Terms of Service

01Acceptance of terms

By creating an account on Gather the Spark or using any part of the platform, you agree to these Terms of Service and our privacy policy and NDA policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

If you are using Gather the Spark on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that organization to these terms.

02Description of platform

Gather the Spark is an invention platform that provides AI-guided tools, lightweight database scans, NDA-supported messaging, and a directory of reviewed service providers. It is operated as a service to help inventors organize early ideas and connect with people who may help move those ideas forward.

Specific features may evolve over time. We may add, remove, or change features at our discretion.

03User accounts

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your account credentials secure. You must promptly notify us of any unauthorized use of your account.

You must be of legal age to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction to use Gather the Spark.

04User responsibilities

You are responsible for your own use of Gather the Spark, including the content you submit, the agreements you enter into, and the decisions you make based on what you see on the platform.

• You are responsible for your own filings, decisions, and professional agreements.
• You are responsible for assessing whether any service provider, professional, or investor is appropriate for your needs.
• You are responsible for handling your own confidential information with appropriate care.

05Inventor content and ownership

Gather the Spark does not claim ownership of the ideas or materials you create on the platform. However, an invention is not legally protected simply because it was created or saved here. Patent rights, trademarks, and other protections depend on formal filings and whether similar rights already exist.

You retain whatever rights you already have in the content you submit, subject to the limited license described in the next section so we can operate the platform.

06Platform license to operate the service

You grant Gather the Spark a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, and process the content you submit solely as needed to operate, secure, and improve the platform and to provide the features you use.

This license does not transfer ownership of your content to us, and it ends — for new uses — when you remove your content or your account, subject to reasonable backups and legal recordkeeping.

07Service providers

Service providers listed on Gather the Spark — including CAD designers, prototypers, patent attorneys, marketers, manufacturers, and others — are independent from Gather the Spark unless otherwise stated. Reviewing a provider for inclusion on the platform is not an endorsement, certification, or guarantee of their work.

Any engagement, contract, deliverable, or fee between you and a service provider is between the two of you. Gather the Spark is not a party to those agreements.

08Investors and funding disclaimer

Gather the Spark does not raise, place, or guarantee funding. Investors who use the platform make their own funding decisions independently based on their own criteria. Connection through the platform is not an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or commitment of investment.

Nothing on Gather the Spark should be interpreted as investment advice or a guarantee of investor interest.

09Credits, subscriptions, and billing

Some features on Gather the Spark consume credits. Credits are spent when you use AI-powered actions and other paid features, and are included with subscription plans in monthly allotments.

• Unused credits do not roll over from one billing cycle to the next unless we explicitly say so.
• Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. You can change or cancel your plan in your account settings.
• Pricing may be adjusted over time; existing customers will be notified in advance of material changes affecting them.

10No legal, patent, financial, or investment advice

Gather the Spark does not provide legal, patent, financial, tax, accounting, or investment advice. Information made available on the platform — including AI-generated content, database scans, and educational material — is general in nature and is not a substitute for professional advice.

For questions about patentability, ownership, contracts, taxes, securities, or investment, please consult a qualified professional.

11No guarantee of results

Gather the Spark makes no guarantees about outcomes. In particular, we do not guarantee that:

• Any idea, invention, or filing will be patentable or otherwise protected.
• Any invention will receive funding, investor interest, or commercial success.
• Any service provider will deliver a particular result, on a particular schedule, or at a particular price.
• Market testing, market validation, or any specific evaluation outcome will be available or accurate.

Use of Gather the Spark is at your own discretion, and outcomes depend on factors outside the platform.

12Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information is described in the privacy policy. By using the platform you consent to that handling of your information as described there.

13NDAs and confidentiality

Gather the Spark provides NDA-supported messaging to help users have more private conversations when sensitive invention details are involved. NDAs entered into on the platform are agreements between the participating users; Gather the Spark is generally not a party to those agreements.

An NDA is not a patent, trademark, copyright registration, or guarantee of ownership. It is not a replacement for legal advice or formal intellectual property protection. See the NDA policy for more.

14Prohibited uses

You agree not to use Gather the Spark to:

• Submit content that you do not have the right to submit, or that infringes someone else's rights.
• Misrepresent your identity, expertise, or credentials.
• Harass, threaten, or impersonate other users.
• Attempt to disrupt, reverse engineer, or interfere with the platform or its security.
• Scrape, mine, or systematically extract data from the platform without authorization.
• Use the platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these terms.

15Intellectual property

The Gather the Spark name, logos, software, design, copy, and other materials we provide are owned by Gather the Spark or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. Your use of the platform does not transfer any ownership of those materials to you.

You may not use our marks or branded materials without our prior written permission, except where permitted by law.

16Termination

You may stop using Gather the Spark at any time and may close your account from your settings. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these terms, if your use creates risk to the platform or other users, or as otherwise reasonably necessary.

Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including ownership, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and dispute resolution — will continue to apply.

17Disclaimers

The platform is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Gather the Spark disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranties arising out of course of dealing or usage of trade.

We do not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure against every threat, or that any information provided through it will be complete or accurate.

18Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Gather the Spark and its affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, lost goodwill, or business interruption, arising out of or related to your use of the platform.

Our aggregate liability for direct damages relating to the platform will not exceed the amounts you paid to Gather the Spark for the platform in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or one hundred US dollars, whichever is greater.

19Changes to terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date and provide reasonable notice — for example, by posting a notice on the platform or sending an email. Your continued use of Gather the Spark after changes take effect means you accept the updated terms.

20Contact information

Questions about these terms can be sent through our contact page. For account-specific questions, please include the email address associated with your Gather the Spark account.