Terms of Service

Version 1.0  ·  Effective: 30 March 2026  ·  Last updated: 30 March 2026

1. Definitions

• "Service" — the NeedleSearch platform, including web application, API, and all features.
• "Operator" — the organisation operating this NeedleSearch instance.
• "User" / "You" — any individual with an account on the Service.
• "Organisation" — a company or entity whose members use the Service under a single account.
• "Content" — documents, text, queries, and other materials you upload or submit.
• "AI Output" — any text, analysis, or search results generated by AI models in response to your queries.

2. Description of Service

NeedleSearch is an AI-powered legal document search and research platform. It enables users to:

• Upload and store legal documents (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, and archives)
• Search documents using AI-powered semantic and lexical search
• Ask questions about document content using large language models (LLMs)
• Organise documents into collections and conduct structured research
• Export chat history and personal data

The Service is designed as a productivity and research tool. It is not legal advice, and AI outputs are not a substitute for professional legal counsel. See Section 6 for the full AI disclaimer.

3. Account Registration & Eligibility

3.1 Eligibility

To use the Service, you must be at least 16 years old (or the age of digital consent in your jurisdiction, if higher). By registering, you represent that you meet this requirement.

3.2 Registration

• You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials.
• You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.
• One account per individual. You may not share your account credentials with others.

3.3 Organisation Accounts

If you access the Service through an organisation, that organisation's administrator may control your account, access your activity, and restrict or terminate your access. The organisation is responsible for its users' compliance with these Terms.

4. Acceptable Use

4.1 Permitted Use

You may use the Service for lawful business and research purposes, including legal research, document review, and AI-assisted analysis.

4.2 Prohibited Use

You must not:

• Upload content that infringes third-party intellectual property rights
• Upload content that is illegal, harmful, defamatory, or violates any person's privacy rights
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or extract the underlying AI models or data
• Use the Service to train competing AI models
• Attempt to circumvent security controls, rate limits, or access controls
• Upload malware, viruses, or any malicious code
• Impersonate any person or entity
• Violate any applicable laws or regulations, including data protection laws
• Use the Service in a way that could damage, disable, or impair it
• Process data that the Service is not designed to handle (e.g., live personal data of individuals without a lawful basis)

4.3 Data Protection Obligations

If you upload documents containing personal data of third parties, you are responsible for ensuring you have a lawful basis to process that data and for complying with applicable data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).

5. Your Content

5.1 Ownership

You retain all ownership rights in the Content you upload. By using the Service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to process your Content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you.

5.2 Responsibility

You are solely responsible for the Content you upload, including its accuracy, legality, and compliance with applicable laws. We do not review Content for legal compliance.

5.3 Content Processing

To provide the Service, we process your Content by: extracting text, generating search embeddings, and sending relevant excerpts to LLM APIs for AI answers. We do not use your Content to train AI models for use by other users. See our Privacy Policy for details.

5.4 Deletion

You may delete your Content at any time. Deleted content is removed from active storage immediately and from backups within 30 days. Search index entries are removed promptly.

6. AI Output Disclaimer

• No legal advice: Nothing in the Service constitutes legal advice. Always consult a qualified lawyer for legal matters.
• Accuracy: AI outputs may contain errors, hallucinations, or outdated information. Always verify AI-generated answers against source documents.
• Citations: While the Service attempts to cite relevant source passages, citations may be incomplete or inaccurate. Verify all citations independently.
• No liability: The Operator is not liable for any decisions made based on AI outputs. You assume full responsibility for how you use AI-generated content.
• Professional judgement: AI outputs are tools to assist, not replace, professional legal judgement.

7. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its code, design, trademarks, and AI models (excluding your Content), are owned by or licensed to the Operator. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works of any part of the Service without written permission.

AI Output generated by the Service based on your queries and documents: you may use AI Output for lawful purposes subject to these Terms and the terms of the underlying LLM provider.

8. Privacy & Data

Our collection and use of your personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Service, you agree to the Privacy Policy.

If you are acting as a data controller and using the Service to process personal data of third parties, a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) may be required under GDPR Article 28. Contact us at legal@needlesearch.ai to arrange a DPA.

9. Fees & Billing

Current pricing and billing terms are set by the Operator and communicated to users separately. Unless otherwise stated, fees are non-refundable. The Operator reserves the right to change pricing with reasonable notice.

Token usage is tracked per user and subject to configurable monthly quotas. Exceeding quotas may result in temporary suspension of AI features until the next billing period.

10. Service Availability

We aim to provide a reliable service but do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. The Service may be unavailable due to maintenance, upgrades, or circumstances beyond our control. We will endeavour to provide advance notice of planned maintenance.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service with reasonable notice, except in cases of emergency.

11. Termination

11.1 By You

You may terminate your account at any time via Settings → Delete Account. Upon deletion, your data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

11.2 By Us

We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms, engage in illegal activity, or if required by law. We will provide notice where reasonably practicable, except for serious or emergency violations.

11.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Sections 5.1 (Content Ownership), 6 (AI Disclaimer), 7 (IP), 12 (Liability), and 13 (Warranties) survive termination.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Operator shall not be liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
• Loss of profits, data, or business opportunities
• Decisions made based on AI outputs
• Third-party actions or services (including LLM API providers)
• Service interruptions or data loss beyond our reasonable control

Our total liability for any claim arising under these Terms shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months prior to the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) €100.

Some jurisdictions do not allow limitation of liability for certain types of damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

13. Disclaimers & Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement.

We do not warrant that: (a) the Service will be error-free or uninterrupted; (b) AI outputs will be accurate, complete, or current; (c) defects will be corrected; (d) the Service is free from viruses or harmful components.

14. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction where the Operator is established, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes shall be submitted to the competent courts of the Operator's jurisdiction.

For EU/EEA consumers, mandatory consumer protection laws of your country of residence also apply. Nothing in these Terms limits your right to bring a claim before your local courts or administrative authorities.

15. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes to the Service, legal requirements, or business practices. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting a notice in the application at least 30 days before changes take effect
• Sending an email to your registered address for significant changes
• Updating the "Last updated" date on this page

Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree with changes, you may terminate your account before they take effect.

16. Contact