Terms and Conditions

User Agreement

This User Agreement describes the terms and conditions on which you are allowed to use our Website and our Services. We have incorporated by reference all linked information.

“Account” means the account you open when you register on the Website.

“Buyer” means a User that investigates and purchases Seller Services or items from Sellers or identifies a Seller through the Website.

“Dispute Resolution Process” means the process to be followed by Buyers and Sellers in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Services.

“EPUmatch”, “we”, “our”, or “us” means EPUmatch OG, Graz, Austria.

“Inactive Account” means a User Account that has not been logged into for a continuous 6 month period.

“Intellectual Property Rights” means any and all intellectual property rights, existing worldwide and the subject matter of such rights, including: (a) patents, copyright, rights in circuit layouts (or similar rights), registered designs, registered and unregistered trade marks, and any right to have confidential information kept confidential; and (b) any application or right to apply for registration of any of the rights referred to in paragraph (a), whether or not such rights are registered or capable of being registered and whether existing under any laws, at common law or in equity.

“Milestone Payment” means a prepayment made by the Buyer for the provision of Seller Services under a User Contract and which will be released in accordance with the section “Milestone Payments” below.

“Project” or “Listing” means a job offered or awarded by a Buyer via the Website, which may include a Project listed by a Buyer, a project awarded by a Buyer, and service bought by a Buyer from a Seller.

“Seller” means a User that offers and provides services or identifies as a Seller through the Website.

“Seller Services” means all services provided by Sellers.

“User”, “you” or “your” means an individual who visits or uses the website

“User Contract” means: (1) this User Agreement; (2) any other contractual provisions accepted by both the Seller and Buyer uploaded to the Website, to the extent not inconsistent with the User Agreement and (3) the Project terms (being the description of Project to be performed) as awarded and accepted on the Website, to the extent it is not inconsistent with the User Agreement.

“Website” means the websites operated by EPUmatch and available at: EPUmatch and any related EPUmatch service, tool or application.

Overview

By accessing and/or using the Website, you agree to the following terms with EPUmatch.

We may amend this User Agreement and any linked information from time to time by posting amended terms on the Website.

The Website is an online venue where Buyers buy and Sellers sell Seller Services and items. Buyers and Sellers must register for an Account in order to buy or sell Seller Services and/or items. The Website enables Users to work together online to complete and pay for Projects, buy and sell items and to use the services that we provide.

Scope

Before using the Website, we recommend that you read the whole User Agreement, the Website policies and all linked information.

You must read and accept all of the terms in, and linked to, this User Agreement, the EPUmatch Privacy Policy and all Website policies. We strongly recommend that, as you read this User Agreement, you also access and read the hyperlinked information. By accepting this User Agreement, you agree that this User Agreement will apply whenever you use the Website, or when you use the tools we make available to interact with the Website. Some Websites may have additional or other terms that we provide to you when you use those services.

Eligibility

You will not use the Website if you:

are not able to form legally binding contracts; or
are under the age of 18; or
a person barred from receiving and rendering services under the laws of Austria or other applicable jurisdiction; or
are suspended from using the Website.

We may, at our absolute discretion, refuse to register a person or corporate entity as a User.

To sign up as a User Buyer or Seller you must register for a User Account. You must provide accurate and complete information and keep your Account information updated. You shall not select or use as a username a name: (a) of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; (b) subject to any rights of a person other than you without appropriate authorization; or (c) that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene. You are solely responsible for the activity that occurs on your Account, and for keeping your account password secure. You must never use another person’s user Account or registration information for the Services without permission. You must notify us immediately of any breach of security or unauthorised use of your Account. You should never publish, distribute or post login information for your Account. Users remain solely responsible for all activity undertaken in respect of their Account.

Using EPUmatch

While using the Website, you will not:

post content or items in inappropriate categories or areas on our websites and services;
infringe any laws, third party rights or our policies;
fail to deliver payment for Services delivered to you, unless the Seller has materially changed the Seller Service provided from the bid or a clear typographical error is made;
fail to deliver Seller Services that you agreed to provide, unless the Buyer fails to meet the terms, materially alters the terms of the Seller Services from the listing;
circumvent or manipulate our fee structure, the billing process, or fees owed to EPUmatch;
post false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory or offensive content (including personal information);
take any action that may undermine the feedback or reputation systems (such as displaying, importing or exporting feedback information or using it for purposes unrelated to the Website);
transfer your EPUmatch account (including feedback) and Username to another party without our consent;
distribute or post spam, unsolicited, or bulk electronic communications, chain letters, or pyramid schemes;
distribute viruses or any other technologies that may harm EPUmatch, the Website, or the interests or property of EPUmatch users (including their Intellectual Property Rights, privacy and publicity rights) or is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy, vulgar, obscene, profane or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to, or incite hatred of, any person;
download and aggregate listings from our website for display with listings from other websites without our express written permission, “frame”, “mirror” or otherwise incorporate any part of the Website into any other website without our prior written authorisation;
attempt to modify, translate, adapt, edit, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any software programs used by us in connection with the Website;
copy, modify or distribute rights or content from the Website or EPUmatch’s copyrights and trade marks; or
harvest or otherwise collect information about Users, including email addresses, without their consent.

Relationships

EPUmatch merely makes the Website available to enable Buyers and Sellers to find and transact directly with each other. EPUmatch does not introduce Buyers and Sellers, find Projects, or Buyers for Sellers (and vice-versa). Through the Website, Sellers may be notified of Buyers that may be seeking the services they offer, and Buyers may be notified of Sellers that may offer the services they seek; at all times, however, Users are responsible for evaluating and determining the suitability of any Project, Buyer or Seller on their own. If Users decide to enter into a Project, the contractual relationship is directly between the Users and EPUmatch is not a party to that Project.

EPUmatch is not a party to the dealing, contracting and fulfillment of any Project between a Buyer and a Seller. EPUmatch has no control over and does not guarantee the quality, safety or legality of any services performed or deliverables created, advertised, the truth or accuracy of project listings, the qualifications, background, or abilities of the Users, the ability of Sellers to perform services, the ability of Buyers to pay for services, or that a Buyer or a Seller can or will actually complete a Project. EPUmatch is not responsible for and will not control the manner in which a Seller operates and is not involved in the hiring, firing, discipline or working conditions of the Seller. All rights and obligations for the purchase and sale of services or other deliverables are solely between a Buyer and Seller. EPUmatch will not provide any Seller with any materials or tools to complete any Project. Buyers and Sellers must look solely to the other for enforcement and performance of all the rights and obligations arising from any Project and any other terms, conditions, representations, or warranties associated with such dealings.

Project terms. The engagement, contracting and management of a Project is between a Buyer and a Seller. Upon acceptance of a proposal, the Buyer agrees to purchase, and the Seller agrees to deliver, the services and related deliverables in accordance with the User Contract.

You agree not to enter into any contractual provisions in conflict with this User Agreement. Any provision of Project terms in conflict with this User Agreement is void. The Buyer is responsible for managing, inspecting, accepting and paying for satisfactory services and deliverables in accordance with the User Contract in a timely manner. The Seller is responsible for the performance and quality of the services in accordance with the User Contract in a timely manner.

Independence. The Buyer and Seller each acknowledges and agrees that their relationship is that of independent contractors. The Seller shall perform services as an independent contractor and nothing in this User Agreement shall be deemed to create a partnership, joint venture, agency, or employer-employee relationship between the Buyer and Seller or between EPUmatch and any Buyer or Seller.

Agency. This User Agreement and any registration for or subsequent use of this Website by any User will not be construed as creating or implying any relationship of agency, franchise, partnership or joint venture between you and EPUmatch, except and solely to the extent expressly stated.

Marketplace of jobs and projects. This platform is powered by WhiteLance, a trading name of Crowdskills Ltd.

Any job posted on a marketplace platform powered by Whitelance is automatically posted on all relevant WhiteLance-powered platforms unless the Buyer User opts out within their account. For the avoidance of doubt, no personal data is shared with Users on other platforms.

Users agree that in our legitimate interests, we may send Users relevant job notifications for jobs posted on any WhiteLance-powered platforms. If Users on these other platforms wish to apply for such jobs they must register as a User on the platform of the Buyer User. Then the Buyer User will hire the User under the standard terms of that platform.

Fees And Services

We charge fees for certain services. We may choose to temporarily change the fees for our services for promotional events (for example, discounts on memberships) or new services, and such changes are effective when we post the temporary promotional event or new service on the Websites.

Unless otherwise stated, all fees are quoted in Euros.

Taxes

You are responsible for paying any taxes, including any goods and services or value added taxes, which may be applicable depending on the jurisdiction of the services provided. These taxes will be added to fees billed to you, if applicable.

As we are a company incorporated in Austria, all fees earned by us from Austrian Users will be subject to the regular 20% VAT on all fees, which will be shown separately on all invoices.

You must also comply with your obligations under income tax provisions in your jurisdiction.

You shall indemnify and keep EPUmatch indemnified an amount equal to any and all losses incurred or suffered by EPUmatch directly or indirectly in connection with any tax liabilities which may be applicable to you.

Payment Administration Agent

You acknowledge and agree that we may in our sole discretion, from time to time, appoint our related bodies corporate or a third party as our agent to accept or make payments (including merchant facilities) from or to Users on our behalf. Such a third party will have the same rights, powers and privileges that we have under this User Agreement and will be entitled to exercise or enforce their rights, powers and privileges as our agent or in their own name. In no event shall we be liable to any User for any loss, damage or liability resulting from the Payment Administration Agent’s negligence and/or acts beyond the authority given by EPUmatch.

EPUmatch has appointed MangoPay as an escrow agent, via WhiteLance. Please refer to the MangoPay Terms & Conditions for further details.

MangoPay providers escrow services to Users to deliver, hold and/or receive payment for a Project, and to pay fees to EPUmatch (“Escrow Services”). MangoPay is a public limited liability company incorporated in Luxembourg, with registered offices at 59 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg, listed under Number B173459 on the Luxembourg Trade and Company Register, approved as an electronic money institution by the Financial Sector Regulator (CSSF). You agree to use the Escrow Services for business purpose only. MangoPay will use and release funds deposited in an Escrow Account only in accordance with this Agreement and the applicable escrow instructions. You acknowledge and agree that MangoPay acts merely as an internet escrow agent. MangoPay has fully delivered the Escrow Services to you if MangoPay provides the Escrow Services described in this Agreement and the applicable Escrow Instructions.

Mangopay is only obligated to perform those duties expressly described in this Agreement and any applicable Escrow Instructions. If you authorise or instruct MangoPay to release or make a payment of funds from an escrow Account associated with you, MangoPay may release or pay those funds as instructed in reliance on your authorisation, this Agreement, and the applicable escrow instructions. In addition, MangoPay may release or pay funds from an escrow Account as required by applicable law.

Please refer to the MangoPay Terms & Conditions for further details.

Promotion

We may display your company or business name, logo, images or other media, and public description of your Projects and profile as part of the EPUmatch Services and/or other marketing materials relating to the Website, except where you have explicitly requested that we do not do this and we have accepted such request.

Content

When you give us content, either by uploading to the website or otherwise, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) licence to exercise any and all copyright, trade mark, publicity, and database rights (but no other rights) you have in the content, in any media known now or in the future. Such licence shall include the right to use such intellectual property to operate and promote the Website and our business.

You acknowledge and agree that: (1) we only act as a portal for the online distribution and publication of User content. We make no warranty that User content is actually made available on the Website. We have the right (but not the obligation) to take any action deemed appropriate by us with respect to your User content; (2) we have no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any content, whether or not the content was actually made available on the Website; and (3) any and all content submitted to the Website is subject to our approval. We may reject, approve or modify your User content at our sole discretion.

You represent and warrant that your content:

will not infringe or misappropriate any copyright, patent, trade mark, trade secret, or other intellectual property right or proprietary right or right of publicity or privacy of any person;
will not violate any law or regulation;
will not be defamatory or trade libellous;
will not be obscene or contain child pornography;
will not contain the development, design, manufacture or production of missiles, or nuclear, chemical or biological weapons
will not contain material linked to terrorist activities
will not include incomplete, false or inaccurate information about User or any other individual; and
will not contain any viruses or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information.

Information on the Website may contain general information about legal, financial, health and other matters. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on the Website as an alternative to professional advice. If you have specific questions about any matter you should consult your professional adviser.

We provide unmonitored access to third party content, including User feedback and articles with original content and opinions (or links to such third party content). We only act as a portal and have no liability based on, or related to, third party content on the Website, whether arising under the laws of copyright or other intellectual property, defamation, libel, privacy, obscenity, or any other legal discipline.

The Website may contain links to other third party websites. We do not control the websites to which we link from the Website. We do not endorse the content, products, services, practices, policies or performance of the websites we link to from the Website. Use of third party content, links to third party content and/or websites is at your risk.

Feedback, Reputation And Reviews

You acknowledge that you transfer absolutely copyright of the feedback, reputation and reviews you leave consisting of comments and a multidimensional rating (e.g. quality, communication etc.) together with a composite rating by us. You acknowledge that such feedback, reputation and reviews belong solely to us, notwithstanding that we permit you to use it on our Website while you remain a User. You acknowledge and agree that such feedback, reputation and reviews is based solely on unverified data that Users voluntarily submit to EPUmatch and does not constitute and should not be construed as an introduction, endorsement or recommendation by EPUmatch. You must not use, or deal with, such feedback, reputation and reviews in any way inconsistent with our policies as posted on the Website from time to time without our prior written permission.

You may not do (or omit to do) anything that may undermine the integrity of the EPUmatch feedback system. We are entitled to suspend or terminate your Account at any time if we, in our sole and absolute discretion, are concerned by any feedback about you, or your feedback rating, where we believe our feedback system may be subverted.

Our feedback ratings must not be used for any purpose other than facilitating the provision of Seller Services via the Website. You may not use your Seller or Buyer feedback (including, but not limited to, marketing or exporting your any or all of your composite rating or feedback comments) in any real or virtual venue other than a website operated by EPUmatch or its related entities without our written permission.

Advertising

Unless otherwise agreed with us, you must not advertise an external website, product or service on the Website. Any website address posted on the Website, including in a listing, bid, listing description, clarification board or the message board, must relate to a project, item listed, user or service being performed on the Website. An example of a permissible website address would be a portfolio of work.

We may display sponsor advertisements and promotions on the Website. You acknowledge and agree that we shall not be responsible for any loss or damage of any kind incurred by you as a result of the presence of such advertisements/ promotions in the Website or your subsequent dealings with the Advertisers. Furthermore, you acknowledge and agree that content of sponsor advertisements or promotions is protected by copyrights, trade marks, service marks, patents or other intellectual property or proprietary rights and laws. Unless expressly authorised by EPUmatch or third party right holders, you agree not to modify, sell, distribute, appropriate or create derivative works based on such advertisement/promotions.

Communication With Other Users

You must not post your email address or other contact information on the Website, except in the “email” field of the signup form, at our request or as otherwise permitted by us on the Website.

Unless you have a prior relationship with a User, you must only communicate with Users via the Website for all matters relating to the administration and payment of the Project. You must not, and must not attempt to, communicate with other Users on any matter that does not relate to the Project. In particular, you must not, and must not attempt to, discuss the provision of services or employment outside the Website.

Right To Review

We may read all correspondence posted to the Website and download or access, and test (if necessary), all uploaded files, programs and websites related to your use of the Website for the purpose of investigating fraud and for risk management and related purposes.

User Services

Upon the Buyer awarding a project to the Seller, and the Seller’s acceptance on the Website, or the purchase of an item by a Buyer from the Seller, the Buyer and Seller will be deemed to have entered into a User Contract under which the Buyer agrees to purchase, and the Seller agrees to deliver the Seller Services. You agree not to enter into any contractual provisions in conflict with the User Agreement.

The scope of the work, and terms of the User Contract are detailed within the proposal, and Milestones if relevant, provided by the Seller. The Buyer’s rights are limited to the scope of the work expressly detailed within the proposal, and milestones if relevant – if work has not been detailed therein, this does not fall within the scope of the contract.

Unless expressly stated, all Intellectual Property derived from the work produced by the Seller will transfer to the Buyer on completion of the project.

Sellers will keep all the Buyer’s relevant information confidential.

Neither party will be liable for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, nor any loss of income, business or profits (whether direct or indirect).

The Buyer acknowledges that it is the data controller of all ‘personal data’ (as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and that the Seller is only acting on the Buyer’s behalf. The Seller will take appropriate measures against unlawful access, processing or damage of said data, and will process data only in way directed by the Buyer.

You are solely responsible for ensuring that you comply with your obligations to other Users. If you do not, you may become liable to that User. You must ensure that you are aware of any domestic laws (including common law), international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations relevant to you as a Buyer or Seller, or in any other uses you make of the Website.

If another User breaches any obligation to you, you are solely responsible for enforcing any rights that you may have. For the avoidance of doubt, we have no responsibility for enforcing any rights under a User Contract.

Depending on their jurisdiction, Sellers and Buyers may have rights under statutory warranties that cannot lawfully be excluded. Nothing in this User Agreement is intended to override a right that by applicable law may not be excluded.

Each User acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between Buyers and Sellers is that of an independent contractor. Nothing in this User Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture, agency or employment relationship between Users. Nothing in this User Agreement shall in any way be construed as forming a joint venture, partnership or an employer-employee relationship between EPUmatch and the User.

Funds

Funds in your account are all handled by our payment processor, and dealt with under its Terms and Conditions. You acknowledge that we are not a bank or other licensed financial institution and do not provide banking services or any financial services to you.

If your Account has a negative amount of funds, we may:

set-off the negative amount of funds with funds that you subsequently receive into your Account;
if you have funds in multiple currencies in your Account and one of the currencies becomes negative for any reason, we may set-off the negative amount against funds you maintain in a different currency balance (at an exchange rate applied by us);
reverse payments you have made from your Account to other User Accounts on the Website;
deduct amounts you owe us from money you subsequently add or receive into your Account; or
immediately suspend or limit your Account until such time as your Account no longer has a negative amount.

If we offset a negative amount of funds pursuant to this section, it may be bundled with another debit coming out of your Account.

We reserve the right to collect any funds owed to us by any other legal means.

Escrow Services

MangoPay will use and release funds deposited in an Escrow Account only in accordance with this Agreement and the applicable escrow instructions. You acknowledge and agree that MangoPay acts merely as an internet escrow agent. MangoPay has fully delivered the Escrow Services to you if MangoPay provides the Escrow Services described in this Agreement and the applicable Escrow Instructions. Mangopay is only obligated to perform those duties expressly described in this Agreement and any applicable Escrow Instructions. If you authorise or instruct MangoPay to release or make a payment of funds from an escrow Account associated with you, MangoPay may release or pay those funds as instructed in reliance on your authorisation, this Agreement, and the applicable escrow instructions. In addition, MangoPay may release or pay funds from an escrow Account as required by applicable law.

Please refer to the full MangoPay Terms and Conditions.

Non-Circumvention

You acknowledge and agree that the compensation EPUmatch receives for making the Website available to you is collected through the fee described in our “Fees and Charges” (the “Fee”) section. EPUmatch only receives this Fee when a Buyer and Seller pay and receive payment (respectively) through the Website. You acknowledge that you would not have had the opportunity to meet other Users but for the introduction service that EPUmatch provides. Therefore you agree to use the Website as your exclusive method to request, make, and receive all payments for work directly or indirectly with that party or arising out of your relationship with that party (the “EPUmatch Relationship”). If you, or the business you represent, did not identify and were not identified by another party through the Website, such as if you and another User worked together before meeting on the Website, then the non-circumvention commitment does not apply. If you use the Website as an employee, agent, or representative of another business, then the non-circumvention commitment applies to you and other employees, agents, or representatives of the business when acting in that capacity with respect to the other User.

You agree to notify EPUmatch immediately if a person suggests to you making or receiving payments outside of the Website in breach of this User Agreement. If you are aware of a breach or potential breach of this non-circumvention agreement, please submit a confidential report to EPUmatch by sending an email message to: support@epumatch.com.

Refunds

Refunds are not available for Milestones that Buyers have already signed off, as the signing off process comprises an acceptance that the related work was completed according to the Buyer’s satisfaction.

Buyers may ask for a refund at any time for any funds that have paid into their Account except if the amount to refund relates to fees or charges payable to us. To receive a refund, they must show that the work provided was substantially different to that included within the proposal and/or Milestone description.

Should the Buyer terminate the project before a milestone has been signed off, Sellers may claim payment for this work, and EPUmatch may accept this claim if the entirety of the work for that milestone is completed.

If EPUmatch agrees to the refund, the funds will be received by the User via the same payment method(s) that the User used to make the original payment to us. EPUmatch may, at its sole discretion, use an alternative payment method in exceptional circumstances.

EPUmatch may refund funds to Users irrespective of whether a User has requested funds be refunded if: (1) it is required by law or consider that it is required by law to do so; (2) it determins that refunding funds to the User will avoid any dispute or an increase in EPUmatch’s costs; (3) EPUmatch refund funds to the User in accordance with any refund policy specified by EPUmatch from time to time; (4) EPUmatch finds out that the original payment made by the User is fraudulent; (5) the User made a duplicate payment in error; or (6) EPUmatch considers, at its sole opinion, that it is likely that the refund of funds is necessary to avoid a credit card chargeback.

Buyers can request a refund by emailing EPUmatch at support@epumatch.com. If a refund has been requested, Buyers must not initiate a chargeback request until such time as all reasonable efforts have been exhausted to resolve the refund request.

If a chargeback request has already been initiated, the Buyer must not request a refund of funds by contacting EPUmatch and must not seek double recovery.

If EPUmatch reasonably determines, having considered all the relevant circumstances, that a Buyer has made an excessive or unreasonable number of requests to refund funds or chargebacks, it may suspend, limit or close your Account.

There is no minimum amount for a refund.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals may be delayed where our fraud prevention policies dictate that a delay is required.

We may impose a minimum withdrawal amount for funds earned.

Once a Seller’s cumulative withdrawal reaches £850, they will be required to upload and submit identification documents as part of our payment provider’s regulatory requirements. Until these documents have been provided, the funds will be held in the Seller’s account.

Chargebacks

A chargeback (being a challenge to a payment that a Buyer files directly with their payment issuer) and a reversal instruction is made by the payment product issuer or third parties (such as payment processors) and not by us. We are bound to follow their instructions.

You acknowledge and agree that we will be entitled to recover chargebacks and reversals that may be imposed on us by a payment product issuer or third parties (such as payment processors) on funds paid to you by Buyers through the Website.

You agree that we may reverse any such payments made to you, which are subject to chargeback or reversal instruction via your payment product issuer or third parties (such as payment processors).

Right To Refuse Service

We may close, suspend or limit your access to your Account without reason. Without limiting the foregoing, we may close, suspend or limit your access to your Account:

if we determine that you have breached, or are acting in breach of, this User Agreement;
if you under-bid on any Project in an attempt to renegotiate the actual price privately, avoiding fees;
if we determine that you have breached legal liabilities (actual or potential), including infringing someone else’s Intellectual Property Rights;
if we determine that you have engaged, or are engaging, in fraudulent, or illegal activities;
you do not respond to account verification requests;
you do not complete account verification when requested within 3 months of the date of request;
you are the subject of a United Nations, Australian, EU or USA sanctions regime, or our banking and payment relationships otherwise preclude us from conducting business with you;
to manage any risk of loss to us, a User, or any other person; or
for other similar reasons.

Without limiting our other remedies, to the extent you have breached this User Agreement, you must pay us all fees owed to us and reimburse us for all losses and costs (including any and all of our employee time) and reasonable expenses (including legal fees) related to investigating such breach and collecting such fees.

We may, at our absolute discretion, release the entire (or part of the) amount of the fees owed to us and/or losses incurred by us in relation to such breach from your Account to us.

If we close your Account for a reason other than as a result of your breach of this User Agreement, unless as otherwise specified in this User Agreement, you will be entitled to receive any payment due from us to you.

In the event that we close your Account, you will have no claim whatsoever against us in respect of any such suspension or termination of your Account.

Milestone Payments

Subject to the User Contract, the Buyer can make a Milestone Payment, which will be locked from the Buyer’s Account and cannot be claimed by the Seller until:

the Buyer agrees that the funds can be claimed by the Seller;
if there is a dispute, the Buyer and Seller have concluded the Dispute Resolution Process and the Dispute is resolved in the Seller’s favour;
the Buyer instructs us to pay a Seller for services performed by the Seller in respect of a project; or
the Buyer acknowledges that the Seller has completed the services fully and satisfactory.

If a Buyer does not approve of the Seller’s work product, the parties may elect to resolve the issue under the Dispute Resolution Process.

If we have not received any instructions from a Buyer in respect of a Milestone Payment within six weeks after the day that the Milestone Payment was paid and the Buyer has not logged into their Account during that time, the Milestone Payment will be unlocked and released back to the Buyer.

Dispute Resolution Services

EPUmatch offers the Dispute Resolution Services to Users. You agree and acknowledge that: (i) EPUmatch is not providing legal services; (ii) EPUmatch will not advise you regarding any legal matters; and (iii) if you desire to have legal counsel, you will seek an independent legal counsel from those licensed to practice law in your jurisdiction. You will not rely on EPUmatch for any such counsel.

In the event of a dispute between a Buyer and a Seller regarding a return or release of Milestone Payments, either Buyer or Seller may elect to use the Dispute Resolution Services offered by EPUmatch as set out in the Disputes Policy. The Buyer and Seller will then be notified that the matter will be addressed through the Dispute Resolution Services.

You agree to indemnify and (to the maximum extent permitted by law) hold EPUmatch and any of our affiliates harmless against any damages or liability you may suffer as a result of using the Milestone Payments and/or Dispute Resolution Services.

EPUmatch will respond to disputes initiated by a Seller or a Buyer in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Services as set out in this clause and the Disputes Policy and in relation to disputes that arise in relation to the hosting of the Website by EPUmatch as set out in the clause entitled “Disputes with Us”.

Other Disputes With Users

You acknowledge and agree that in the event that a dispute arises between you and another User in relation to any project that you will first attempt to resolve any differences that you have in relation to such Project, including in relation to the quality of the services provided.

If you continue to have any difficulties or problems in relation to a dispute with another User in relation to a project we encourage you to contact us as set out in the Clause entitled “Contacting us”.

You agree that any dispute that is not related to a Milestone Payment (which must be dealt with in accordance with the Disputes Policy) arising between you and another User will be handled in accordance with this clause. EPUmatch will have full rights and powers to make a determination for all such disputes. Upon receipt of a dispute, EPUmatch shall have the right to request the Seller and the Buyer to provide documentation in support of their claim or position in relation to the dispute. You agree that EPUmatch has absolute discretion to accept or reject any document provided. You also acknowledge that EPUmatch is not a judicial or alternative dispute resolution institution and that we will make the determinations only as an ordinary reasonable person. In addition, we do not warrant that the documents provided by the parties to the dispute will be true, complete or correct and you agree to indemnify and (to the maximum extent permitted by law) hold EPUmatch and any of our affiliates harmless against any damages or liability you may suffer as a result of any documentation or material subsequently being found to be false or misleading.

In relation to disputes with any other users of the Website, you hereby agree to indemnify EPUmatch from any and all claims, demands, and damages, actual and consequential, of every kind and nature, known and unknown, that is related to such a dispute, our determinations or the use of the Dispute Resolution Services for Milestone Payments and/or for Other Disputes.

Disputes With Us

If a dispute arises between you and EPUmatch, our goal is to address your concerns and, if we are unable to do so to your satisfaction, to provide you with a means of resolving the dispute quickly. We strongly encourage you to first contact us directly to seek a resolution by emailing us at support@epumatch.com.

For any claim, EPUmatch may elect to resolve the dispute in a cost effective manner through binding non-appearance-based arbitration. If EPUmatch elects arbitration, such arbitration will be initiated through an established alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider, which is to be selected by you from a panel of ADR providers that EPUmatch will provide to you. The ADR provider and the parties must comply with the following rules: a) the arbitration shall be conducted by telephone, online and/or be solely based on written submissions, the specific manner shall be chosen by the party initiating the arbitration; b) the arbitration shall not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties; and c) any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

All claims you bring against EPUmatch must be resolved in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. All claims filed or brought contrary to this Agreement shall be considered improperly filed and a breach of this Agreement. Should you file a claim contrary to the terms of this Agreement, EPUmatch may recover its legal fees and costs (including in-house lawyers and paralegals), provided that EPUmatch has notified you in writing of the improperly filed claim, and you have failed to promptly withdraw the claim.

If any proceeding by or against you is commenced under any provision of any bankruptcy or insolvency law, EPUmatch will be entitled to recover all reasonable costs or expenses (including reasonable legal fees and expenses) incurred in connection with the enforcement of this Agreement.

EPUmatch’s failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.

Release

If you have a dispute with one or more Users, you release us (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

Access And Interference

You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Website for any purpose without our express written permission.

Additionally, you agree that you will not:

take any action that imposes or may impose (in our sole discretion, exercised reasonably) an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;
interfere with, damage, manipulate, disrupt, disable, modify, overburden, or impair any device, software system or network connected to or used (by you or us) in relation to the Website or your Account, or assist any other person to do any of these things, or take any action that imposes, or may impose, in our discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;
copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, or publicly display any content (except for your information) from the website’s without the prior express written permission of EPUmatch and the appropriate third party, as applicable;
interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the website’s, services or tools, or any activities conducted on or with the website’s, services or tools; or
bypass our robot exclusion headers or other measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Website.

Closing Your Account

You may close your Account at any time by contacting us at support@epumatch.com.

Account closure is subject to:

not having any outstanding listings on the Website; and
resolving any outstanding matters (such as a suspension or restriction on your Account); and
paying any outstanding fees owing on the Account.

Privacy

Your use of the Website and the services provided therein are governed by the terms of these Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy. It is your responsibility to review the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. The Privacy Policy is posted on the Website and may be updated from time to time.

Indemnity

You will protect, indemnify, defend and hold harmless us, our directors, officers, employees, agents, partners, suppliers and licensors from any third party claim or demand, including reasonable lawyers’ fees, relating to or arising from (a) your uploading any content to our site; (b) your use of our site and activities occurring during such use of our site; (c) any violation by you of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any third party rights. This obligation will survive the termination or expiration of these Terms and your use of our site.

Security

You must immediately notify us upon becoming aware of any unauthorised access or any other security breach to the Website, your Account or the EPUmatch Services and do everything possible to mitigate the unauthorised access or security breach (including preserving evidence and notifying appropriate authorities). You are solely responsible for securing your password. We will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from unathourised access of your account resulting from your failure to secure your password.

Viruses

We do not guarantee that the Website will be secure or free from viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform in order to access our site. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse our site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our site, the server on which our site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our site. You must not attack our site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our site will cease immediately.

Termination

We reserve the right to terminate this User Agreement or our services at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Website or any portion thereof at any time without notice, if we believe you have violated any terms of this User Agreement. You may discontinue your use of our site at any time. Neither we nor our licensors or service providers will be liable to you for any termination of your access to our site.

No Insurance Or Warranty

We do not offer any form of insurance, or other Buyer or Seller protection.

No Warranty As To Each User’s Purported Identity

Because User identification on the internet is difficult, we cannot and do not confirm each User’s purported identity. We may provide information about a User, such as a strength or risk score, geographical location, or third party background check or verification of identity or credentials. However, such information is based solely on data that the User submits and we provide such information solely for the convenience of Users and the provision of such information is not an introduction, endorsement or recommendation by us.

No Warranty As To Content On The Website

The Website is a dynamic time-sensitive website. As such, information on the Website will change frequently. It is possible that some information could be considered offensive, harmful, inaccurate or misleading or mislabelled or deceptively labelled accidently by us or accidentally or purposefully by a third party.

Our Services, the Website and all content on it are provided on an ‘as is’, ‘with all faults’ and ‘as available’ basis and without warranties of any kind either express or implied. Without limiting the foregoing, we make no representation or warranty about:

the Website or any Seller Services or Freelancer Services;
the accuracy, reliability, availability, veracity, timeliness or content of the Website or any Seller Services or Freelancer Services;
whether the Website or Seller Services or EPUmatch Services will be up-to-date, uninterrupted, secure, error-free or non-misleading;
whether defects in the Website will be corrected;
whether the Website, the Seller Services or the Freelancer Services or any data, content or material will be backed up or whether business continuity arrangements are in place in respect of the Website, Seller Services or Freelancer Services;
any third party agreements or any guarantee of business gained by you through the Website, Seller Services or Freelancer Services or us; or
the Website, Seller Services or Freelancer Services or infrastructure on which they are based, being error or malicious code free, secure, confidential or performing at any particular standard or having any particular function.

To the extent permitted by law, we specifically disclaim any implied warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, quality, suitability and non-infringement.

Limitation Of Liability

Nothing in these terms of use excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other terms which may apply to our site or any content on it, whether express or implied.

We will not be liable to any user for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:

use of, or inability to use, our site; or
use of or reliance on any content displayed on our site.

Please note that in particular, we will not be liable for:

loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue;
business interruption;
loss of anticipated savings;
loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or
any indirect or consequential loss or damage.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our site or to your downloading of any content on it, or on any website linked to it.

We assume no responsibility for the content of websites linked on our site. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsement by us of those linked websites. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Notices

Legal notices must be served on EPUmatch (in the case of EPUmatch) or to the email address you provide to EPUmatch during the registration process (in your case). Notice will be deemed given 24 hours after email is sent, unless the sending party is notified that the email address is invalid or that the email has not been delivered. Alternatively, we may give you legal notice by mail to the address provided by you during the registration process. In such case, notice will be deemed given three days after the date of mailing.

Any mail notices to EPUmatch must be given by registered ordinary post (or if posted to or from a place outside Austria, by registered airmail).

Law And Forum For Legal Disputes

This Agreement will be governed in all respects by Austrian law. We encourage you to try and resolve disputes using certified mediation (such as online dispute resolution processes). If a dispute cannot be resolved then you and EPUmatch irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Graz, Austria.

Severability

The provisions of this User Agreement are severable, and if any provision of this User Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision may be removed and the remaining provisions will be enforced. This Agreement may be assigned by us to an associated entity at any time, or to a third party without your consent in the event of a sale or other transfer of some or all of our assets. In the event of any sale or transfer you will remain bound by this User Agreement.

Interpretation

Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section.

No Waiver

Our failure to act with respect to an anticipated or actual breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. Nothing in this section shall exclude or restrict your liability arising out of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Communications

You consent to receive notices and information from us in respect of the Website and Services by electronic communication. You may withdraw this consent at any time, but if you do so we may choose to suspend or close your Account.

Additional Terms

It is important to read and understand all our policies as they provide the rules for trading on the Website. In addition there may be specific policies or rules that apply, and it is your responsibility to check our Help pages and policies to make sure you comply. Our policies, including all policies referenced in them, are part of this Agreement and provide additional terms and conditions related to specific services offered on our websites, including but not limited to:

Each of these policies may be changed from time to time. Changes take effect when we post them on the Website. When using particular services on our website, you are subject to any posted policies or rules applicable to services you use through the website, which may be posted from time to time. All such policies or rules are incorporated into this User Agreement.

General

EPUmatch OG is located at Krottendorfer Strasse 4, A – 8052 Graz, Austria

This Agreement contains the entire understanding and agreement between you and EPUmatch. The following Sections survive any termination of this Agreement: Fees And Services (with respect to fees owed for our services), Release, Content, No Warranty As To Content, Limitation Of Liability, Indemnity, Bar To Action, No Class Actions, and Disputes With Us.

Feedback

If you have any questions about this User Agreement or if you wish to report breaches of this User Agreement, please contact us by emailing us at support@epumatch.com.

EPUmatch OG
Krottendorfer Straße 4
A – 8052 Graz

UID: ATU 75177149