📋 Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account on the Edward Platform ("the Service") operated by Edward Farm ("we", "us"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

The Edward Platform provides:

• IoT station management and monitoring for aquaponics, hydroponics, and urban agriculture systems
• Digital logbook for plantings, harvests, fish tracking, and observations
• Community features including sharing, collaboration, and citizen science
• Research data sharing with academic and institutional partners
• Digital twin simulation environment for learning and experimentation

3. Account Responsibilities

• You must provide accurate and complete information during registration.
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials.
• You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. Users between 13 and 16 require parental or guardian consent.
• You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account.

4. Acceptable Use

When using the Edward Platform, you agree not to:

• Upload content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, or violates others' rights
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to other accounts, stations, or system resources
• Use the platform for any purpose other than its intended agricultural, educational, and research applications
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the platform (except as permitted by open-source licenses)
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or other users' experience
• Upload malware, viruses, or other harmful code

5. User Content

You retain ownership of all content you create on the platform, including:

• Station data, telemetry, and configurations
• Logbook entries, observations, and photos
• Community posts, comments, and feedback

By making content public (e.g., public stations, community posts), you grant Edward Farm a non-exclusive, worldwide license to display and distribute that content within the platform for the purpose of providing the Service.

6. Research Data Sharing

The Edward Platform offers opt-in research data sharing through Research Contracts:

• Participation is always voluntary and requires explicit consent.
• Shared data is anonymized by default.
• You can withdraw from any research contract at any time.
• Each contract clearly states what data is shared, with whom, and for what purpose.

7. Intellectual Property

The Edward Platform software, design, and branding are the property of Edward Farm. This does not apply to:

• Open-source components used under their respective licenses
• User-generated content, which remains owned by its creators
• Scientific data shared through research contracts, which is governed by the respective contract terms

8. Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. Please review our Privacy Policy for details on how we collect, use, and protect your personal data. By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree to the data practices described therein.

9. Service Availability

We strive to maintain high availability of the Service, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We reserve the right to:

• Perform maintenance that may temporarily affect availability
• Modify or update features of the Service
• Discontinue the Service with reasonable notice to users

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• The Service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind.
• Edward Farm is not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service.
• Edward Farm is not responsible for any damage to crops, livestock, or equipment resulting from reliance on platform data or recommendations.

11. Account Termination

You may delete your account at any time through Account Settings. We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms. Upon termination:

• Your personal data will be deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
• Public content you created may be retained in anonymized form.
• Research data previously shared under active contracts will be governed by the contract terms.

12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the European Union and applicable member state legislation. Any disputes shall be resolved in the competent courts of the data controller's jurisdiction.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes through the platform's notification system. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

14. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at:

Email: dpo@edward.farm
Subject: Terms of Service — Edward Platform