Terms of Service

Welcome to bernard. These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and bernard, a service operated by KnowCode ("bernard", "we", "us" or "our"). They govern your access to and use of the bernard websites, applications and services (together, the "Service"). Please read them carefully. By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. The Service

bernard helps artists, makers and small businesses in two ways:

• The Move — we copy your existing website (for example from WordPress or Squarespace) onto hosting we provide, optimised for search and performance.
• The residence — once moved in, bernard is your ongoing home for your portfolio, customer relationships, selling and courses.

We may add, change or remove features at any time. We may also set reasonable limits on use of the Service.

2. Eligibility and your account

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account and for keeping your login credentials secure. Tell us promptly at [email protected] if you believe your account has been compromised.

You may sign in with an email and password, a one-time email code, or a third-party provider such as Google. If you sign in through Google, you authorise us to receive certain information from your Google account as described in our Privacy Policy.

3. Your content

"Your Content" means everything you upload, import, create or store through the Service — including your website, images, text, products, course material and the contact records of your own audience.

• You own Your Content. These Terms do not transfer ownership to us.
• You grant us a licence to host, store, copy, display, adapt (for example resize images or reformat pages) and transmit Your Content only as needed to operate, secure and improve the Service and to provide it to you and the audiences you choose.
• You are responsible for Your Content and you confirm you have all rights necessary to use it and to move it onto bernard. In particular, when you ask us to Move an existing website, you confirm you own or are authorised to copy and host that website and everything on it.

4. The contacts you manage

bernard lets you manage your own audience (fans, buyers, students) as contact records. When you upload or collect personal data about other people, you are the controller of that data and you are responsible for having a lawful basis to hold and use it, for honouring their privacy rights, and for sending only communications they are entitled to receive. We process that data on your behalf as described in our Privacy Policy.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• break the law, infringe anyone's rights, or upload content that is unlawful, harmful, deceptive or that you have no right to use;
• send spam or unsolicited messages, or use the Service to harass anyone;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service, probe or test its security, or disrupt it;
• reverse-engineer, resell or misuse the Service except as these Terms allow; or
• use the Service to build a competing product.

We may suspend or remove content or accounts that we reasonably believe breach these Terms or put the Service, us, or others at risk.

6. Plans, billing and cancellation

Some features require a paid subscription. Where they do:

• Fees, billing frequency and what's included are shown at the point of purchase. Payments are handled by our payment processor (Stripe); by subscribing you also agree to their terms.
• Subscriptions renew automatically each period until cancelled. You can cancel at any time and your plan will run until the end of the period you've paid for.
• Except where the law requires otherwise, fees already paid are non-refundable.
• We may change prices on reasonable notice; changes take effect at your next renewal.

7. Our intellectual property

The Service itself — including the bernard name, logo, software, design and content we provide (but not Your Content) — belongs to us or our licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service while these Terms are in force.

8. Third-party services

The Service relies on third parties (for example for hosting, email, payments and AI features) and may link to or interoperate with other services. We are not responsible for third-party services, and your use of them may be governed by their own terms.

9. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose and that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free or secure. You are responsible for keeping your own copies of Your Content.

10. Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law (such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud). Subject to that, to the fullest extent permitted by law:

• we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profits, revenue, goodwill or data; and
• our total liability arising out of or relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amounts you paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) £100.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims, losses and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from Your Content, your use of the Service, or your breach of these Terms or of anyone else's rights.

12. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms or if we reasonably need to protect the Service or others. When your account ends, your right to use the Service stops and we may delete Your Content after a reasonable period, subject to our Privacy Policy and any legal obligations.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to let you know (for example by email or an in-product notice). Changes take effect when posted, and your continued use of the Service means you accept them.

14. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except where mandatory local consumer-protection law gives you other rights.

15. Contact us

Questions about these Terms? Email us at [email protected].