Terms of Service

Effective Date: January 01, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a binding agreement between Fourthlock LLC ("Foundation4," "we," "us," or "our") and the entity or individual agreeing to these Terms ("Customer," "you," or "your"). These Terms govern your access to and use of the foundation4.ai platform, including the foundation4.ai website, cloud-hosted evaluation instances, and on-premises software deployments (collectively, the "Platform").

By accessing the Platform, executing an Order Form, deploying the Software, or using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you are agreeing on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization.

These Terms incorporate our Privacy Policy by reference. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and an executed Order Form, the Order Form controls.

1. Definitions

"Confidential Information" means any non-public information disclosed by one party to the other in connection with these Terms, including business terms, pricing, technical documentation, product roadmaps, and Customer Data. Confidential Information does not include information that is publicly available, independently developed, received from a third party without restriction, or required to be disclosed by law.

"Customer Data" means all data, documents, content, metadata, embeddings, queries, agent configurations, and outputs processed through the Platform by Customer. Customer Data expressly includes any output generated by language models or other AI services in connection with Customer's use of the Platform. Customer Data does not include Operational Data.

"Enterprise Plan" means a subscription granting Customer the right to deploy unlimited pipelines and agents on Customer's infrastructure, including in air-gapped environments, as further described in the applicable Order Form.

"Foundation4 Technology" means the Platform software, APIs, documentation, container images, Helm charts, user interfaces, and all related intellectual property owned by Foundation4.

"Operational Data" means system health metrics, resource usage counts (such as document volume and query volume), service availability data, and authentication event metadata collected by Foundation4 in connection with cloud-hosted Pilot instances. Operational Data does not include the content of Customer Data.

"Order Form" means a mutually executed document specifying the plan tier, fees, subscription term, and any additional terms applicable to Customer's use of the Platform.

"Pilot Plan" means a time-limited evaluation deployment — cloud-hosted or on-premises trial — provided free of charge for evaluation purposes, not for production use.

"Services" means the cloud-hosted Pilot service, technical support, and any professional services provided by Foundation4 to Customer.

"Software" means the Foundation4 platform software deployed on Customer's infrastructure under a Utility Plan or Enterprise Plan, delivered as container images and Helm charts.

"Utility Plan" means a subscription granting Customer the right to deploy one (1) production pipeline and one (1) agent on Customer's infrastructure, as further described in the applicable Order Form.

2. License Grant and Restrictions

2.1 Software License (On-Premises Deployments)

Subject to these Terms and the applicable Order Form, Foundation4 grants Customer a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to install, configure, and operate the Software on Customer's own infrastructure during the subscription term, within the scope of the applicable plan tier:

Utility Plan: Licensed for one (1) pipeline and one (1) agent.
Enterprise Plan: Licensed for unlimited pipelines and agents, including deployment in air-gapped environments with no external network dependencies.

The Software is licensed, not sold. The license is tied to Customer's deployment through an encrypted license key that specifies the authorized scope and expiration date. Customer is responsible for deploying and maintaining the infrastructure on which the Software runs.

2.2 Cloud-Hosted Pilot

Foundation4 grants Customer access to a managed Pilot instance for evaluation purposes only, subject to the following:

The Pilot term is thirty (30) days from activation unless extended by written agreement.
The Pilot is not for production use. Customer shall not use a Pilot instance to support production workloads, serve end users, or process production data.
Foundation4 may limit Pilot resources, including document count, API keys, classification depth, and connected models, as described in the applicable plan documentation.
One (1) Pilot is available per organization. Requests for additional or extended Pilots require Foundation4 approval.

2.3 License Restrictions

Customer shall not, and shall not permit any third party to:

(a) provide the Software to third parties as a hosted or managed service where the service provides users with access to a substantial set of the features or functionality of the Software;

(b) sublicense, sell, resell, rent, lease, or distribute the Software or any rights therein;

(c) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the Software, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law that cannot be waived by contract;

(d) remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notices, license keys, or licensing mechanisms in the Software;

(e) circumvent or disable any usage limits, access controls, or security features of the Platform;

(f) use the Platform to process data in violation of applicable law.

3. Customer Data

3.1 Ownership

Customer retains all right, title, and interest in and to Customer Data. Foundation4 acquires no rights in Customer Data except the limited rights expressly granted in this Section 3.

AI-generated outputs produced through the Platform — including responses from language models connected by Customer — are Customer Data and belong to Customer. Foundation4 claims no ownership interest in such outputs.

3.2 Foundation4's Access to Customer Data

On-premises deployments (Utility and Enterprise Plans): Foundation4 does not have access to Customer Data. All components of the Platform — including the API server, document processing workers, embedding models, vector storage, message queuing, caching, and monitoring — run within Customer's infrastructure. No Customer Data is transmitted to Foundation4.

Cloud-hosted Pilot instances: Customer grants Foundation4 a limited, non-exclusive license to host and process Customer Data solely as necessary to provide the Pilot service. This license terminates automatically upon deletion of Customer Data following the conclusion of the Pilot, as described in Section 12.4.

3.3 Data Use Restrictions

Foundation4 does not use Customer Data to train, improve, benchmark, or develop Foundation4 products, services, or models. This restriction applies to all deployment types and survives termination of these Terms.

Foundation4 does not sell, share, or disclose Customer Data to any third party, except where required by applicable law. If Foundation4 receives a legal demand for Customer Data, Foundation4 will notify Customer promptly to the extent legally permitted.

3.4 Operational Data

For cloud-hosted Pilot instances, Foundation4 may collect and use Operational Data to maintain service reliability and improve the Platform. Operational Data is limited to system metrics and resource usage counts and does not include the content of Customer Data. Foundation4 may use anonymized, aggregated Operational Data for product analysis and development.

3.5 Third-Party Models and Services

Foundation4 is model-agnostic. The Platform supports connections to any OpenAI-compatible language model or embedding model endpoint, including models running on Customer's own hardware. Foundation4 does not select, operate, or intermediate Customer's chosen models. Customer's data flows to third-party models are configured and controlled entirely by Customer within Customer's deployment. Foundation4 has no visibility into the models Customer connects or the data exchanged with them.

Customer is solely responsible for compliance with the terms of service and acceptable use policies of any third-party model providers Customer connects to the Platform.

4. Foundation4 Intellectual Property

Foundation4 retains all right, title, and interest in and to Foundation4 Technology, including all patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual property rights therein. No implied licenses are granted under these Terms. Customer's rights are limited to the express licenses set forth in Section 2.

If Customer provides suggestions, feature requests, or other feedback regarding the Platform ("Feedback"), Foundation4 may use such Feedback without obligation or compensation to Customer. Feedback does not constitute Customer Confidential Information.

Customer may not use Foundation4's name, logos, or trademarks without prior written consent, except to identify Foundation4 as a technology provider in Customer's vendor listings or similar contexts.

5. Fees and Payment

5.1 Pricing

Pilot Plan: Free for the initial thirty (30) day period. Extensions beyond the initial period require Foundation4 approval and may be subject to fees.
Utility and Enterprise Plans: Fees are as specified in the applicable Order Form. All Foundation4 plans are quote-based.

5.2 Payment Terms

Unless otherwise specified in the Order Form, all invoices are due within thirty (30) days of the invoice date. Late payments accrue interest at the lesser of one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month or the maximum rate permitted by applicable law.

5.3 Taxes

Fees are exclusive of taxes. Customer is responsible for all applicable sales, use, value-added, and similar taxes, excluding taxes based on Foundation4's net income.

5.4 Refunds

No refunds are provided except as expressly set forth in the applicable Order Form or as required under Section 9.1 (warranty remedy).

6. Support

Pilot Plan: Access to documentation and email support.
Utility Plan: Email support with priority response times.
Enterprise Plan: Dedicated account manager, engineering escalation path, and deployment assistance.

Support scope, response times, and availability are as described in the applicable plan documentation or Order Form. Foundation4 may update support offerings from time to time with reasonable notice to Customer.

7. Service Levels

Cloud-hosted Pilot instances: Foundation4 uses commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability of Pilot instances but does not guarantee uptime or provide a service level agreement for the Pilot Plan.

On-premises deployments (Utility and Enterprise Plans): Customer is solely responsible for the availability, performance, security, backup, and maintenance of the infrastructure on which the Software runs. Foundation4 does not provide uptime guarantees, monitoring, or operational management for on-premises installations unless separately engaged to do so under a professional services arrangement.

If a service level agreement applies to a specific engagement, it will be documented in the applicable Order Form or a separate SLA document.

8. Acceptable Use

Customer agrees to use the Platform in compliance with all applicable laws and these Terms. Without limiting the foregoing, Customer shall not:

(a) use the Platform to process, store, or transmit data in violation of applicable law, including applicable data protection, export control, and sanctions laws;

(b) use the Platform in a manner that infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy rights of any third party;

(d) attempt to gain unauthorized access to Foundation4 systems or other customers' data or deployments (applicable to cloud-hosted Pilot instances);

(e) use the Platform in any manner that interferes with or disrupts the integrity or performance of Foundation4 infrastructure (applicable to cloud-hosted Pilot instances).

Customer is solely responsible for the legality, accuracy, quality, and appropriateness of all Customer Data and for ensuring that Customer's use of the Platform complies with Customer's own regulatory and compliance obligations.

9. Warranties and Disclaimers

9.1 Foundation4 Warranties

Foundation4 warrants that:

(a) the Software will perform materially in accordance with the applicable documentation during the subscription term;

(b) the Services will be provided with reasonable skill and care;

If the Software fails to conform to the warranty in Section 9.1(a), Customer's exclusive remedy is for Foundation4 to use commercially reasonable efforts to correct the non-conformity. If Foundation4 is unable to correct the non-conformity within thirty (30) days of receiving written notice, Customer may terminate the affected Order Form and receive a pro-rata refund of prepaid, unused fees.

9.2 Disclaimers

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN SECTION 9.1, THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." FOUNDATION4 DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Foundation4 does not warrant that the Software will be error-free, uninterrupted, or free of security vulnerabilities.

9.3 AI Output Disclaimer

FOUNDATION4 DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, RELIABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE OF ANY OUTPUT GENERATED BY LANGUAGE MODELS OR OTHER AI SERVICES CONNECTED TO THE PLATFORM. Language model outputs may contain errors, inaccuracies, or fabricated information. Customer is solely responsible for evaluating, validating, and determining the appropriate use of all AI-generated outputs.

9.4 Third-Party Models and Services

Foundation4 makes no representations or warranties regarding any third-party language models, embedding models, or other services that Customer connects to the Platform. Customer's use of third-party services is governed by the applicable third-party terms, and Foundation4 assumes no liability for the performance, availability, accuracy, or conduct of such services.

10. Limitation of Liability

10.1 Exclusion of Consequential Damages

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NEITHER PARTY SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY AND WHETHER OR NOT THE PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

10.2 Liability Cap

EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 10.3, EACH PARTY'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNTS PAID OR PAYABLE BY CUSTOMER TO FOUNDATION4 UNDER THE APPLICABLE ORDER FORM DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

For the Pilot Plan, where no fees have been paid, Foundation4's total aggregate liability shall not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars ($100).

10.3 Exceptions

The limitations in Sections 10.1 and 10.2 do not apply to: (a) either party's indemnification obligations under Section 11; (b) either party's breach of its confidentiality obligations under Section 13; (c) Customer's payment obligations under Section 5; or (d) liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law.

11. Indemnification

11.1 Foundation4 Indemnification

Foundation4 will defend Customer against any third-party claim alleging that the Software, as provided by Foundation4 and used in accordance with these Terms, infringes the claimant's patent, copyright, or trade secret rights ("IP Claim"), and will indemnify Customer against damages finally awarded or settlements approved by Foundation4.

As conditions to this obligation, Customer must: (i) promptly notify Foundation4 in writing of the IP Claim; (ii) grant Foundation4 sole control of the defense and settlement; and (iii) provide reasonable cooperation at Foundation4's expense.

If the Software becomes, or in Foundation4's opinion is likely to become, the subject of an IP Claim, Foundation4 may at its option: (a) modify the Software to be non-infringing while maintaining materially equivalent functionality; (b) obtain a license for Customer's continued use; or (c) if neither (a) nor (b) is commercially practicable, terminate the affected license and refund any prepaid, unused fees.

Foundation4 has no obligation under this Section 11.1 to the extent an IP Claim arises from: (a) modifications to the Software made by anyone other than Foundation4; (b) use of the Software in combination with products, services, or data not provided or contemplated by Foundation4; (c) Customer's continued use of a version of the Software after Foundation4 has made a non-infringing alternative available; or (d) use of the Software in violation of these Terms.

Foundation4's indemnification obligation does not extend to claims arising from Customer Data, AI-generated outputs, or Customer's use of or connection to third-party language models, embedding models, or other services.

11.2 Customer Indemnification

Customer will defend Foundation4 against any third-party claim arising from: (a) Customer Data; (b) Customer's use of the Platform in violation of these Terms or applicable law; or (c) Customer's connection to or use of third-party models or services through the Platform. Customer will indemnify Foundation4 against damages finally awarded or settlements approved by Customer.

11.3 Exclusive Remedy

This Section 11 states each party's sole liability and exclusive remedy with respect to third-party infringement and related claims.

12. Term and Termination

12.1 Term

Pilot Plan: Thirty (30) days from activation, unless extended by written agreement.
Utility and Enterprise Plans: The initial subscription term is as specified in the Order Form. Unless either party provides written notice of non-renewal at least thirty (30) days before the end of the then-current term (or such other period as specified in the Order Form), the subscription automatically renews for successive periods equal to the initial term at Foundation4's then-current rates.

12.2 Termination for Cause

Either party may terminate these Terms (or the applicable Order Form) if the other party materially breaches these Terms and fails to cure the breach within thirty (30) days of written notice specifying the breach.

Foundation4 may terminate immediately, without a cure period, if Customer violates Section 2.3 (License Restrictions), Section 8 (Acceptable Use), or Section 14 (Export Controls and Government Use).

12.3 Suspension

Foundation4 may suspend Customer's access to cloud-hosted Pilot instances immediately if: (a) Customer violates these Terms; (b) Foundation4 reasonably determines that continued access poses a security risk to Foundation4 or other customers; or (c) suspension is required by applicable law.

Foundation4 does not have the technical ability to suspend on-premises Software deployments. However, violation of these Terms by Customer may result in termination of the license, in which case Customer must cease use of the Software as described in Section 12.4.

12.4 Effect of Termination

Upon termination or expiration of these Terms or an Order Form:

(a) All licenses granted under the affected Terms or Order Form terminate immediately.

(b) Cloud-hosted Pilot instances: Customer Data is retained for thirty (30) days following termination or expiration to allow Customer to export data, after which Foundation4 will permanently delete Customer Data from its infrastructure.

(c) On-premises deployments: Customer shall cease all use of the Software and, within thirty (30) days, destroy or delete all copies of the Software in Customer's possession or control. Customer Data within Customer's deployment remains under Customer's control — Foundation4 does not have access to it and has no obligation to delete it.

(d) Customer shall pay all fees accrued prior to the effective date of termination.

12.5 Survival

The following Sections survive termination or expiration of these Terms: 1 (Definitions), 3 (Customer Data), 4 (Foundation4 Intellectual Property), 5 (Fees and Payment, to the extent of accrued obligations), 9.2 through 9.4 (Disclaimers), 10 (Limitation of Liability), 11 (Indemnification), 13 (Confidentiality), 14 (Export Controls and Government Use), and 15 (General Provisions).

13. Confidentiality

13.1 Obligations

Each party agrees to: (a) use the other party's Confidential Information only for the purposes of performing its obligations or exercising its rights under these Terms; and (b) protect the other party's Confidential Information with at least the same degree of care it uses for its own confidential information, but in no event less than reasonable care.

Neither party shall disclose the other party's Confidential Information to any third party except to its employees, contractors, and advisors who have a need to know and are bound by confidentiality obligations at least as protective as those in this Section.

13.2 Customer Data

Customer Data is Customer's Confidential Information under all circumstances, regardless of whether it is marked as confidential.

13.3 Compelled Disclosure

If a party is compelled by law, regulation, or legal process to disclose the other party's Confidential Information, it shall provide prompt written notice (to the extent legally permitted) and cooperate with the disclosing party's reasonable efforts to obtain protective treatment for the information.

13.4 Duration

Confidentiality obligations under this Section survive for three (3) years following disclosure, except that obligations with respect to trade secrets survive for as long as the information qualifies as a trade secret under applicable law.

14. Export Controls and Government Use

14.1 Export Compliance

The Software may be subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security and economic sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Customer shall not export, re-export, or transfer the Software or any technical data received under these Terms in violation of applicable export control or sanctions laws.

Customer represents and warrants that Customer is not: (a) located in, or a national or resident of, any country or region subject to comprehensive U.S. economic sanctions; (b) identified on any U.S. government restricted party list, including the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, the Entity List, or the Denied Persons List; or (c) owned or controlled by any person or entity described in (a) or (b).

Customer shall promptly notify Foundation4 if Customer becomes aware of any change in circumstances that would make any of the foregoing representations inaccurate.

14.2 U.S. Government Use

The Software and documentation are "commercial items" as defined in FAR 2.101, consisting of "commercial computer software" and "commercial computer software documentation" as those terms are used in FAR 12.212 and DFARS 227.7202. If the Software is acquired by or on behalf of any agency of the U.S. Government, the Government's rights in the Software and documentation are limited to those rights set forth in these Terms, consistent with FAR 12.212 and DFARS 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4.

15. General Provisions

15.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

15.2 Dispute Resolution

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Wilmington, Delaware, and shall be conducted by a single arbitrator. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights or Confidential Information.

15.3 Assignment

Neither party may assign these Terms or any rights hereunder without the prior written consent of the other party, except that either party may assign these Terms without consent in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets, provided the assignee agrees in writing to be bound by these Terms. Any purported assignment in violation of this Section is void.

15.4 Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations (other than payment obligations) due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, government actions, pandemics, labor disputes, or failures of third-party infrastructure or utilities.

15.5 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with any executed Order Forms, the Privacy Policy, and any Data Processing Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. These Terms supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements, proposals, and representations, whether written or oral.

No modification of these Terms shall be effective unless in writing and signed by authorized representatives of both parties, except that Foundation4 may update the Privacy Policy, support documentation, and plan specifications with reasonable notice as described in those documents.

15.6 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

15.7 Waiver

The failure of either party to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

15.8 Notices

All notices under these Terms must be in writing and sent to the addresses specified in the applicable Order Form or, if no Order Form is in effect, to [email protected] for Foundation4 and to the contact information provided by Customer. Notices are effective upon receipt.

15.9 Relationship of the Parties

The parties are independent contractors. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship between the parties.

16. Data Protection

Foundation4's collection and use of information is described in our Privacy Policy.

For cloud-hosted Pilot instances where Customer Data includes personal data, Foundation4 processes such data as a data processor on Customer's behalf. Processing is governed by a Data Processing Agreement ("DPA"), which is available upon request and, where applicable, includes Standard Contractual Clauses for international data transfers.

For on-premises deployments, Foundation4 does not process Customer Data and is not a data processor. Customer is the data controller for all data within Customer's Foundation4 deployment and is solely responsible for compliance with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and any other applicable regulations.

17. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact:

Fourthlock LLC
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://foundation4.ai

These Terms of Service apply to Fourthlock LLC and the foundation4.ai platform.