Terms of Service
Effective date: October 1, 2026
Article 1 (Purpose)
These Terms govern the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of kernalic (the "Company") and users in connection with the use of the SEPPi service (the "Service").
Article 2 (Definitions)
1. "Service" means SEPPi's service of generating a standard-essential patent (SEP) matching analysis report grounded in 3GPP standard documents, based on a patent number entered by the user. 2. "User" means a member who uses the Service under these Terms. 3. "Report" means the output the Service generates by comparing one patent claim specified by the user against 3GPP standard documents.
Article 3 (Effect and Amendment of Terms)
1. These Terms take effect by being posted on the Service or otherwise notified to users. 2. The Company may amend these Terms within the scope permitted by applicable law, and will announce amendments at least 7 days before they take effect (30 days for changes unfavorable to users).
Article 4 (Provision and Modification of the Service)
1. The Company provides a report analyzing the match between a user-submitted patent number and 3GPP standard documents. 2. The Company may change the content of the Service for operational or technical reasons, and will provide advance notice of such changes. 3. The Company may add features to the Service in stages.
Article 5 (Membership Registration)
1. Users apply for membership via email, following the Company's registration process. 2. The Company registers applicants as members unless they fall under one of the following: - Applying using another person's identity - Providing false information or omitting required information - Cases where registration would materially interfere with operation of the Service
Article 6 (User Obligations)
Users must not engage in the following: - Impersonating another person - Reproducing, distributing, or commercially exploiting information obtained through the Service without the Company's prior consent - Actions that could disrupt the stable operation of the Service (e.g., abnormal automated access) - Any act prohibited by applicable law or these Terms
Article 7 (Nature of Reports and Disclaimer)
1. The SEP matching analysis reports provided by the Service are AI-generated reference materials comparing patent claims against 3GPP standard documents, and do not constitute a legal determination of standard-essentiality or legal advice. 2. For a report on an unfiled specification you upload, what the comparison means depends on that specification's priority date. Where you have marked a specification as a new filing, the report presents a comparison against already-published standard documents as prior-art review material, and is not a determination of standard-essentiality. The Company also does not provide predictions of which technologies future standards will adopt. 3. Before relying on a report for significant decisions such as licensing or litigation, users must have it reviewed by a qualified patent attorney or lawyer. The Company is not liable for decisions made based solely on a report.
Article 8 (Payment and Refunds)
1. Users pay a set price for each report before it is generated; one report covers one independent claim of a patent. Up to 20 reports can be paid for at once. 2. Generation starts once payment is complete. A report being generated can be stopped from its report page: if it is stopped before the claim is compared against specification clauses, the payment for that report is cancelled (or, for a report requested with the free report, the free report is provided again); if it is stopped after the comparison has begun, it is not refunded. The report page shows which applies before the stop is confirmed. 3. If a report cannot be generated, the payment for that report is cancelled automatically. Where several reports were paid for together, only the failed report's amount is partially cancelled, and the card issuer may take several business days to reflect it. A PayPal payment is only authorized (held) at checkout: once every report in the order has been generated, has failed or has been stopped, only the amount of the generated reports and of reports stopped after the comparison began is charged and the rest of the authorization is released. 4. Users who sign up with a company email and confirm it receive one free report, which cannot be refunded in cash. If a report requested with the free report fails to generate, the free report is provided again. 5. As a rule, a purchase paid by card can be refunded only by cancelling the card transaction.
Article 9 (Intellectual Property)
1. Copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Service belong to the Company. 2. Rights in a specification you upload, and in its contents, remain with you. The Company uses that material solely to produce the report you requested, and does not use it to produce another user's report or to build analysis material shared between users. 3. Copyright in the 3GPP standard documents and patent information referenced by the Service belongs to their respective rights holders; the Company excerpts and cites such material solely to display it as supporting evidence.
Article 10 (Restriction and Termination of Use)
1. Users may request termination of their account at any time through the Service or by contacting the Company. 2. The Company may restrict use of the Service or terminate a user's account without prior notice if the user violates Article 6.
Article 11 (Disclaimer)
1. The Company is not liable for failure to provide the Service due to force majeure, including natural disasters or system failures beyond its control. 2. The Company is not liable for damages arising from information obtained through the Service, except where caused by the Company's intent or gross negligence.
Article 12 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea. Any dispute between the Company and a user shall be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction under the Civil Procedure Act.
Addendum
These Terms take effect on October 1, 2026.