that is claimed to be infringing;
• Your contact information;
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized; and
• A statement that the information provided is accurate and, under penalty of perjury (where applicable), that you are authorized to act on behalf of the rights holder.

16.2. Upon receipt of a valid notice, the Operator will promptly investigate and take appropriate action.

17. General Provisions

17.1. Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions, which shall continue in full force and effect.

17.2. Waiver. The failure of the Operator to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

17.3. Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Operator regarding the Service.

17.4. Assignment. The Operator may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms to a successor entity. Users may not assign their rights or obligations without the Operator's prior written consent.

17.5. Language. These Terms are provided in English and Japanese. In the event of any inconsistency between the two versions, the English version shall prevail, except where otherwise required by applicable law.

18. Contact Information

For questions, concerns, or rights-related inquiries regarding these Terms or the Service, please contact us at:

Altevia (Sole Proprietorship)

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://openpharos.com/contact