Terms of Use

1. Definitions

1.1 In these Terms of Use (the "Terms"):

(a) "Crown", "we", "us" and "our" mean Crown Stack Systems Inc., operating as Crown Intelligence, having its registered address at 1230 Oakhill Avenue, Oshawa, Ontario L1K 2R4, Canada ("Crown Stack Systems"), operating the website located at crownintelligence.net and its related applications and interfaces (collectively, the "Site") under the trade name "Crown Intelligence";

(b) "Source Publisher" means the government department, regulator, court, self-regulatory organization, international body or other public authority that originally created, issued or maintains a given Public Record;

(c) "Public Record" means information that a Source Publisher has made available to the public, including sanctions and consolidated screening lists, politically exposed persons ("PEP") disclosures, debarment and exclusion notices, corporate and beneficial ownership registry filings, and related regulatory data;

(d) "Compilation" means Crown's collection, extraction, cleaning, normalization, deduplication, matching, merging, structuring, indexing and refreshing of Public Records into the records, search results, files and application programming interface ("API") responses made available on the Site;

(e) "Free Services" means the free search, free record views and free downloads of Public Record data described in section 4;

(f) "User", "you" and "your" mean any person or entity accessing or using the Site or the Free Services; and

(g) "Content" means all Public Record data, Compilation elements, text, graphics, interfaces and other materials made available on or through the Site.

2. Nature of the service

2.1 Crown operates a compilation and delivery service for Public Records drawn from official, publicly accessible sources. Crown compiles, structures, cleans, matches, merges, refreshes and indexes Public Records so that they can be searched, viewed, downloaded and screened against in one place.

2.2 Crown does not create, originate, adjudicate, certify or verify any designation, listing, debarment, PEP status, corporate filing or beneficial ownership disclosure appearing in the Content. Every such designation is made solely by the relevant Source Publisher, acting under its own legal authority and its own criteria, timing and process.

2.3 The Source Publisher's own published record is, in every case, the authoritative version. Where the Content differs from, lags behind, or omits information found in a Source Publisher's own record — whether because of transcription, matching, timing, technical limitation or error — the Source Publisher's record governs, and you must not rely on the Content in place of it.

2.4 Crown may, in a minority of cases, supplement Public Records with internally researched fields or with data obtained under arrangements that restrict further redistribution. Any such field is labelled as such on the record. Section 3 (Honest limitations) of Crown's Methodology page, and the notices described in the Attribution notice, govern the use of those fields.

2.5 We charge, where we charge at all, for the Compilation and the service around it — collection from more than a thousand official feeds, cleaning, matching, merging, refresh, search, a screening API, bulk files, and support — and not for rights in the underlying Public Records themselves. See the Data licence for the precise licensing position.

3. Eligibility and accounts

3.1 You must be able to form a binding contract under the laws of your jurisdiction to use the Site. If you use the Site on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

3.2 Where an account is required for certain features, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify Crown promptly of any unauthorized use.

4. Free-use scope

4.1 Subject to these Terms, Crown makes available at no charge:

(a) search of the Content through the Site;

(b) viewing of individual Public Record entries through the Site; and

(c) download of discrete Public Record data, in the manner and volume Crown may specify from time to time,

(collectively, the "Free Services").

4.2 The Free Services are provided for individual lookup, due diligence on a specific matter, journalism, academic research, and similar non-systematic uses. The Free Services are not a substitute for, and do not include, the commercial screening, bulk-file, API or redistribution rights described in the Commercial licence summary, which require a separate paid licence.

4.3 Crown may impose rate limits, volume caps, CAPTCHA or similar controls on the Free Services, and may decline or suspend access where use appears automated, systematic, or commercial in nature. See section 6 (Prohibited uses).

4.4 Crown may change the scope of the Free Services at any time, on notice under section 11.

5. Attribution requirements

5.1 Wherever you reproduce, quote, cite, screenshot, or otherwise make available outside the Site any Content obtained through the Free Services, you must:

(a) identify the underlying Source Publisher, by name, as shown on the record;

(b) identify Crown Intelligence as the compiler, using the attribution wording set out in the Data licence; and

(c) not represent, expressly or by implication, that the Source Publisher endorses, sponsors or has reviewed your use.

5.2 Attribution to Crown does not diminish or replace the attribution owed to the Source Publisher; both are required.

6. Prohibited uses

6.1 You must not use the Site, the Free Services or the Content to:

(a) engage in or facilitate unlawful discrimination against any person on a ground protected by applicable human rights legislation;

(b) harass, stalk, intimidate, dox or threaten any individual;

(c) make an adverse decision about an individual or entity (including hiring, credit, insurance, tenancy, contracting, banking, or account termination decisions) using the Content as the sole basis for that decision, without independent verification against the Source Publisher's own current record and, where applicable, without affording the individual any process required by law;

(d) scrape, crawl, harvest, index or systematically extract Content beyond the rate and volume limits Crown publishes or communicates from time to time, or by any means other than the interfaces Crown provides;

(e) circumvent, disable or interfere with any access, rate-limiting, authentication or attribution mechanism on the Site;

(f) resell, sublicense, redistribute or provide commercial access to the Content obtained through the Free Services to a third party, except as permitted under a paid licence described in the Commercial licence summary;

(g) represent Content as your own original work, or as verified, current, or complete when it may not be;

(h) misrepresent your identity or affiliation, or use the Site in violation of any applicable law, including sanctions, export control, privacy, or anti-spam law; or

(i) introduce malware, attempt unauthorized access to Crown's systems, or otherwise interfere with the Site's operation.

6.2 Section 6.1(c) reflects the position, consistent with the honest-limitations statement on Crown's Methodology page, that Public Records compiled by Crown may contain errors, omissions, matching inaccuracies or timing lags, and are not a certification of any person's status.

7. Intellectual property

7.1 As between you and Crown, the Compilation — including Crown's structuring, matching logic, deduplication, enrichment, search indices, and the "look and feel" of the Site — is owned by or licensed to Crown Stack Systems and protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

7.2 Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of, or grants any right in, the underlying Public Records themselves, which remain subject to the rights (if any) of their respective Source Publishers. See the Data licence.

7.3 Crown Intelligence's name, logo and other marks are the property of Crown Stack Systems Inc. and may not be used without prior written consent, except as necessary to comply with the attribution requirements in section 5.

8. No warranty

8.1 THE SITE, THE FREE SERVICES AND THE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR CURRENCY OF DATA, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

8.2 Without limiting the foregoing, Crown does not warrant that: (a) any Content matches, in real time, the current state of the corresponding Source Publisher's record; (b) the Content is free of matching, transcription or aggregation errors; or (c) the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free.

8.3 Nothing in this section 8 excludes or limits any warranty or condition that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under applicable Canadian federal or provincial consumer protection legislation.

9. Limitation of liability

9.1 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL CROWN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE, THE FREE SERVICES OR THE CONTENT, EVEN IF CROWN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

9.2 CROWN'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE FREE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED CANADIAN DOLLARS (CAD $100). This limitation does not apply to liability arising under a paid licence, which is instead governed by the limitation of liability provision in that licence.

9.3 Nothing in this section 9 limits liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or death or personal injury caused by Crown's negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under the laws of Ontario or the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.

10. Indemnity

10.1 You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Crown Stack Systems and its officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any claim, loss, liability, damage or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your breach of these Terms, including section 6 (Prohibited uses); (b) your use of the Content, including any adverse decision made in reliance on it; or (c) your violation of any applicable law or third-party right.

11. Changes to these Terms and the Site

11.1 Crown may amend these Terms, and may modify, suspend or discontinue any part of the Site or the Free Services, at any time. Material changes will be indicated by an updated "Last updated" date and, where practical, additional notice on the Site. Continued use of the Site after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the amended Terms.

12. Termination

12.1 Crown may suspend or terminate your access to the Site or the Free Services, without notice, if it reasonably believes you have breached these Terms, in particular section 6 (Prohibited uses).

12.2 Sections 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14 survive termination of your access.

13. Governing law and disputes

13.1 These Terms are governed by, and are to be interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

13.2 You irrevocably attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Ontario for any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms, subject to Crown's right to seek injunctive relief in any competent jurisdiction. This applies equally to Users located in the United States or elsewhere: consistent with the practice of comparable Canadian providers serving US customers, Crown does not offer a separate US governing-law or arbitration option, and Ontario courts have exclusive jurisdiction regardless of where the User is located.

14. General

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

14.2 No waiver. Crown's failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of its right to do so later.

14.3 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the documents they incorporate by reference (including the Data licence and the Attribution notice), constitute the entire agreement between you and Crown regarding the Free Services and supersede any prior agreements on that subject.

14.4 Contact. Questions about these Terms may be directed to [email protected].