Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the CLARA platform ("Service"), operated by the Climate Litigation Lab at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, University of Oxford ("we", "us", "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service.

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated through the platform. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. Description of Service

CLARA is an AI-powered research assistant that helps users explore, search, and analyse archival documents related to corporate litigation and climate accountability. The Service provides:

• AI-assisted research conversations with citation-backed answers.
• Access to curated archival document collections.
• A personal file workspace for creating, editing, and storing research documents.
• Document upload and processing capabilities.

The Service is provided free of charge for research and educational purposes, subject to daily usage credit limits.

3. Account Registration and Security

• You must provide a valid email address and accurate information during registration.
• You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to your account.
• We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must not:

• Use the Service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or malicious purpose.
• Attempt to circumvent rate limits, credit limits, or other usage restrictions.
• Upload files containing malware, viruses, or other harmful content.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to other users' accounts, data, or system infrastructure.
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the Service beyond its intended API.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.
• Use the Service in any way that could damage, disable, or impair it.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely represent your affiliation.
• Upload content that infringes any third party's intellectual property rights.

5. Research Credits

• The Service operates on a daily credit system. Each user receives a daily allowance of research credits, which reset every 24 hours.
• Credits are consumed when interacting with the AI research assistant.
• Unused credits do not accumulate or carry over between days.
• We reserve the right to adjust credit allowances at any time without prior notice.
• Credits have no monetary value and cannot be transferred, sold, or redeemed.

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Our Intellectual Property

The CLARA platform, including its design, code, underlying algorithms, and branding, is the intellectual property of the Climate Litigation Lab at the University of Oxford. All rights are reserved except as expressly granted in these Terms.

6.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of any original content you create on the platform (e.g. research notes, edited documents). By uploading or creating content on the Service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to store, process, and display that content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you.

6.3 Archival Collections

The archival document collections accessible through CLARA may be subject to their own copyright and licensing terms. Citation information is provided for reference. You are responsible for complying with applicable copyright law when using or citing archival materials.

7. AI-Generated Content Disclaimer

CLARA uses artificial intelligence (currently powered by OpenAI's language models) to generate research responses. You acknowledge and agree that:

• AI responses may contain errors. While CLARA strives for accuracy and provides citation-backed answers, AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading.
• Not legal or professional advice. CLARA is a research tool. Its outputs do not constitute legal advice, professional guidance, or official findings. Always verify information independently.
• Citations should be verified. While CLARA provides source citations, you should independently verify all referenced materials before relying on them.
• Your responsibility. You are solely responsible for how you use, interpret, and act upon AI-generated content from the Service.

8. File Storage and Uploads

• You may upload files up to 50 MB each, with a total storage limit of 200 MB per account.
• Supported file types include: PDF, DOCX, DOC, TXT, MD, PNG, JPG, JPEG, TIFF, and WEBP.
• You are responsible for maintaining your own backups. While we take reasonable precautions, we do not guarantee against data loss.
• You must not upload any content that is illegal, infringes on the rights of others, or violates these Terms.
• We reserve the right to remove content that violates these Terms without prior notice.

9. Service Availability and Modifications

• We strive to maintain high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access to the Service.
• We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice.
• Scheduled maintenance will be communicated in advance where practicable.
• We are not liable for any loss or inconvenience caused by service interruptions.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind.
• We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.
• We shall not be liable for any loss of data, loss of profits, or business interruption.
• Our total aggregate liability shall not exceed GBP 100.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the University of Oxford, the Climate Litigation Lab, and their respective officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of any third party's rights.

12. Account Termination

• You may delete your account and all associated data at any time using the account deletion option in your profile menu, or by contacting us at admin@clara-research.com.
• We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice, if you breach these Terms.
• Upon termination, your right to access the Service ceases immediately.

13. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal data.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

16. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Service.

17. Contact Us

For questions about these Terms, please contact: