Terms & Conditions

1. Nature of the Platform — Developer and Innovation Environment Only

The TWAIN Innovation Cloud is operated by the TWAIN Working Group ("TWAIN WG") as an open, collaborative sandbox environment. Its purpose is to:

• Enable hardware manufacturers, software developers, end-users, and standards organizations to test integrations and validate implementations of TWAIN, VDA 5050, Mopria, and related standards;
• Provide a neutral, vendor-agnostic cloud environment for technology experimentation and proof-of-concept development;
• Facilitate cross-partner collaboration on emerging document, imaging, robotics, and print workflow innovations;
• Support the development, discussion, and validation of next-generation technical standards across the participant ecosystem.

The TWAIN Innovation Cloud is explicitly NOT:

• A commercially supported production service with service level agreements (SLA);
• A platform suitable for production workloads, customer-facing applications, regulated data processing, or business-critical operations;
• An endorsement by TWAIN WG of any participant, partner, sponsor, product, or service;
• A certification authority for any standard, product, or implementation;
• A financial services platform, managed service provider, or outsourced IT service.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By submitting an application to participate in the TWAIN Innovation Cloud, accessing any portion of the platform, using any API, tool, or resource made available through TIC, or clicking "I Agree" on any form or interface associated with TIC, you ("Participant") agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions in their entirety.

If you are accepting these Terms on behalf of an organization, company, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have full authority to bind that entity to these Terms. If you do not have such authority, or if you do not agree with these Terms, you must not submit an application or access the platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you (or your organization) and the TWAIN Working Group. TWAIN WG reserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time. Continued participation in TIC following notice of changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

You may not participate in TIC if you cannot agree to all of the following acknowledgments:

• I understand TIC is a developer and innovation environment, not a production service;
• I will not use TIC for production workloads or business-critical operations;
• I understand that TWAIN WG and all partners disclaim all warranties and liability related to TIC;
• I understand that sponsor offers, if any, are provided by third parties and not guaranteed by TIC or TWAIN WG;
• I will use TIC only for permitted purposes as defined in these Terms.

3. Definitions

• "TWAIN WG" or "TWAIN Working Group" means the TWAIN Working Group, a standards organization, and its designated representatives and administrators.
• "TIC" or "Platform" means the TWAIN Innovation Cloud developer and innovation environment, including all associated APIs, documentation, portals, tools, and resources.
• "Participant" means any individual or organization that has applied for or been granted access to TIC, in any participant category.
• "Partner" means a Participant who is a hardware manufacturer, software developer, standards body, or managed service provider listed in the TIC partner directory.
• "Sponsor" means a Partner who has made financial or in-kind contributions to support the TIC platform and who may offer special programs to TIC Participants.
• "Sponsor Offer" means any discount, trial, pilot program, promotional pricing, or other benefit offered directly by a Sponsor to TIC Participants, independent of TWAIN WG.
• "Innovation Services" means any services, APIs, tools, or functionality made available through TIC on a best-effort, as-is basis.
• "Production Use" means deployment of any TIC-based integration or service in a live, customer-facing, business-critical, or commercially supported environment.

4. Eligibility and Participation

TIC participation is open to organizations and individuals across the following categories: End-User (Organization), End-User (Personal), Hardware Partner (Scanner), Hardware Partner (Robot/AMR), Hardware Partner (Print/MSP), Software Partner (Scanner/MFP), Software Partner (Robot/AMR), Software Partner (Print/MSP), Standards Group, and Other.

TWAIN WG reserves the sole and exclusive right to:

• Approve or deny any application for TIC participation for any reason or no reason, without obligation to provide explanation;
• Limit the number of participants in any category;
• Revoke access at any time for violation of these Terms or for any other reason at TWAIN WG's discretion;
• Change the eligibility criteria, participant categories, or access levels at any time.

Participants represent and warrant that: (a) all information provided in their application is accurate and complete; (b) they will promptly notify TWAIN WG of any changes to their information; (c) they have the legal authority to enter into these Terms; and (d) their participation will comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

5. Developer Environment — Strict Prohibition on Production Use

"Production Use" is defined broadly and includes, without limitation:

• Deploying TIC-based integrations in any environment serving real customers, end-users, students, patients, or other live users;
• Processing regulated data (including but not limited to FERPA, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR, CCPA, or other regulated data) through TIC;
• Using TIC APIs or services in applications where downtime, data loss, or errors would cause business disruption, financial loss, legal liability, or harm to persons;
• Charging customers or end-users for services delivered through or dependent on TIC;
• Using TIC as a component of any commercial SaaS, managed service, or outsourced IT offering;
• Operating robotic, AMR, or automated equipment in safety-critical environments based on TIC connectivity or data.

The following uses are explicitly permitted under these Terms:

• Proof-of-concept development and internal prototyping;
• Technical standards compliance testing and validation;
• Integration development and testing between registered Partner systems;
• Educational and research exploration of imaging, robotics, and print technologies;
• Developer workshops, hackathons, and innovation labs;
• Trade show demonstrations using clearly labeled innovation/demo environments.

6. Disclaimer of Warranties

Without limiting the foregoing, TWAIN WG specifically disclaims:

• Any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement;
• Any warranty regarding the accuracy, reliability, completeness, currentness, or usefulness of any information or data provided through TIC;
• Any warranty of continuous, uninterrupted, error-free, virus-free, or secure access to TIC or any Innovation Service;
• Any warranty regarding the interoperability or compatibility of any hardware, software, or standard implemented using TIC;
• Any warranty that defects will be corrected or that TIC will be updated, maintained, or continue to operate;
• Any warranty regarding the availability, accuracy, timeliness, or quality of any Sponsor Offer or third-party service accessible through TIC;
• Any warranty relating to the safety, reliability, or accuracy of any robotic, AMR, or automated system tested or integrated through TIC.

TWAIN WG makes no representations about the suitability of TIC or any Innovation Service for any purpose. The entire risk of using TIC is borne solely by the Participant.

7. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall the aggregate liability of TWAIN WG to any Participant for all claims arising out of or related to TIC or these Terms exceed the greater of: (a) the total amount paid by the Participant to TWAIN WG in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim; or (b) zero US dollars (US$0.00), whichever is greater.

This limitation applies regardless of the legal theory under which damages are sought, including breach of contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, statutory liability, or any other legal or equitable theory. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

Specific areas of zero liability include but are not limited to:

• Loss or corruption of data stored, transmitted, or processed through TIC;
• Security breaches, unauthorized access, or exposure of confidential information;
• Platform downtime, service interruptions, or API unavailability;
• Failure of any integration, connector, or workflow developed using TIC;
• Injuries, accidents, property damage, or other harm resulting from robotic or AMR systems tested or connected through TIC;
• Business losses resulting from reliance on TIC data, APIs, or services;
• Regulatory fines, penalties, or enforcement actions arising from improper use of TIC.

8. Sponsor Offers and Third-Party Services

Certain Sponsors may make special offers, discounts, trial programs, pilot programs, or other benefits available to TIC Participants ("Sponsor Offers"). These Sponsor Offers are displayed on the TWAIN Innovation Cloud website as a convenience to Participants.

Specifically, regarding Sponsor Offers, Participants acknowledge that:

• Sponsor Offers are entirely at the discretion of the Sponsor and may be withdrawn, modified, or discontinued at any time without notice;
• TWAIN WG has no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, the terms, pricing, quality, availability, or fulfillment of any Sponsor Offer;
• Any disputes arising from a Sponsor Offer must be resolved directly between the Participant and the Sponsor — TWAIN WG is not a mediator, arbitrator, or party to such disputes;
• Accessing a Sponsor Offer may require agreeing to separate terms and conditions imposed by the Sponsor, which are entirely the Participant's responsibility to review and accept;
• TWAIN WG receives no financial benefit from Participants using Sponsor Offers;
• The mere fact that a company is a TIC Sponsor does not constitute an endorsement of that company or its products by TWAIN WG;
• Sponsor Offers described as "special offers" are marketing materials provided by the Sponsor — accuracy, availability, and terms are the Sponsor's sole responsibility.

9. Partner and Sponsor Liability — Express Disclaimer

Partners and Sponsors participating in the TWAIN Innovation Cloud are independent third parties. Neither TWAIN WG nor any Partner or Sponsor is the agent, employee, joint venturer, or legal representative of any other Partner or Sponsor.

Participants expressly acknowledge that:

• Partners and Sponsors are making their technology, APIs, or documentation available for innovation and testing purposes only — not as commercially supported production services;
• Any assistance, support, bug fixes, or integrations provided by Partners or Sponsors through TIC channels are provided on a voluntary, best-effort basis with no warranty or obligation;
• Partners and Sponsors retain no ongoing obligation to maintain TIC integrations, respond to support requests, or continue participation in TIC;
• Certification, production licensing, and commercial use of any Partner technology require separate direct agreements with that Partner, independent of TIC;
• Partners and Sponsors listed in TIC have not reviewed or endorsed the work product, integrations, or use cases of other Participants.

10. Intellectual Property

Each Participant retains all rights, title, and interest in and to their own intellectual property, including any technology, code, data, or innovations they develop or contribute to TIC activities.

TWAIN WG retains all rights to the TWAIN Working Group name, TWAIN standards documentation, TWAIN Innovation Cloud branding, and any jointly developed materials as specifically agreed in writing. The TWAIN and TWAIN CLOUD names and logos are trademarks of the TWAIN Working Group.

No license to any Partner's or Sponsor's intellectual property is granted through TIC participation beyond the limited rights necessary to test and demonstrate integrations within the sandbox environment. Participants must not:

• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from any third-party technology accessed through TIC;
• Redistribute, resell, or sublicense any third-party technology, APIs, or data obtained through TIC;
• Use any Partner's or Sponsor's trade names, logos, or trademarks without explicit written permission from that entity;
• File patents on innovations that incorporate third-party intellectual property accessed through TIC without the relevant party's consent.

Standards specifications published by participating standards groups (VDA 5050, Mopria Alliance, and others) are subject to those groups' own intellectual property policies, which Participants must review and comply with independently.

11. Data, Privacy, and Security

Participants are solely responsible for ensuring that any data they introduce into the TIC environment complies with all applicable laws, including data protection and privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, FERPA, HIPAA, and any other applicable framework.

Regarding data within TIC:

• TIC does not provide data encryption, backup, or recovery guarantees. Data loss is expected and not compensable;
• TIC is a shared, multi-tenant environment. Participants should not store confidential business information, trade secrets, or proprietary data in TIC;
• TWAIN WG may access, review, and delete any data stored in TIC at any time for operational, security, or compliance purposes;
• Data stored in TIC may be accessible to other Participants depending on the nature of the integration and sharing settings;
• Participants consent to TWAIN WG collecting and using application information and participation data for platform administration and, in aggregate and anonymized form, for reporting and research purposes.

TWAIN WG implements commercially reasonable security measures for TIC. However, no security system is infallible. TWAIN WG does not warrant that TIC is free from security vulnerabilities or that unauthorized access will never occur. Participants use TIC at their own security risk.

12. Prohibited Uses

The following uses of TIC are strictly prohibited. Violation of any prohibition is grounds for immediate termination of access and may give rise to legal action:

• Production use, customer-facing deployments, or any use outside the developer and innovation sandbox context;
• Introduction of regulated, classified, or sensitive data;
• Unauthorized access attempts, penetration testing, or security probing of TIC or other Participants' systems without explicit written consent;
• Distribution of malware, ransomware, viruses, or any malicious code through TIC;
• Commercial resale or sublicensing of any TIC service or resource;
• Using TIC to develop products or services that infringe on any third party's intellectual property rights;
• Misrepresentation of TIC participation as a commercial partnership, endorsement, or certification by TWAIN WG;
• Using TIC in connection with any illegal activity or in violation of any applicable law or regulation;
• Operating safety-critical systems (including robotic equipment in facilities with people) based on TIC connectivity without independent safety controls;
• Using TIC to circumvent, undermine, or harm the business interests of any Partner or Sponsor.

13. Service Availability and Modifications

TIC is provided on a best-effort basis with no guaranteed uptime, availability, or performance metrics. TWAIN WG reserves the right to:

• Suspend, modify, or discontinue any or all TIC services at any time, with or without notice;
• Change the features, APIs, or access levels of TIC at any time;
• Impose usage limits, rate limits, or other restrictions on access;
• Migrate TIC to different infrastructure, change providers, or restructure the platform architecture;
• Permanently shut down TIC at any time without liability to any Participant.

Participants should maintain independent copies of any work product developed using TIC. TWAIN WG is not responsible for any loss resulting from service changes, interruptions, or permanent discontinuation of TIC.

14. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless TWAIN WG, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and all Partners and Sponsors from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use or misuse of TIC or any Innovation Service;
• Your violation of these Terms or any applicable law or regulation;
• Your violation of any third party's rights, including intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or contractual rights;
• Any data you introduce into TIC, including any claim by a data subject regarding their personal data;
• Any product, service, or application you develop or deploy using TIC resources;
• Any claim by your customers, end-users, or third parties arising from your TIC-related activities.

15. Term and Termination

These Terms are effective upon submission of your application and continue until terminated. TIC participation may be terminated:

• By you at any time by ceasing to use TIC and notifying TWAIN WG of your withdrawal;
• By TWAIN WG immediately upon written notice for violation of any provision of these Terms;
• By TWAIN WG at any time, for any reason, with or without cause, upon notice;
• Automatically upon discontinuation of the TIC platform by TWAIN WG.

Upon termination: access to TIC will be revoked; any data in TIC will be subject to deletion in accordance with TIC data retention policies; and Sections 6 (Disclaimer of Warranties), 7 (Limitation of Liability), 10 (Intellectual Property), 14 (Indemnification), and 16 (Dispute Resolution) shall survive termination.

16. Dispute Resolution

These Terms and all disputes arising out of or related to TIC shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or TIC that cannot be resolved informally shall be submitted to binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Santa Clara County, California. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights.

Each party waives its right to bring class action claims. All disputes must be brought in the party's individual capacity, not as a class member in any purported class or collective action.

17. General Provisions

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with any applicable supplemental terms agreed in writing, constitute the entire agreement between the Participant and TWAIN WG regarding TIC and supersede all prior discussions, representations, or agreements.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid under applicable law, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

Waiver

TWAIN WG's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

No Third-Party Beneficiaries

These Terms do not create any third-party beneficiary rights. No Partner, Sponsor, or other third party has the right to enforce these Terms on behalf of TWAIN WG.

Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your TIC participation or any rights under these Terms without TWAIN WG's prior written consent. TWAIN WG may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms freely.

Force Majeure

TWAIN WG shall not be liable for any delay or failure in performance resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, government action, natural disasters, internet outages, or third-party service failures.

Updates to Terms

TWAIN WG reserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time. Notice of material changes will be provided via the TIC website or by email to registered Participants. Continued participation in TIC following the effective date of any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

18. Contact Information

For questions regarding these Terms and Conditions, please contact:

• TWAIN Working Group
• TWAIN Innovation Cloud Administration
• Website: TWAINInnovationCloud.org
• TWAIN Robotics: twainrobotics.org