Terms of Service

Our Site features an AI-powered assistant (“AI Assistant”) custom-built by Merkra using third-party artificial intelligence technology. The AI Assistant is not a human. You must acknowledge this before using the chatbot. By proceeding to use the AI Assistant after the disclosure prompt, you agree to the following:

No Professional Advice

The AI Assistant provides general information about Merkra's services only. It does not constitute professional, legal, financial, medical, technical, or accessibility advice. Responses regarding accessibility compliance (ADA, WCAG, Section 508) are informational only and do not constitute an accessibility audit, legal opinion, or guarantee of compliance. You should independently verify any information and consult qualified professionals before making business decisions.

Accuracy Limitations

AI-generated responses may contain errors, inaccuracies, or outdated information. Merkra does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or timeliness of any AI-generated content. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions taken based on AI-generated responses.

No Binding Commitments

Nothing stated by the AI Assistant constitutes a binding offer, contract, quote, proposal, or commitment by Merkra. The AI Assistant cannot authorize discounts, make promises about deliverables, modify agreements, or bind Merkra in any way. Any pricing, timelines, or scope discussed with the AI Assistant are estimates only and are not binding until confirmed in a signed written agreement between you and Merkra.

Data Processing

Conversations with the AI Assistant are transmitted to our third-party AI service provider (Anthropic) for processing and are stored as described in our Privacy Policy. Do not submit sensitive, confidential, or proprietary information through the AI Assistant.

Availability

The AI Assistant is provided “as is” without any warranty. Merkra does not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or continuous availability and reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the AI Assistant at any time without notice.

Merkra provides interactive demonstration pages (“Demos”) for evaluation and informational purposes only.

• Evaluation only. Demos demonstrate Merkra's capabilities. They do not represent production-ready products and may not reflect the final functionality, performance, or design of any deliverable.
• Fictitious data. All data displayed in Demos is fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, companies, or data is coincidental.
• No license granted. Access to Demos does not grant you any license, right, or interest in the underlying technology, code, design, architecture, or intellectual property.
• Restrictions. You may not copy, reproduce, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any Demo functionality. You may not use Demos as specifications for competing products.
• No real data. Do not enter real personal data, financial data, or confidential information into Demo interfaces. Any data entered may be visible to Merkra personnel and is not stored securely.

Merkra may modify, suspend, or discontinue any Demo at any time without notice.

Merkra offers professional services including custom portal development, workflow automation, accessibility audits and remediation, and related work. These services are not governed by these Terms.

All professional service engagements require a separately executed agreement (such as a Master Services Agreement, Statement of Work, or proposal) that documents the specific scope, pricing, payment schedule, timeline, deliverables, intellectual property ownership, cancellation terms, and other obligations of both parties.

No information on this Site, including content provided by the AI Assistant, pricing ranges on service pages, or details discussed during a discovery call, constitutes a binding offer or agreement for professional services. A binding engagement exists only when both parties have executed a written agreement.

You agree not to use the Site or AI Assistant to:

• Violate any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation
• Transmit material that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, abusive, or hateful
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation
• Interfere with or disrupt the Site or servers connected to the Site
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Site
• Use any robot, spider, scraper, or automated means to access the Site without written permission
• Attempt to manipulate, circumvent, or override the AI Assistant's safety guidelines or operational boundaries
• Systematically extract or collect AI Assistant responses for the purpose of training AI models, building competing products, or creating databases
• Attempt to reverse engineer the AI Assistant's system prompts, instructions, or configuration
• Submit personal data of third parties without their consent
• Copy, reproduce, or reverse engineer any aspect of the Demos
• Conduct security testing, penetration testing, or vulnerability scanning without prior written authorization

Merkra reserves the right to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to the Site at any time and for any reason, without notice.

All content, features, functionality, software, designs, text, graphics, logos, icons, images, and the overall look and feel of the Site are owned by Merkra LLC, its licensors, or other providers and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

Trademarks

“Merkra,” “LEWCA,” and associated logos and taglines are trademarks of Merkra LLC. All other trademarks appearing on the Site are the property of their respective owners. No trademark license is granted by these Terms.

LEWCA

LEWCA is a proprietary accessibility toolkit developed by Merkra. The LEWCA toolbar as deployed on this Site is provided for your personal use while browsing. You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, or create derivative works of LEWCA. Use of LEWCA as a product or service (including as a WordPress plugin) is governed by separate licensing terms available at lewca.com.

Blog Content

Blog posts, articles, and written content on the Site are copyrighted works of Merkra. You may share blog content with attribution and a link back to the original for non-commercial purposes. Reproduction, republication, or creation of derivative works requires prior written permission.

Information You Submit

By submitting information through the contact form, chatbot, or other means, you grant Merkra permission to use the information you provide to respond to your inquiry and to communicate with you about our services. We will handle your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to any content you submit.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Indiana, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions.

Any legal action or proceeding arising under these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the federal or state courts located in Lake County, Indiana, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction and venue therein.

Before initiating any formal proceedings, you agree to contact us at [email protected] and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days. Either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property rights without first completing this informal resolution process.

Merkra may terminate or suspend your access to the Site at any time, for any reason, without prior notice or liability. Upon termination, your right to use the Site ceases immediately.

The following provisions survive termination: Sections 2 (AI Assistant), 3 (Demos), 6 (Intellectual Property), 8 (Disclaimer), 9 (Limitation of Liability), and 10 (Governing Law).

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Merkra regarding your use of the Site. Professional services engagements are governed by separate signed agreements.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

Waiver. The failure of Merkra to enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

Assignment. Merkra may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms without restriction. You may not assign your rights or obligations without Merkra's prior written consent.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performance due to circumstances beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, acts of government, internet outages, or third-party service failures.

Electronic communications. By using the Site, you consent to receiving electronic communications from Merkra related to your inquiries.

Accessibility. Merkra is committed to making the Site accessible to all users. If you have difficulty accessing any portion of the Site or these Terms, please contact us and we will provide the information in an alternative format upon request.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If we make material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to provide notice.

These Terms may be updated to comply with emerging regulations, including state and federal AI governance requirements.