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Research figures USER AGREEMENT & TERMS OF SERVICE
The terms and conditions outlined in this User Agreement & Terms of Service apply to the use of the Research Figures Website and Services. Please carefully read these terms and ensure you (the Client) understand the rights and obligations of both parties under this Agreement before using our Website and entering into a Contract with Research Figures (us). By using our Website and Services you are declaring that you accept and agree with all the terms and conditions outlined in our Terms of Service & User Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
The following categories are detailed in this Agreement:
1: Rules for Projects and Project Design Briefs
2: The Research Figures Designer-Client Contract
3: Copyright and Intellectual Property
4: Pricing and Terms of Payment
5: Project Due Dates and Turnaround Times
5.1: Turnaround Times as they relate to regular working hours and weekends
6.1: Minor Revisions – free of charge
6.2: Major Revisions - at an additional cost
7.1: Third Party payment gateways and processing
8: Cancellations Policy and Dispute Resolution Process
8.1: Legal proceedings and fees
8.2: How Cancellation Requests are processed
12: Changes to User Agreement & Terms of Service
13: User Agreement & Terms of Service questions and concerns
1: Rules for Projects and Project Design Briefs
When you first request to use our Services, you will need to complete a Design Brief Form, which sets out the requirements for each Project. This form is downloadable as a PDF, which you can fill out, or we can fill out for you following a phone or online conversation. You can download an example form here. By completing and returning this form you set the ‘Project Deliverables’. Project Deliverables are the most important/key elements of the figure design as defined by you. They must be specific and objectively verifiable. For example, they may specify the style of the figure, colour schemes, layout, and text.
The Project Deliverables you define form a central part of the Project Contract (Designer-Client Contract). When you enter into a Contract with Research Figures we agree to satisfy these Project Deliverables. As such, whether or not these deliverables have been met determines whether the Project has been ‘completed’, with payment being required, or alternatively being incomplete and requiring reworking. You can request changes to the Project Deliverables throughout the course of the Project*, which may or may not incur additional fees depending on the complexity of these Revisions (see Sections 6.1 and 6.2). Once all Project Deliverables have been met you will be asked to pay a fee provided in a final invoice. Once your payment has been cleared by our Third Party payment provide the final Works(s) will be sent to you digitally, via email, or will be available to download using Dropbox or OneDrive.
* This will required you to sign a new contact- rendering previous contacts null and void.
Whether the Project Deliverables have been met by us also affects your eligibility to request free Project Cancellation and/or Refunds (see Section 8). The requirements specified by you help us to define both the estimated Turnaround Time and estimated Costs* specified in the Project Contract (see Sections 4 and 5).
*Please note that the fees set in the Project Contract are not payable upfront and are best estimates that are potentially subject to deceases or increases based on several factors (see Sections 4; 6.1 and 6.2).
The Design Brief Form also allows you to specify if the graphics we create for you will be ‘private’ or can be displayed on our Website for promotional purposes (see Section 3).
2: The Research Figures Designer-Client Contract
The Designer-Client Contract forms a legally binding agreement between Research Figures (us) and you (the Client) relating to the transfer of rights to Works(s) created by Research Figures to the Client at the completion of a Project.
When you have defined your Project and accepted our quote you will be asked to sign a Contract with Research Figures for the Services you have specified in the Project Deliverables. By entering into a Contract with Research Figures you approve the Project you have selected and agree on the proposed Project Turnaround Time, Project Deliverables, Cost of the individual Services, and on the Project as a whole; as well as to our privacy, copyright, intellectual property, data transfer/storage, and cancellation policies outlined in this User Agreement and our Privacy Policy. Before signing a Contract you can request that the draft Contract be altered to better suit your needs. This may include the adjustment, addition, or omission of clauses on a project-specific basis.
A Contract can be signed digitally or be signed and then scanned. Please note that we do not send or receive Contracts via post as this will protract the project turnaround time.
By entering into this Agreement, both parties agree to comply with all applicable laws in the performance of their rights and obligations under this Agreement. As part of this Agreement, Research Figures agrees to act in good faith at all times towards you, and provide you with co-operation and assistance when you request it, provided that these requests are within reason and within our means.
3: Copyright and Intellectual Property
When the Project is complete and we have received final payment from you, Research Figures agrees to relinquish all titles and rights, including Copyright, for the Work(s) of the Project to you. This means that you own the Work(s) and are free to use the Work(s) or to authorise others to use and adapt the Work(s) you have purchased at your discretion, free from claims and in perpetuity. Research Figures is not responsible for registering any Work(s) for Copyright. If you wish to register the Work(s) for Copyright it is your own responsibility to do so.
Research Figures agrees that it will not use and/or exploit any part of the Works(s) (or authorise any third party to do so). In some cases we may display samples of Work(s), royalty-free, on the Research Figures Website solely for promotional proposes. If you do not wish Research Figures to use the Work(s) for promotional proposes you can select the image usage to be ‘private’ when completing the Designer–Client Contract.
Research Figures states that all Work(s) created for you do not, to the best of our knowledge at the time of creation, breach Copyright or infringe upon Intellectual Property Rights, or any other rights of any person; and are not subject to any claim (in existence, potential, or pending), demand, action, or legal proceeding. If Research Figures decides that any Work(s) require the use of Copyrighted material then we will contact you to discuss the use of such material and any associated Third Party payments or royalties payable in respect to the creation of the Work(s). If you, the Client, decide that Copyrighted material is to be used or recreated in any Work(s) then it is your responsibility to identify this material and disclose its Copyright status to us at the initial stage of consultation. In cases where you decide that Copyrighted material is to be used or recreated in any Work(s) you are responsible for any Third Party payments or royalties payable in respect to use of this Copyrighted material in the creation of the Work(s).
Research Figures are not liable for infringements of Copyright or Intellectual Property Rights in regards to materials provided by the Client to us. To facilitate the disclosure of Copyright status, you will be required to provide us with Copyright information for any images, data, etc. that will be directly used in a Project. This information will need to be specified by you when filling out a Design Brief Form. You will also be required to sign a disclaimer as part of the Designer-Client Contract which confirms any material you wish us to directly use in a Project is not in breach of Copyright or Intellectual Property Rights.
If Research Figures becomes aware of any possible breach of Copyright or infringement on Intellectual Property Rights on our part after we have transferred the rights of the Work(s) to you, we agree to contact you directly to inform you of the nature of such infractions. In such cases where the Work(s) are subject to a claim, demand, action, or proceeding at a future time after all rights have been transferred to you, Research Figures, not the Client, will be legally responsible for responding to such claims.
If you fail to disclose the Copyright status of any material you wish Research Figures to use, adapt, or reproduce in any Work(s), or have infringed on Copyright or Intellectual Property Rights, then you will be legally responsible for responding to claims, demands, actions, or proceedings arising from such infringements. This includes cases where claims arise as a result of alterations made by you or a Third Party to the original Work(s) that were transferred to you (please also see Section 9).
4: pricing and Terms of Payment
Each graphics Project we undertake is unique, involving different amounts of time and levels of complexity. Therefore, prices vary on a project specific basis.
When you Send Us Your Idea for a Project we will make an assessment of Cost, and provide you with a quote for the proposed Work. This first quote is a formal estimate of Cost for the entire Project. It consists of a description of the Service(s) to be rendered and the total estimated Cost of these Services(s). If you have requested multiple figures these will be detailed individually on your quote and invoice. The estimated Cost of your order is calculated based on both the type of Service you select, as well as the complexity of the graphic(s) requested for a specific Service. Typical prices for each of our Services can be found here.
In cases where you request alterations to the Works(s), the final fee payable may differ from the price you have been quoted (please see Section 6 below for further details).
Please note that all invoices for Work(s) must be paid within 30 days of receipt.
5: Project due dates and Turnaround Times
Once a Due Date for the First Draft of your Work(s) has been agreed upon and included in the Project Contract, we will endeavour to meet this target. Due dates are best estimates and are not fixed. Please note if you contact us to add additional Project Deliverables before the First Draft Due Date, this will result in a redrawing of the Designer-Client Contract and a likely extension of the Due Dates. Due Dates may also be extended as a result of any Revisions requested by you after the First Draft has been received. Such Revisions may incur an additional fee (see Section 6)
In certain circumstances the turnaround time for a First Draft may be delayed, despite no Revisions or additional Project Deliverables being requested by the Client. In such cases we will contact you as soon as possible to inform you of any delays and set a new Project Due Date for the First Draft. In this scenario, if you are unsatisfied with the new First Draft Due Date then you have the option to cancel your order free of charge.
5.1: Turnaround Times as they relate to regular working hours and weekends
In cases where rush work is required and you contact us to request that we completed the work before either of the project Due Dates, and this involves us working outside of normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm, UTC), or over weekends, you will incur an additional fee.
6: revisions to illustrations
At Research Figures our priority is to deliver Work that satisfies your Design Brief. In cases where you feel the final Work(s) do not satisfy the agreed Project Deliverables, we will revise the Work(s) free of charge until the Deliverables are met. However, you must be able to show beyond a reasonable doubt that your Project Deliverables have not been met before any changes will be made. For this reason, it is important that you are as detailed and specific as possible in your Design Brief instructions, so as to avoid any potential ambiguity relating to whether or not Project Deliverables have been fully met. To facilitate mutual understanding of expectations and Deliverables for the final Work(s), we may ask you for extra information that will help us to better define your design requirements before the illustration process begins.
Once you receive a draft copy of the illustration(s) you have commissioned, you may want to request changes. These alternations are classified as either ‘Minor Revisions’, that do not carry an extra fee, or ‘Major Revisions’, that do carry an extra fee. Research Figures reserves the right to make judgements on whether any requested Revisions are considered to be Major or Minor, and on whether any additional fees will be charged.
6.1: Minor Revisions – free of charge
It may be the case that the Draft Work(s) we send to you fit your Design Brief and satisfy the Project Deliverables but that there are some relatively Minor aspects of the graphics that you wish to be adjusted. We view this as integral part of the creative process, as such changes are often necessary to guarantee that you are satisfied with your graphics. We do not charge any additional fee for these Minor alterations. Such Revisions usually constitute small, immaterial changes to design such as alterations to fonts and line thicknesses, or colour scheme. Typically we will make up to 5 small changes to a Project, after which changes are no longer considered to be ‘Minor’ and will incur an additional fee.
6.2: Major Revisions - at an additional cost
Revisions are generally considered ‘Major’ if the alterations you have requested exceed the Project Deliverables agreed-upon in the Project Contract; or typically if more than 5 small changes are requested (see Section 6.1). For example, Major Revisions may include: the addition of new illustrations, the addition of imbedded images and panels, the extensive redrawing of existing illustrations, or the plotting of new data. Major Revisions will result in additional fees and a new estimate of Cost will be quoted to you based on the nature of these Revisions. A new Project turnaround time will also be specified.
Before we start any Major Revisions it is our policy to send you a readjusted invoice for 30% of the total sum of the second quote. We require that you make this non-refundable payment up-front, before any additional changes are made. Research Figures requires this payment in order to cover the expenses of services rendered to this point, as well as to protect us against non-payments. Once Major Revisions have been made you can request subsequent Minor Revisions at no extra cost*. Once all changes have been approved by you, a final invoice will be sent to you. The final Project invoice will be adjusted to include the 30% down payment you have already made (i.e. you will be asked to pay 70% of the total Project Cost in the final invoice).
*If any Major Revisions are requested in addition to those already made then new charges will be applied, and invoices issued, following the process of Major Revisions detailed above.
7: Payment of invoices
Once we have completed your Work(s) we will send you a watermarked draft copy of the illustration(s) for your appraisal. If you are completely satisfied with the results and feel that no adjustments to the Work(s) are necessary, then a finalised invoice will be sent to you using Third Party billing software provided by PayPal. You have a number of options of how to pay (credit card, debit card, or with a PayPal account). Once the payment has been cleared by PayPal, we will send you the completed versions of your Work(s) without watermarks in the file formats you have requested. Final files will not be sent before payment has been received.
All invoices are payable in full within 30 days of receipt. If Research Figures has not received payment of an invoice within 30 days, we may refer collection of the unpaid amount to an attorney or collections agency. If a judgment decides that the Contract should be upheld, the Client shall be liable to cover any fees incurred by Research Figures as a result of enforcing collection of payment.
7.1: Third Party payment gateways and processing
We use Third Party payment and invoicing systems provided by PayPal. If duplicate payments or payment errors occur we will work with PayPal to issue refunds to credit/debit cards and PayPal accounts. Any cases related to payment and refunds will be evaluated by us and we will endeavour to do our upmost to solve any issue with the payment system you may experience.
Any financial loss you incur during the payment or refund process that is the result of a personal mistake related to incorrect issuing of charges on our part will be reimbursed to you as a refund. Research Figures does not provide any warranties and cannot be held responsible for any financial loss, or for any direct or indirect damages arising as the result of error in Third Party payment systems during payment processing or the issuing of refunds.
For further information on using PayPal please review our Privacy Policy.
8: Cancellations Policy and Dispute Resolution Process
For all Projects we make every effort to ensure that you are satisfied with our Service.
In cases where the Project Contract has been signed by both parties and you choose to cancel the Project before you receive the First Draft, you will be required to pay 60% of the quoted Project Cost.
Once we deliver the First Draft of Work(s) to you, you will be able to accept this draft or request Revisions. If you decide that you do not want to take the project any further at this point, then you can opt to cancel the Project. If you choose to cancel the Project at this stage you will be required to pay 70% of the quoted Project Cost. Similarly, if you have requested Minor Revision to the First Draft and subsequently choose to cancel the Project before it is completed, you will be required to pay 70% of the quoted Project Cost.
If you request Major Revisions to the First Draft and subsequently decide that you wish to cancel the project before it is completed you will be required to pay 50% of the most recent quoted Project Cost. This 50% fee is to be paid on top of the non-refundable, upfront fee (30% of the most recent quote) necessary for Major Revisions to be carried out (Please see Section 6.2 for details). Put in another way, if you choose to cancel a Project once Major Revisions are underway, you will be charged for 80% of most recent quoted Project Cost.
In cases where the Project has been completed, and the approved final Work(s) are ready to be sent to you for download, you are required to pay 100% of the Project Costs.
In the unlikely case where you feel that we have failed to satisfy the Project Deliverables and it is not possible to reach a solution that is agreeable to both parties, you are entitled to ask for the Project to be Cancelled free of charge. Please note that we reserve final right to decide if project Cancellation will incur a fee (see Section 8.2 for further details). If Cancellation is requested once we have already carried out Major Revisions to the Work(s), the Client will not be reimbursed for the non-refundable, up-front fee (equal to a 30% cost of the Work(s) completed [see Section 6.2]) required for these alternations.
8.1: Legal proceedings and fees
For free Project Cancellation to be granted, it may be necessary for you to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the Project Deliverables have not been met. Research Figures reserves the right to final judgment on whether Deliverables have been carried out to the specifications set in the Project Contract, and on whether a Project will be cancelled free of charge. In the rare event that a dispute arises between parties that leads to legal proceedings with respect to this Agreement, the prevailing party will be entitled to receive all reasonable legal fees incurred in such proceedings from the losing party (including attorneys’ fees, and out-of-pocket expenses).
8.2: How cancellation requests are processed
All Project Cancellation requests should be emailed to contact@researchfigures.com. All requests will be reviewed within 10 business days. If granted, any applicable refunds will be issued within 30 business days of the request. Any refundable payments made to Research Figures by credit/debit card, or PayPal account, will be refunded to the card or account that the payment was made with/from.
9: Indemnity
IF ANY THIRD PARTY BRINGS A CLAIM AGAINST RESEARCH FIGURES THAT IS THE RESULT OF A BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT (OR THE DOCUMENTS IT INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE) BY THE CLIENT, OR THE MISUSE OF ANY WORK(S) PRODUCED BY RESEARCH FIGURES FOR A CLIENT BY THE CLIENT, THE CLIENT MUST INDEMNIFY AND HOLD RESEARCH FIGURES HARMLESS AGAINST ALL DAMAGES (INCLUDING LEGAL FEES) THAT RESULTS FROM SUCH A CLAIM.
10: Limited Liability
EXCLUSION OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT DAMAGES: RESEARCH FIGURES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: LOSS OF DATA, RECORDS OR INFORMATION; LOSS OF PROFITS; AND OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES), EVEN IF RESEARCH FIGURES IS AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE OR LOSS.
11: Warranties
RESEARCH FIGURES DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY WARRANTIES TO THE CLIENT WITH RESPECT TO THIRD PARTY SERVICES. THE CLIENT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT RESEARCH FIGURES DOES NOT HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THIRD PARTY SERVICES AND THAT ANY USE OF THIRD PARTY SERVICES BY THE CLIENT IS ENTIRELY AT THEIR OWN RISK. IT IS THE CLIENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND/OR PRIVACY POLICIES THAT RELATE TO SUCH THIRD PARTY SERVICES BEFORE USING THEM.
12: changes to user agreement & terms of service
Changes to this User Agreement & Terms of Service: Research Figures may amend this User Agreement and Terms of Service from time to time as our business requires or as the law changes. Any changes will be updated on our Website and become effective once published. Please check our Website periodically to make sure that you have our most current User Agreement & Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy. If material revisions are made while a Client is using our Services we will inform the Client of the changes at least 10 calendar days prior to the new terms taking effect.
Our User Agreement & Terms of Service was last updated on 03/06/2020.
13: User Agreement & Terms of Service questions and concerns
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this User Agreement & Terms of Service please Contact Us.