Terms of Service

Article 1 (Purpose)

These Terms govern the rights, obligations, and responsibilities between DUBHE CO., LTD (the “Company”) and its Members in connection with the Alioth™ Research service provided by the Company.

Article 2 (Definitions)

1. Service: The features provided through the websites and applications operated by the Company.
2. Member: A person who agrees to these Terms and completes the registration process.
3. Content: Information posted by a Member through the Service, including text, symbols, audio, images, videos, files, and links.
4. Paid Service: The STARTER, PRO, and TEAM plans used in exchange for a monthly fee, together with their related features.
5. Billing Period: The Paid Service usage period from the time payment approval is confirmed until immediately before the next monthly billing date.
6. Billing Account Owner: The Member authorized to register a payment method and manage subscriptions, cancellations, and refunds for a Paid Service.

Article 3 (Publication and Amendment of the Terms)

1. The Company publishes these Terms on the initial Service screen.
2. The Company may amend these Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law and will announce an amendment at least seven days before it takes effect. A change that is unfavorable to Members or materially affects payment terms will be announced at least 30 days in advance, and the Company will obtain express consent where separately required by law.
3. The Company clearly explains the amendment, its effective date, and how to refuse consent. Where applicable law requires express consent, continued use of the Service alone will not be treated as consent.

Article 4 (Formation of the Service Agreement)

1. The Service agreement is formed when an applicant agrees to these Terms, applies for membership, and the Company accepts the application.
2. The Company may reject an application or terminate the agreement in cases such as false information or unlawful use.

Article 5 (Protection and Management of Member Information)

Members must keep their IDs and passwords secure. Liability for losses caused by inadequate management is determined under applicable law, taking into account the intentional acts or negligence of the Member and the Company respectively.

Article 5-2 (Membership Withdrawal and Subscriptions)

1. Membership withdrawal is accepted after identity and password verification and final consent. An accepted request cannot be reversed. To prevent further charges, all paid subscriptions you own are canceled immediately, and withdrawal completes automatically after payments in progress are checked. If no external payment verification is needed, withdrawal completes immediately. Team subscriptions owned by other members are not canceled.
2. You do not need to resubmit your withdrawal request if subscription cancellation or payment checks take time. You may sign in to check progress before completion. Contact support if additional review is required or the result cannot be confirmed. A notification email is sent on completion. Canceled subscriptions are not automatically restored. New paid subscription requests and payment-method changes are restricted during verification.
3. Once withdrawal is complete, you can no longer sign in or use the service, and any remaining paid service period ends. Member information and research or organization data owned by the Member are handled under the retention and deletion rules in the Privacy Policy. Export any data you need before withdrawing.
4. Membership withdrawal does not automatically recalculate or refund charges for the remaining service period. If you want a refund, review and request it in Plans & billing first. A refund request is not required to withdraw. Once checks to prevent further charges are complete, withdrawal may proceed while refund approval or payment is pending. Refunds already requested continue after withdrawal; contact support for refund inquiries after completion. Your right to request a refund is retained.
5. After withdrawal, you can still receive support for refund, dispute, and privacy inquiries following identity verification, without having to restore your account or subscription. Deletion of member and research information and retention of payment records follow the Privacy Policy. Signing up again with the same email does not automatically restore previous subscriptions or service access.

Article 6 (Copyright and Use of Content)

1. Copyright in Content posted by a Member within the Service belongs to its author.
2. Members may use research materials and results that they have lawfully collected and are authorized to use for work, research, and business purposes without obtaining separate approval from the Company.
3. However, Members must not reproduce, distribute, or sell content in a way that infringes the copyright or other rights of the Company or a third party. Materials containing personal information must be used or provided within the purposes and scope of consent communicated at the time of collection, or as permitted by applicable law.

Article 7 (Suspension and Changes to the Service)

The Company may temporarily suspend the Service for reasons including maintenance, replacement or failure of equipment, or interruption of communications.

Article 8 (Seller, Monthly Subscription, Prices, and Taxes)

1. Paddle is the legal seller (Merchant of Record) for paid-service transactions, while the Company provides and operates Alioth™ Research. The Paddle entity that applies to your purchase region is shown in checkout, on the receipt, and in the Paddle Buyer Terms. Paddle transaction terms apply to the purchase contract and Company terms apply to use of the service, without limiting Member rights that cannot be excluded under applicable law.
2. Details of the personal data we share for payment processing, the applicable processing rules, third-party sharing, and international transfers are available in our Privacy Policy and pre-purchase notice. Required personal data consents are collected separately from consent to the purchase terms. Paddle processes personal data under its Privacy Notice and applicable law. Personal data sharing and international transfers
3. Paid services are subscriptions that renew automatically each month. USD monthly base prices shown on the website and in Studio exclude tax; Paddle may add tax based on the billing country and business information. Before paying, the billing account owner must check the plan, currency, base price, taxes, discounts, final amount, usage allowances, service period, and next billing date, and expressly agree to automatic renewal. Check the final amount again if country or business details change it. Existing subscriptions keep their original pricing terms, and payment and refund history shows actual amounts paid. Existing transactions are settled and refunded using their actual payment amount and currency.
4. Available payment methods and supported countries are shown on the purchase screen.
5. Paid service and usage allowances for a billing period are provided once its initial or monthly renewal payment is confirmed complete. The service period and next billing date are shown in payment history; if the billing date does not exist in a month, the last day of that month applies. Once a renewal payment is confirmed failed, that payment is not automatically charged again and no separate grace period is provided. The plan switches to FREE when the period already paid for ends.
6. Paddle provides transaction receipts, invoices, and legally required payment notices. The Company provides notices about service use, such as plan changes and switching to FREE. Not receiving a notification email does not change the payment result. Paddle documents may differ from Korean tax invoices, so check before purchasing whether they meet your documentation requirements.

Article 9 (Payment Methods and Paid Plan Changes)

1. Paddle and payment institutions process card numbers and card security codes (CVCs) directly in their secure checkout. The Company does not store full card numbers, card security codes, or credentials used for automatic payments. When needed, only a payment-method summary provided by the payment provider is displayed.
2. You can change the payment method for a subscription you own through its official payment process. Check that the change is complete and when it takes effect. Changing or deleting a payment method does not automatically cancel the subscription or issue a refund. To stop automatic renewal, request cancellation separately and check the result.
3. Annual subscriptions and changes to paid plans during a service period are not supported, and price differences between plans are not automatically adjusted. To use a different paid plan, confirm that your current paid service period has ended and any payments in progress have been fully processed, then request a new monthly subscription from the FREE plan.

Article 10 (Subscription Cancellation and Service Period)

1. The billing account owner can request cancellation so that the subscription will not renew automatically on the next billing date. Once the payment provider confirms that automatic renewal has been stopped, the subscription is shown as scheduled to end. You can continue using the paid service until the end of the period you have already paid for, after which you will switch to the FREE plan.
2. It may take time to confirm that automatic renewal has been stopped after you request cancellation. You can check the status in your payment history or contact support. Canceling a subscription does not automatically refund charges you have already paid.
3. Alioth™ Research does not provide a feature to withdraw a cancellation request or restart automatic renewal. However, your statutory withdrawal and refund rights, as well as your separate right to request a refund, remain unchanged. When you withdraw your membership, subscriptions are canceled immediately in accordance with Article 5-2.

Article 11 (Refund Criteria and Processing)

1. Standard refund amounts are calculated from usage during the relevant billing period under the criteria below. If there is at least one completed research response or sent email, even within seven days of payment, the usage amount is deducted under the criteria below and the remainder is refunded. However, separate refund rights under applicable law or the Paddle Refund Policy in effect at the time of payment remain unchanged. You can submit related inquiries to Company support or Paddle buyer support.
2. If the service has not been used, the full amount paid, less any amount already refunded, is refundable within seven days of the initial payment and each monthly renewal payment. This applies to individual and business customers in all countries. If a longer full-refund period was offered at purchase, that period applies. Separate rights under applicable law and the Paddle Refund Policy remain unchanged.
3. Other ordinary refunds during a service period are calculated from the actual tax-inclusive total paid for that monthly billing period. Usage amounts are calculated separately using the proportion of days used to total service days, completed responses to the response allowance, and emails sent to the email allowance. The largest of these amounts is deducted, without exceeding the total paid. Days used are based on the actual billing period, rounded up to whole days, with a minimum of one day.
4. Each proportional usage amount is rounded down to the smallest unit of the payment currency (KRW 1 won, JPY 1 yen, or USD 1 cent). Any additional refund is the actual total paid minus the usage amount and refunds already confirmed for the same transaction, with a minimum of zero. No additional penalty or payment processing fee is deducted, even after seven days. Refunds use the original payment amount and currency without recalculating the transaction using exchange rates.
5. If only tax has been refunded or the payment has been adjusted in another way, the original payment, tax details, and remaining refundable amount are checked first. If the remaining amount or country-specific refund rights are unclear, a partial refund is not automatically finalized and the amount shown is not reduced arbitrarily; a way to clarify the issue is provided.
6. For an ordinary refund, once you review the estimated amount and formally submit your request, the refund amount is fixed using the usage and calculation criteria at the time the request is received. Any subsequent usage is not deducted again. The time and method of your first valid refund request to the Company or Paddle can be verified, and delays in processing by the Company do not shorten the period in which you can request a refund.
7. When you request a refund, the next automatic renewal is stopped, and confirmation that renewal has stopped is checked separately from refund processing. Once the refund is approved, you switch to the FREE plan. If your current paid service period ends before approval, you switch to the FREE plan at that time. Automatic renewal does not restart even if the refund is rejected. Statutory withdrawal requirements or separate instructions from Paddle take precedence.
8. You are informed whether your refund request has been received, is awaiting approval, has been approved, or has been rejected. Applicable statutory refund deadlines are observed. Even after approval, the card issuer or other payment institution may need additional time before the refund reaches your payment method.
9. If the ordinary refund shows zero, or your request concerns an earlier billing period, duplicate or unauthorized payment, a service not provided, an outage, or a statutory exception, contact Company support or Paddle buyer support. Limits on ordinary refund requests or agreement to a partial refund do not restrict legally required payment corrections or additional refunds. Do not submit another refund request for the same payment while approval is pending.

Article 12 (Research and Data After Transition to FREE)

1. Team use stops when TEAM access ends because the paid service period has ended or a refund has been approved. The existing team, members, roles, research, and responses are retained. Requesting cancellation alone does not stop team use; you can continue using it for the period already paid for.
2. When team use is stopped, all members, including the billing owner, lose access to view, edit, delete, download, or access team data through the API. Acceptance of new or draft responses through public participation links and email distribution also stop. Download any data you need before access ends.
3. Your personal space remains available under your personal plan, such as FREE. FREE allows up to three active research projects; research retained in a stopped team does not count toward this limit. Existing research in your personal space keeps its status even if it exceeds the limit, but additional research cannot be activated while you are over the limit. Research participation and email sends follow your current usage limits. Previous usage history and refund calculation criteria remain unchanged.
4. Even when team use is stopped, you can subscribe again, request a refund, and view payment history and receipts from your personal space. You can also leave a team you belong to, withdraw your membership, and contact support. These procedures follow identity verification and owner-permission safeguards.
5. When the billing owner restores TEAM access or ENTERPRISE access that includes team features, the existing members, permissions, and data become accessible again. Completed email distributions and scheduled or retry emails whose sending time passed during the suspension are not sent automatically. Data is not retained indefinitely; the retention and deletion rules in these Terms and the Privacy Policy apply.

Article 13 (Damages)

1. Members and the Company must compensate the other party, in accordance with applicable law, for losses caused by their own intentional acts or negligence, including breaches of these Terms or unlawful acts.
2. If the Company faces a third-party claim, lawsuit, or similar proceeding due to a Member’s unlawful act or breach of these Terms, the Member bears damages and costs under applicable law only to the extent attributable to the Member. The Member is not required to bear the portion attributable to the Company.

Article 14 (Disclaimer)

1. The Company is not liable for an inability to provide the Service caused by natural disasters, war, or comparable force majeure occurring without intentional misconduct or negligence on the part of the Company.
2. If Service use is disrupted for reasons attributable to a Member, the Company is not liable to the extent that the disruption is not due to the Company’s intentional misconduct or negligence.
3. Members are responsible for the reliability and accuracy of information and materials they post. However, the Company’s liability for losses caused by its intentional misconduct or negligence is governed by applicable law.
4. Disputes arising from transactions between Members or between a Member and a third party should, in principle, be resolved by the parties concerned. However, the Company’s liability for losses caused by its intentional misconduct or negligence is governed by applicable law.
5. The Company’s liability for losses arising from the use of free services is also determined under applicable law, taking into account the Company’s intentional misconduct or negligence.
6. This Article does not exclude the Company’s liability for intentional misconduct or gross negligence, nor does it restrict any Member rights that cannot be limited under applicable law.

Article 15 (Caller ID Policy and Prevention of Unlawful Use)

1. The Company may strengthen identity verification procedures to prevent caller ID spoofing in accordance with the Telecommunications Business Act and other applicable laws.
2. To prevent harm caused by falsely displayed telephone numbers, the Company immediately suspends the Service in any of the following cases:
   1. The Ministry of Science and ICT or the Korea Internet & Security Agency reports caller ID spoofing.
   2. A person registers a caller ID or uses the Service by misappropriating another person’s identity.
3. Information about a violating Member may be provided to investigative authorities and relevant public agencies in accordance with applicable law.

Article 16 (Jurisdiction and Governing Law)

1. If a dispute arises between the Company and a Member in connection with the Service, both parties will consult in good faith to resolve it.
2. If the dispute is not resolved through consultation and litigation is filed, the court having jurisdiction under the Civil Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea will have exclusive jurisdiction.
3. These Terms and the relationship arising from use of the Service are protected and interpreted under the laws of the Republic of Korea, which also govern any lawsuit between the Company and a Member.
4. This English version is provided for convenience. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Korean version prevails if there is any inconsistency in interpretation.
5. The governing-law, jurisdiction, and translation-priority provisions do not restrict consumer, privacy, or procedural rights that cannot be waived under the laws of the Member’s country of residence. Purchases from Paddle are separately governed by the Paddle Buyer Terms.