Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using ResearchMate ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you disagree with any part of the terms, you may not access the Service.

2. Description of Service

ResearchMate is an AI-powered research assistant that allows users to upload research PDF documents and receive AI-generated summaries, section extractions, inline citations, literature reviews, related paper suggestions, annotations, cross-paper collections, quizzes, and strategic analysis. The Service uses large language models to process and analyse document content.

3. User Accounts

When you create an account with us, you must provide accurate, complete, and current information. You are responsible for:

• Safeguarding your password and all activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account
• Ensuring your account information remains accurate and up to date

4. Acceptable Use

You agree NOT to use the Service to:

• Upload copyrighted materials you do not have permission to process
• Attempt to bypass, disable, or circumvent any security features or usage limits
• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any regulations
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Service
• Upload malicious files or content designed to harm users or the platform
• Resell or sublicense access to the Service without written permission
• Use automated means to access the Service in a way that burdens our infrastructure

5. AI-Generated Content Disclaimer

ResearchMate uses artificial intelligence to generate content based on your uploaded documents. All AI-generated content — including summaries, extractions, reviews, citations, quiz questions, and analysis — is provided for informational purposes only and may contain errors, inaccuracies, or omissions.

While our inline citation feature helps you verify AI responses against the source material, we strongly recommend reviewing all AI-generated content before using it in academic work, publications, or professional contexts. ResearchMate is not liable for decisions made based on AI-generated content.

6. Intellectual Property

The ResearchMate platform, including its design, code, and original content, is owned by ResearchMate and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Your uploaded documents remain your sole property. You grant us a limited, temporary licence to process your documents solely to provide the Service, which terminates when your session ends.

7. Privacy and Data

Your uploaded papers are processed in memory and are not stored permanently on our servers. Please review our Privacy Policy for full details on how we handle your data. We take your privacy seriously and never use your research documents to train AI models.

8. Subscription and Payments

Paid plans are billed monthly through Paystack. By subscribing, you authorise us to charge your payment method on a recurring monthly basis. You may cancel at any time from your Account page; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Refunds are not provided for partial months of service. We reserve the right to modify pricing with 30 days' notice.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, ResearchMate shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

10. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will provide notice of significant changes via email or through the Service. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

11. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Lagos State, Nigeria.

12. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at support@researchmateai.net. We aim to respond within 48 hours.