Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a binding contract between you and [COMPANY LEGAL NAME, e.g. PubCat LLC], a [STATE OF FORMATION] company (“PubCat,” “we,” “us”), and govern your access to and use of the PubCat website, applications, data, and related services (the “Service”). By creating an account, clicking to accept, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

SECTION 16 CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT AFFECT HOW DISPUTES ARE RESOLVED. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.

If you use the Service on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and “you” includes that organization.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. You may not use the Service if you are barred from doing so under applicable law or if we have previously suspended or terminated your account.

You are responsible for all activity under your account, for keeping your sign-in credentials secure, and for the accuracy of everything you submit. Notify us immediately at [legal@yourdomain.com] of any unauthorized use. We are not liable for any loss arising from unauthorized use of your account.

Each account is either a writer account or a publisher account and may not be converted. You may not create an account in another person's name or impersonate anyone.

PubCat is an information and discovery platform. It helps songwriters and composers organize their catalogs and see indications of potentially unclaimed royalties, and it helps music publishers and managers discover writers who have chosen to be discoverable.

PubCat is not, and does not act as:

• a performing rights organization, mechanical rights organization, collective management organization, or royalty collection agency;
• a music publisher, administrator, agent, manager, broker, or talent agency, or a party to any agreement between users;
• a law firm, accountant, auditor, or financial, tax, or investment adviser.

We do not collect, claim, hold, or distribute royalties for anyone. Nothing in the Service is legal, financial, tax, or business advice, and no agency, partnership, fiduciary, employment, or joint-venture relationship exists between you and PubCat. You should consult your own qualified advisers before making any decision about your rights or royalties.

The Service includes information compiled from third-party and publicly available sources (such as industry registries, streaming and video platforms, and music metadata providers) and figures we derive from them, including potential royalty matches, unclaimed-share percentages, stream counts, revenue tiers, and dollar estimates labeled “Est.” (together, “Data”).

DATA IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ESTIMATES ARE MODELED APPROXIMATIONS, NOT ROYALTY STATEMENTS, ACCOUNTINGS, APPRAISALS, VALUATIONS, OR PROMISES OF PAYMENT. A MATCH DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU OWN A WORK, THAT ANY MONEY IS OWED TO YOU, OR THAT A CLAIM WILL SUCCEED. Data may be incomplete, delayed, out of date, or wrong; a work shown as unclaimed may already have been claimed or paid. Actual royalties may differ materially from any estimate, including being zero.

You are solely responsible for independently verifying any Data with the relevant rights organizations and your own advisers before relying on it, and you rely on Data entirely at your own risk. We do not guarantee the availability of any third-party source and may change or stop providing any Data at any time.

“Your Content” means anything you submit to the Service, including your profile, contact details, song titles, recordings identifiers, split sheets, co-writer information, and documents. You keep ownership of Your Content.

You grant PubCat a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable (to our service providers) license to host, store, reproduce, process, display, and transmit Your Content as needed to operate, secure, and improve the Service and as described in these Terms and your settings, including sharing it with publishers as described in Section 6. This license ends when Your Content is deleted from the Service, except for copies we must keep for legal, security, or backup purposes and content already shared with publishers.

You represent and warrant that:

• Your Content is accurate and not misleading, and you will keep it up to date;
• you wrote or co-wrote, or are otherwise authorized to list, each work you add, and your stated ownership shares are accurate to the best of your knowledge;
• you have the right to provide any information about other people you submit (such as co-writers and managers); and
• Your Content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate anyone's rights or any law.

We do not verify ownership claims, splits, or other Your Content, and listing a work on PubCat does not establish ownership of it. We may remove or disable any content at any time for any reason, including if we receive a complaint.

Writers are not visible to publishers unless they complete identity verification and turn on catalog sharing. When sharing is on, subscribed publishers may see limited, anonymized information about your catalog, and may pay to “unlock” you. When a publisher unlocks you, we give that publisher your profile, contact card, and catalog. You can turn sharing off at any time, which stops new unlocks but cannot retrieve information a publisher has already received.

Writers who registered songs with PubCat's previous service may be listed as unverified writers: we have not checked their identity or their rights in the listed songs, and publishers rely on those listings at their own risk.

Publishers are independent third parties. We do not screen, endorse, or supervise them beyond the checks described in the Service, and we are not responsible for their communications, offers, or conduct. Any discussion, negotiation, or agreement between a writer and a publisher is solely between them; PubCat is not a party to it, does not guarantee that any contact, offer, or deal will occur, and has no liability arising from it. Use your own judgment and advisers before signing anything.

Writers who want to be discoverable must submit a government-issued photo ID and a photo of their face for review. Our handling of these images is described in the Privacy Policy. We may approve or reject any submission in our discretion, may require resubmission, and may revoke verified status at any time.

Verification only indicates that we reviewed an identity document that appeared to match the account holder at the time of review. It is not a background check, an endorsement, or a representation about a person's rights in any work, and we do not guarantee that it is accurate.

Publisher features require a paid subscription. Payments are processed by our payment processor (currently Stripe) under its terms; we do not store full card numbers. You authorize us and our processor to charge your payment method for all fees and applicable taxes.

• Automatic renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period at the then-current price until cancelled. You can cancel at any time in the billing portal; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current period.
• Credits. Credits are a limited, revocable license to use unlock features. They have no cash value, are not property, are not transferable or redeemable for money, and may expire as described at purchase or in your plan.
• No refunds. Except where required by law, all fees are non-refundable, including for partial periods, unused credits, and completed unlocks. An unlock is complete when contact information is displayed, regardless of whether the writer responds.
• Price changes. We may change prices or plan features with notice; changes apply from your next billing period.
• Failed payments. We may suspend access until outstanding amounts are paid.

Use of writer information. You may use unlocked writer information only to contact that writer about bona fide music publishing or management opportunities, and only in compliance with all applicable laws, including anti-spam, telemarketing (such as the TCPA), privacy, and data protection laws. You may not sell, publish, share, or add unlocked information to any list or database for use by others, and you must stop contacting a writer who asks you to. You are solely responsible for your communications and any resulting claims.

You agree not to, and not to help anyone else to:

• scrape, crawl, harvest, bulk-download, or systematically extract Data or user information, or use automated means to access the Service, except through features we provide;
• resell, sublicense, redistribute, or build a competing product or dataset from the Service or Data;
• submit false, misleading, or infringing information, or claim works you did not write;
• impersonate any person, submit someone else's identity documents, or misrepresent your affiliation;
• harass, threaten, spam, defraud, or solicit personal or financial information from other users;
• probe, scan, or test vulnerabilities, bypass rate limits or access controls, or interfere with the Service's operation;
• reverse engineer or decompile the Service, except where that restriction is prohibited by law; or
• use the Service in violation of any law or third-party right.

The Service, including its software, design, text, compilations of Data, selection and arrangement, trademarks, and logos, is owned by PubCat or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service for its intended purpose. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them without restriction or compensation to you.

The Service relies on and may link to third-party services (such as sign-in providers, payment processing, hosting, and music metadata sources). We do not control them and are not responsible for their content, availability, accuracy, or practices, and your use of them may be subject to their own terms.

We may suspend or terminate your access, remove content, or revoke verification at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including a suspected violation of these Terms, a risk to other users, or legal requirements. You may stop using the Service at any time and may ask us to close your account. Sections that by their nature should survive termination survive it, including Sections 3–5, 8 (payment obligations and use of writer information), and 12–19.

THE SERVICE AND ALL DATA ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PUBCAT AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, AND SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AND QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DATA WILL BE ACCURATE OR COMPLETE, THAT ANY ROYALTIES EXIST OR WILL BE RECOVERED, OR THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE ANY CONTACT, OFFER, OR DEAL. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN DISCLAIMERS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL PUBCAT OR ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, ROYALTIES, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, GOODWILL, OR DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE, DATA, THESE TERMS, OR ANY INTERACTION BETWEEN USERS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100).

These limits apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose, and they are an essential basis of the bargain between you and us. They do not limit liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PubCat and its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, fines, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) Your Content, including any claim that you do not own or control a work you listed; (b) your use of the Service or Data; (c) your communications or dealings with other users, including any use of unlocked writer information; (d) your violation of these Terms or any law; or (e) your violation of any third-party right. We may control the defense of any claim at your expense, and you will not settle any claim that affects us without our written consent.

Informal resolution first. Before filing any claim, you agree to email [legal@yourdomain.com] with a description of the dispute and try in good faith to resolve it with us for at least 60 days.

BINDING ARBITRATION. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW, YOU AND PUBCAT AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE, CLAIM, OR CONTROVERSY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL BE RESOLVED BY FINAL AND BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION, AND NOT IN COURT. Arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (or, for business users, its Commercial Arbitration Rules), before a single arbitrator. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this Section. The arbitrator decides all issues, except that a court decides questions about the scope, enforceability, or formation of the class action waiver. Hearings may be held by video or in [COUNTY, STATE]. Payment of AAA fees will follow the applicable AAA rules.

CLASS ACTION AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER. YOU AND PUBCAT MAY BRING CLAIMS ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. YOU AND PUBCAT EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. If this class action waiver is found unenforceable as to a claim, that claim must be severed and decided in court, and the rest of this Section still applies.

Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court to protect its intellectual property or to stop unauthorized access to the Service.

Mass filings. If 25 or more similar demands are filed against us by or with the help of the same law firm or organization, they will be administered in batches under AAA's mass arbitration procedures, and the statute of limitations is tolled for claims awaiting batching.

30-day right to opt out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing [legal@yourdomain.com] within 30 days after first accepting these Terms, stating your name, account email, and that you opt out of arbitration.

Time limit. To the extent permitted by law, any claim must be filed within one year after it arises, or it is permanently barred.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [GOVERNING-LAW STATE] and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. For any claim not subject to arbitration, you and PubCat consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in [COUNTY, STATE].

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright or misstates your ownership of a work, send a notice to our designated agent, [DMCA AGENT NAME / EMAIL], including the information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3). We may remove content and terminate repeat infringers. Knowingly false notices may create liability for the sender.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If a change is material, we will notify you by email or in the Service before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Service after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms. Changes to Section 16 will not apply to disputes you notified us about before the change.

These Terms, with the Privacy Policy and any plan or order terms, are the entire agreement between you and PubCat about the Service. If any provision is unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. You agree to receive communications from us electronically.

Questions: [legal@yourdomain.com] · [COMPANY LEGAL NAME, e.g. PubCat LLC], [MAILING ADDRESS]