Terms of service
1. Introduction
These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern your use of the Center for Democratic AI (“we”, “us”, “our”, or “CDAI”) website or Shop at https://centerfordemocraticai.org (“Website” or “Site”) and the purchase of products offered through it (the “CDAI Shop”). By accessing the CDAI Shop or placing an order, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not access the CDAI Shop or make a purchase.
This website is hosted by RAYGUN who utilizes Shopify, Inc. to provide us with the online e-commerce platforms that allows us to sell our products and services to you. These Terms apply solely to CDAI Shop users or customers making purchases through the CDAI Shop and do not apply to business partners or users of the Raygun or Shopify platforms.
2. Eligibility
By agreeing to these Terms, you represent that you are at least the age of majority (meaning, not a minor) in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any minor dependents to use this site. If you are purchasing on behalf of a minor, you agree to be responsible for all charges and for compliance with these Terms.
3. Products and Availability
All products offered through the CDAI Shop are subject to availability. Some products may be made to order or produced in limited quantities. We reserve the right to modify, discontinue, or limit the availability of any product at any time without notice.
Product images are provided for illustrative purposes only. Actual colors, sizing, or appearance may vary slightly due to production processes or display settings. Information on the CDAI Shop may be incorrect, incomplete, or inaccurate. We reserve the right to correct errors or update product information at any time without notice. In the event a product is listed at an incorrect price or with incorrect information, we reserve the right to refuse or cancel any order placed for that product. Receipt of an order confirmation does not constitute acceptance of your order; we reserve the right to accept or decline your order for any reason after receipt.
4. Pricing and Payment
All prices are listed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. Prices, promotions, and availability are subject to change without notice. Applicable taxes, shipping, and handling fees will be calculated and displayed at checkout. Payment must be received in full before an order is processed. Accepted payment methods are presented at checkout. You are responsible for (and will indemnify CDAI) against all taxes associated with transactions entered into by you or users of your account. Purchases through the CDAI Shop do not qualify as charitable contributions and are not tax-deductible.
When you make a purchase, payment processing may be handled by Shopify Payments or such other e-commerce service as we may use from time to time. CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC AI (CDAI) IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS, MALFUNCTIONS, DATA BREACHES, OR OTHER ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF ANY PAYMENT PROCESSOR, AND YOU AGREE TO WAIVE ANY CLAIMS AGAINST CDAI RELATED THERETO.
5. Order Processing
Orders are typically processed after payment has been successfully completed. Once an order is placed, you will receive an order confirmation email. This confirmation does not guarantee shipment and does not constitute acceptance of the order if fulfillment becomes unavailable.
We reserve the right to cancel or refuse any order for any reason, including suspected fraud or errors in pricing or product information.
6. Shipping and Delivery
Shipping timelines provided at checkout are estimates only and are not guaranteed. Delivery times may vary based on product type, production schedules, shipping destination, and carrier delays.
We are not responsible for delays caused by shipping carriers, customs processing, weather conditions, or other factors beyond our control. Risk of loss transfers to the customer once the order has been handed over to the shipping carrier, subject to applicable consumer protection laws. YOU AGREE TO WAIVE ANY CLAIMS AGAINST CDAI RELATED TO THE SHIPPING AND DELIVERY OF ITEMS PURCHASED THROUGH THE CDAI SHOP, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION SHIPPING DELAYS, LATE DELIVERIES, LOST OR STOLEN DELIVERIES, OR THE CONDITION OF ITEMS RECEIVED.
7. Returns and Refunds
For complete details, please refer to the CDAI Shop’s Shipping & Returns policy, which is incorporated by reference into these Terms.
8. Intellectual Property
All trademarks, logos, designs, characters, and other content displayed on the CDAI Shop are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.
Nothing in these Terms grants you any right to use, reproduce, distribute, or modify any content from the CDAI Shop without prior written permission from the applicable rights holder. You may not use, or enable others to use, any content, information, or other material on the CDAI Shop to build or train large language models, machine learning tools, or artificial intelligence (AI) systems without the prior written consent of CDAI.
9. Customer Conduct You agree not to use the CDAI Shop for any unlawful purpose or in a manner that interferes with the operation or security of the CDAI Shop. We reserve the right to refuse service, cancel orders, or restrict access to the CDAI Shop if we believe these Terms have been violated. In your use of the CDAI Shop, you will not:
Use the CDAI Shop for any purpose other than for using the content, features, materials and tools we intentionally make available to you;
Post, upload, transmit or submit (“Submit”) any information that we, in its sole discretion, determines is confidential (including social security or alternate national identity numbers or sensitive personal information), false, misleading, unlawful, infringing, threatening, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, discriminatory, obscene, offensive, inflammatory, scandalous, pornographic or profane material or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate the law;
Submit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or other form of solicitation;
Submit any material that may infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, of any party;
Copy, download or distribute any part of the CDAI Shop in any form or medium without the prior written authorization of we;
Alter, modify or make derivative works from any part of the CDAI Shop without prior written authorization;
Provide false personal information for yourself or anyone else;
Use web crawlers, web robots, web scutters, ants, automatic indexers, bots, worms, and other such devices in connection with the CDAI Shop; provided, however, that general purpose Internet search engines and non-commercial public archives that use tools to gather information for the sole purpose of displaying hyperlinks to the CDAI Shop are granted a limited exception from the foregoing exclusion, provided that they do so from a stable IP address or range of IP addresses using an easily-identifiable agent;
Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the CDAI Shop, any platform or service operated by an CDAI Shop party, any features thereof, or related systems or networks, or use the CDAI Shop in any way that degrades its reliability, speed or operation, or its underlying hardware or software, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the CDAI Shop or any platform or service operated by an CDAI Shop party;
Obtain or attempt to obtain any content through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the CDAI Shop;
Impersonate or misrepresent any person or entity or your affiliation with someone else;
Remove, modify, disable, block, obscure or otherwise impair any advertising in connection with the CDAI Shop; or
Post, transmit, or make available through the CDAI Shop any software or materials containing a computer virus, trojan horse, timebomb, worm, or other rogue programming. We have no obligation to detect the presence of any Rogue Programming. Any downloading of software or other materials or any other use of the information on the CDAI Shop is at your risk, and you are advised to take adequate precautions to minimize any loss to your system caused by Rogue Programming, including use of anti-virus programs and proper backup of files.
We reserve the right to limit or terminate your access to the CDAI Shop for any reason, in its sole discretion, including violation of these Terms. CDAI shall not be liable for any damages or loss of data as a result of the termination of your access.
10. Disclaimer of Warranties
Products and services provided through the CDAI Shop are offered on an “as is” and “as available” basis, to the extent permitted by law. We make no warranties, express or implied, regarding the products, including warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, except where such warranties cannot be excluded by law. CDAI does not warrant that the CDAI Shop or any features thereof will be uninterrupted or error-free. Use of the CDAI Shop is entirely at your own risk.
11. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, CDAI shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the CDAI Shop or your purchase or use of products from the CDAI Shop. Our total liability for any claim related to a purchase shall not exceed the amount paid for the product giving rise to the claim.
12. Indemnification & Release of Liability
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless CDAI and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims or liability, including costs and attorneys’ fees, arising from or in connection with: (i) your breach of these Terms; (ii) your use of the CDAI Shop; (iii) any content you submit through the CDAI Shop; or (iv) your violation of any third-party right, including any copyright, trademark, privacy, or publicity right.
YOU HEREBY RELEASE AND WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND/OR LIABILITY AGAINST CDAI AND/OR ITS PARTNERS ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE CDAI SHOP.
13. User Representation of Warranties
You represent and warrant to CDAI that (i) your use of the CDAI Shop complies with the Terms; (ii) you are authorized to provide any information provided to the CDAI Shop via any registration screen, profile, email, telephone call or through other means including all personal details, and that any contact details and all other information or data provided to CDAI, is true in all respects, up-to-date and not misleading; (iii) you will keep the information referred to in clause (ii) up to date; (iv) you will not access the CDAI Shop under false identity or pretext and will not use it to falsify your or any other person’s identity; and (v) you will use the CDAI Shop lawfully and in good faith.
14. Privacy
Your personal information is handled in accordance with the CDAI Shop’s Privacy Policy. By using the CDAI Shop and placing an order, you consent to the collection and use of your personal information as described in that policy.
15. Governing Law; Venue
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Montana without regard to conflict of law principles, except where prohibited by applicable consumer protection laws, and, where applicable, the laws of the United States.
ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM RELATING IN AN WAY TO THE TERMS OR USE OF THE CDAI SHOP WILL BE GOVERENED AND INTERPRETED BY AND UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MONTANA, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO ANY PRINCIPPLES THAT PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF ANY OTHER JURISDICTION. THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNAL SALE OF GOODS IS EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED FROM THESE TERMS. To the extend permissible by law, any dispute under these Terms or relating to the CDAI Shop will be litigated in the local or federal courts location in the State of Montana, and by accessing or using the CDAI Shop you consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in the State of Montana.
16. User Submissions
If you submit any feedback, reviews, messages, ideas, know-how, techniques, content, or other communications to the CDAI Shop (“User Submissions”), you represent that you have all necessary rights to do so. By submitting such materials, you represent and warrant that you will not Submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third-party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to Submit the material.
Also in submitting a User Submission to the CDAI Shop, you grant CDAI a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, reproduce, distribute, and display such content in any medium or format for any purpose. CDAI expressly disclaims any liability in connection with User Submissions and does not guarantee confidentiality with respect to any User Submissions.
CDAI welcomes your comments and suggestions. However, except for any personal information we may collect from you pursuant to our Privacy Policy, User Submissions will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. You understand that whether or not such User Submissions are published or posted, CDAI (i) does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any User Submissions (except as described in our Privacy Policy), (ii) does not pay any compensation for User Submissions, and (iii) is under no obligation to respond to or post any User Submissions.
YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, AND HEREBY DO WAIVE, ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE RIGHTS OR REMEDIES YOU HAVE OR MAY HAVE AGAINST CDAI AND/OR ITS PARTNERS WITH RESPECT TO USER SUBMISSIONS.
17. Copyright Agent / DMCA Notice
CDAI respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been infringed on the CDAI Shop, please contact CDAI with the following in writing:
A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
Identification of the infringing material and information sufficient to permit us to locate it;
Your contact information (address, telephone number, and email);
A statement of good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
CDAI has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are repeat copyright infringers.
18. International Users and Export Controls
The CDAI Shop is hosted and operated by Raygun from its offices in Des Moines, Iowa and is managed by CDAI from its offices in Great Falls, Montana, United States of America. We make no representation that the products or content available through the CDAI Shop are appropriate or available for purchase or use outside of the United States.
International orders may be subject to import duties and taxes. If you are located outside of the United States and the CDAI Shop ships products to you, you are solely responsible for compliance with all applicable U.S. export laws and import laws of the destination country, and for all license fees, customs duties, and other taxes and fees. Products from the CDAI Shop may not be exported or re-exported into any U.S.-embargoed countries or to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Persons List.
19. Changes to These Terms
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify portions of these Terms or the CDAI Shop at any time. If we do this, we will post the changes on this page and will indicate at the top of this page the date these Terms were last revised. You may read a current, effective copy of these Terms by visiting the “Terms & Conditions” link on our Site. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms. If you do not accept to these Terms, please do not use or access the CDAI Shop. You agree that CDAI shall not be liable to you or any third party in the event we exercise our right to modify or discontinue the CDAI Shop (or any features of the CDAI Shop).
20. Miscellaneous
A modification or waiver of a part of these Terms will not constitute a waiver or modification of any other portion of the Terms. If for any reason any provision of the Terms is found unenforceable, that portion will be construed in a manner to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intention of the parties, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. CDAI reserves the right to assign or delegate any right or obligation related to these Terms to any third party in its sole and absolute discretion with or without notice to you.
21. Contact Information
If you have any questions about these Terms or your order, please contact us through our Contact Us page.