Terms of Service
Please read these Terms carefully. Section 19 contains a binding arbitration agreement and a waiver of class actions that affect how disputes are resolved. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days, as Section 19.8 explains. If you are under 18, your parent or legal guardian must read and agree to these Terms for you (Section 4).
1. Agreement to these Terms
1.1. These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a legal agreement between you and Mark T. Fulwider, an individual doing business as TheoreticalPhysics.ai ("TheoreticalPhysics.ai," "we," "us," or "our"). They govern your access to and use of the website at theoreticalphysics.ai and its related domains, the Study Hall and Desk Top workspaces, the AI Record, the AI Record browser add-on, the installable app, and every related feature, page, content and service we offer (together, the "Service").
1.2. By creating an account, by checking a box or clicking a button that refers to these Terms, or by using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to the documents they incorporate by reference: the Privacy Policy, the Children's and Students' Privacy Notice, the Subscription, Free Trial, Cancellation and Refund Policy, the Acceptable Use and Academic Integrity Policy, the AI Features Notice, the Copyright and DMCA Policy and the Cookies and Local Storage Notice (together, the "Policies"). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
1.3. If you accept these Terms on behalf of a child or teenager in your care, "you" also means that child or teenager, and you accept these Terms both for yourself and for them, as Section 4 explains.
2. Changes to these Terms
2.1. We may change these Terms or any Policy from time to time, for example to reflect new features, changes in law, or changes in how we operate. The "Effective date" at the top shows when a document was last changed.
2.2. If a change is material, we will give you notice before it takes effect, by email to the address on your account, by a notice in the Service, or both, at least 30 days in advance unless the change is required sooner by law or is made to address a security risk or misuse of the Service. A change to Section 19 (Dispute Resolution) will not apply to a dispute of which we had actual notice before the change took effect.
2.3. If you continue to use the Service after a change takes effect, you agree to the changed Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service and may cancel your plan as described in the Subscription Policy. If a change materially reduces what a paid plan includes, you may cancel and receive a pro-rata refund of the unused part of the current paid period.
3. Eligibility and accounts
3.1. Who may use the Service. You may create your own account only if you are at least 13 years old. If you are 13 to 17 years old (or under the age of majority where you live), you may use the Service only with the agreement of your parent or legal guardian, as Section 4 describes. A child under 13 may use the Service only through an account set up by the child's parent or legal guardian after the parent gives verifiable consent, as Section 4.4 describes. You may not use the Service if you are barred from receiving it under the laws of the United States or the place where you live.
3.2. Your age. When you create an account we ask for the month and year you were born. We use the answer only to decide which of the rules in Section 4 applies, and we do not keep it; we keep only the age group (adult, teen, or child account) and the record of the agreement given. You agree to answer truthfully. Giving a false age to get around these rules is a breach of these Terms.
3.3. Account information. You agree to give accurate and current information when you register and to keep it up to date. You may sign up with an email address and password, or through Google or X, in which case you also agree to that company's terms for its sign-in.
3.4. One person per account. An account is for one person. You may not share your password, sell or transfer your account, or let anyone else use it, except that a parent or legal guardian who holds an account for a child may let that child use it under the parent's supervision.
3.5. Security. You are responsible for keeping your password secret and for everything that happens under your account. Tell us at once at support@theoreticalphysics.ai if you believe your account has been used without your permission.
4. Minors, parents and legal guardians
4.1. Age of majority. In these Terms, a "minor" is anyone under 18 years old, or under the age of majority in the place where they live if that age is higher. A "parent" means a parent or legal guardian with legal authority to act for the minor.
4.2. Teens (13 to 17). A teen may create an account only if the teen's parent has read and agreed to these Terms and the Policies for the teen. By creating the account, the teen confirms that the parent has done so, and gives us the parent's email address. We send the parent a notice with these Terms, the Privacy Policy and our contact details. A parent may ask us at any time to review or close the teen's account.
4.3. Payment by minors. A minor may not buy a paid plan except with the consent, and using the payment method, of the minor's parent. The parent is responsible for all charges made under the minor's account.
4.4. Children under 13. We do not knowingly allow a child under 13 to create an account or give us personal information. A child under 13 may use the Service only through a family account that the child's parent creates and holds in the parent's own name. To set up a family account, the parent must (a) be at least 18 years old, (b) read the Children's and Students' Privacy Notice, (c) state that the account is for a child under 13 in the parent's care and give consent, and (d) verify that consent by buying a paid plan with a credit card, debit card or other payment method that notifies the account holder of each transaction. Family accounts for children under 13 do not include a free trial or the free plan, because the first payment is the verification of the parent's consent. We will not let the child use the account until that payment has been completed.
4.5. The parent's responsibilities. A parent who agrees to these Terms for a minor, or who holds a family account a child uses, agrees (a) to these Terms on the parent's own behalf and on behalf of the minor; (b) to supervise the minor's use of the Service, including the minor's use of any third-party AI service (see the AI Features Notice); (c) to be responsible for the minor's compliance with these Terms; and (d) to be responsible for all fees and charges.
4.6. If we learn a child under 13 gave us information. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verified parental consent, we will delete it and close the account, as the Children's and Students' Privacy Notice explains. Please tell us at privacy@theoreticalphysics.ai if you believe this has happened.
5. The Service
5.1. What the Service is. TheoreticalPhysics.ai is an educational website and study workspace for any subject. It offers reading and learning materials, Study Hall and Desk Top (places to organize projects, notes, sources, questions, drafts and equations), the AI Record (a record of the conversations you choose to have with an artificial-intelligence assistant of your choice), Auto LaTeX, sharing of copies you choose to share, and the AI Record add-on for the Chrome and Edge browsers.
5.2. Your work stays on your device. The Service is designed so that your projects, notes, questions, sources, drafts, AI Record and other work ("Your Work") are saved in your browser and in the folder on your own computer that you choose (the "TP.AI folder"), not on our servers. The only exception is a copy you choose to share, which is locked (encrypted) in your browser before it is stored, as Section 7.3 describes.
5.3. Keeping your own copies. Because Your Work is kept on your device, you are responsible for keeping it safe and backed up. If your device is lost, damaged or replaced, if you clear your browser's data, or if you delete or move your TP.AI folder, Your Work may be lost, and we cannot restore it, because we never had it. The Service offers tools to save copies and to download a complete backup; we strongly recommend that you use them regularly.
5.4. Equipment and browsers. Some features need a particular kind of device or browser. For example, saving to a TP.AI folder needs a desktop or laptop computer with a current version of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, and the AI Record add-on runs only in those browsers. You are responsible for the device, software, internet connection and any accounts with other companies that you use with the Service, and for their costs.
5.5. Changes to the Service. We may add, change or remove features from time to time. If we remove a feature that is a material part of a paid plan, Section 2.3 applies. We may also set reasonable limits on use, such as the sharing allowance described in the Subscription Policy.
5.6. Availability. We work to keep the Service available, but it may be interrupted for maintenance, upgrades, or reasons beyond our control. Many features keep working without an internet connection, but some (signing in, paying, sharing, and asking an AI) need one.
6. Plans, fees, free trials, renewal and cancellation
6.1. The Subscription, Free Trial, Cancellation and Refund Policy is part of these Terms. It describes the plans, prices, free trial, automatic renewal, how to cancel, refunds, price changes and taxes.
6.2. Automatic renewal. Paid plans renew automatically at the end of each monthly or yearly period, and the payment method you gave is charged at the price then in effect, until you cancel. We ask for your express agreement to automatic renewal before your first payment. You can cancel online at any time on the Your plan page of your account, and the cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for.
6.3. Payment processors. Payments are made through Stripe or PayPal on their own secure pages. We never see or store your full card number. Your use of a payment processor is also subject to its terms and privacy policy.
7. Your Work and your content
7.1. You own Your Work. As between you and us, you own Your Work and everything you write, upload or create with the Service. These Terms do not give us any right to Your Work except the limited rights in this Section 7.
7.2. What we can see. We cannot see Your Work. It is stored on your device. The AI Record add-on copies your AI conversations only into your own AI Record on your own device, and sends nothing to us.
7.3. Shared copies. When you choose to share a copy of a project or page, your browser locks the copy with a key before it is uploaded, and the key travels only inside the private link you give to others, after the "#" sign, which browsers do not send to servers. We store the locked copy for the time you choose (no longer than 240 days) so that the people you give the link to can open it. You grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to store, copy and deliver the locked copy for that purpose only, and for no other purpose. You may delete a shared copy at any time, and it expires automatically at the end of the period you chose. You are responsible for whom you give a link to; anyone who has the link (and the passcode, if you set one) can open the copy.
7.4. Your promises about your content. You promise that you have the rights you need to the content you share or upload, and that your content and your use of the Service comply with these Terms, the Acceptable Use and Academic Integrity Policy and the law.
7.5. Feedback. If you send us ideas, suggestions or other feedback about the Service, you agree that we may use them without restriction or payment to you. Feedback does not include Your Work.
8. Our content and intellectual property
8.1. The Service, including its software, design, look and feel, text, lessons, illustrations, graphics, games, logos, the names TheoreticalPhysics.ai, Study Hall, Desk Top, AI Record and Auto LaTeX, and all other content we provide (together, "Our Content"), is owned by Mark T. Fulwider or our licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark and other laws. All rights not expressly granted in these Terms are reserved.
8.2. Your license. Subject to these Terms and to payment of any applicable fees, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service and Our Content for your own personal, non-commercial educational use. Teachers and parents may use Our Content to teach the students in their care.
8.3. Restrictions. Except as these Terms or the law expressly permit, you may not copy, sell, rent, license, redistribute, publish, or create derivative works from the Service or Our Content; frame or mirror the Service; reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any part of the Service; remove copyright or other notices; or use Our Content to train or improve any artificial-intelligence model.
8.4. Third-party materials. Some materials are provided by others or are linked from the Service and are subject to their owners' licenses. Links to other websites are provided for convenience; we do not control and are not responsible for them.
9. Third-party services
9.1. The Service works with services that other companies provide, including AI assistants (such as ChatGPT, Grok, Claude and Gemini), sign-in providers (Google and X), payment processors (Stripe and PayPal), browser makers and their extension stores (Google and Microsoft), and the companies that host and run the Service for us. Your use of another company's service is governed by that company's terms and privacy policy, not ours, and we are not responsible for those services, their content, their availability, or their handling of your information.
9.2. You are responsible for complying with the terms of every AI service you use, including its age requirements. Some AI services do not allow users under 18, and some require a parent's permission for users under 18. See the AI Features Notice.
10. AI features
10.1. The AI Features Notice is part of these Terms. In particular, answers given by an artificial-intelligence assistant can be wrong, incomplete or out of date, and you must check them before relying on them. We do not write, review or control those answers.
11. Acceptable use and academic integrity
11.1. You agree to follow the Acceptable Use and Academic Integrity Policy, which is part of these Terms. You are responsible for following the rules of your school, teacher, course, publisher or employer about the use of AI tools and about citing your sources.
12. Copyright complaints
12.1. We respect the rights of copyright owners and respond to notices of claimed infringement as described in the Copyright and DMCA Policy, which is part of these Terms. We will close, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe.
13. Educational purpose; no professional advice
13.1. The Service is provided for general educational purposes. Our Content and any AI answer are not professional, engineering, safety, medical, legal or financial advice. Do not attempt any experiment or activity described in or suggested through the Service without proper supervision, equipment and safety precautions. A minor should do any hands-on activity only with an adult's supervision.
14. Suspension and termination
14.1. By you. You may stop using the Service at any time. You may cancel a paid plan as the Subscription Policy describes, and you may ask us to delete your account by writing to privacy@theoreticalphysics.ai.
14.2. By us. We may suspend or close your account, or limit your access to the Service, if you materially or repeatedly breach these Terms, if you do not pay fees that are due, if we are required to by law, or if your use creates a risk of harm to others, to the Service or to us. Where reasonable, we will give you notice and a chance to correct the problem first. If we close a paid account for a reason other than your breach, we will refund the unused part of the current paid period.
14.3. Effect. When an account is closed, your right to use the paid features ends, shared copies are deleted, and the account information we hold is deleted as the Privacy Policy describes. Because Your Work is on your device, closing your account does not delete it from your device. Sections 7.5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22, and any obligation to pay amounts already due, survive termination.
15. Disclaimer of warranties
15.1. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE, OUR CONTENT AND ALL AI ANSWERS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY AND QUIET ENJOYMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, THAT YOUR WORK WILL NOT BE LOST, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT ANY CONTENT OR AI ANSWER IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR CURRENT.
15.2. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you. In that case, any warranty is limited to the shortest period and the narrowest scope the law allows.
16. Limitation of liability
16.1. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER MARK T. FULWIDER NOR THEORETICALPHYSICS.AI WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA (INCLUDING YOUR WORK), PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, OR ACADEMIC OR PROFESSIONAL STANDING, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN TOLD SUCH DAMAGES ARE POSSIBLE.
16.2. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100).
16.3. These limits do not apply to liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law, such as liability for fraud, for gross negligence or willful misconduct, or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, and they do not limit any rights you have as a consumer that cannot be waived.
17. Indemnification
17.1. To the extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Mark T. Fulwider and TheoreticalPhysics.ai from and against any third-party claim, and the resulting losses, liabilities, damages, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of (a) content you share or upload, (b) your breach of these Terms or the Policies, or (c) your violation of any law or of anyone else's rights. A parent who agrees to these Terms for a minor makes this agreement for the minor's use as well. This Section does not apply to the extent a claim results from our own breach of these Terms or our own negligence or misconduct.
18. Your California rights; release
18.1. If you are a California resident, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 (California Civil Code § 1789.3).
18.2. To the extent permitted by law, if you have a dispute with another user or with a third-party service, you release us from claims arising out of that dispute. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code § 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."
19. Dispute resolution: informal resolution, binding arbitration and class-action waiver
19.1. Talk to us first. Most concerns can be settled quickly. Before starting any formal proceeding, you and we each agree to send the other a written notice describing the dispute and the relief requested ("Notice of Dispute"). Your notice must go to support@theoreticalphysics.ai and to our mailing address in Section 23, and must include your name, the email address on your account, and a description of the dispute. Ours will go to the email address on your account. You and we agree to try in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for 60 days after the notice is received, including, if either of us asks, by an individual telephone or video conference.
19.2. Agreement to arbitrate. If the dispute is not resolved within that time, you and we agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service (a "Dispute") will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration, and not in court, except as Sections 19.4 and 19.7 provide. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Section 19. The arbitrator, and not a court, decides all questions about the scope, enforceability and arbitrability of a Dispute, except that a court decides questions about Sections 19.5 and 19.6.
19.3. Rules and costs. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, which are available at adr.org, as modified by this Section 19. The arbitration will be held in the county where you live or by video conference, or, for a claim of US$10,000 or less, on written submissions alone if you prefer. We will pay all AAA filing, administration and arbitrator fees for any arbitration you start, except that if the arbitrator finds your claim frivolous or brought for an improper purpose, the AAA rules on fees will apply. The arbitrator may award the same individual relief a court could award, including attorneys' fees where the law allows.
19.4. Exceptions. Either of us may (a) bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies and stays there, and (b) ask a court for an injunction to stop the infringement or misuse of intellectual property.
19.5. Class-action waiver. YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may award relief only in favor of the individual party seeking it and only to the extent needed to provide relief on that party's individual claim. If this Section 19.5 is found unenforceable as to a particular claim or remedy, that claim or remedy (and only that one) will be decided in court under Section 20, after all individual arbitrations are finished.
19.6. Public injunctive relief. Nothing in this Section 19 waives your right to seek public injunctive relief where the law gives you that right. Any request for public injunctive relief will be decided in court under Section 20, after the arbitration of any individual claims, and the court proceeding will be stayed until then.
19.7. Mass filings. If 25 or more similar demands for arbitration are filed against us by or with the help of the same law firm or organization within 90 days, the AAA's Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules will apply, and the demands will be administered in batches of no more than 25, with the next batch beginning only after the previous one is resolved. The statute of limitations for each claim is paused while it waits. If either of us believes a court proceeding would be fairer for such a group of claims, either may ask a court to decide that question.
19.8. Your right to opt out. You may opt out of this agreement to arbitrate by sending an email to support@theoreticalphysics.ai with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" within 30 days after you first agree to these Terms. Your email must include your name and the email address on your account. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms. If you opt out, Section 20 applies to all Disputes.
19.9. Minors. If you are a minor, this Section 19 applies to the extent the law allows, and a parent who agrees to these Terms agrees to this Section 19 for any claim the parent brings.
19.10. Time limit. To the extent permitted by law, any claim must be brought within one year after it arises; otherwise it is permanently barred.
20. Governing law and venue
20.1. These Terms and any Dispute are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and, where applicable, by the Federal Arbitration Act and other federal law. Any Dispute that is not subject to arbitration will be brought only in the state or federal courts located in the State of California, and you and we consent to their personal jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, nothing in these Terms takes away a protection given to you by the mandatory law of the place where you live.
21. Export and sanctions
21.1. The Service is operated from the United States. You may not use the Service if you are located in a country, or are a person, subject to United States embargoes or sanctions, and you agree to comply with all applicable export and sanctions laws.
22. General terms
22.1. Entire agreement. These Terms and the Policies are the entire agreement between you and us about the Service and replace any earlier agreement on the subject.
22.2. Electronic communications. You agree that we may give you notices, agreements and other communications electronically, by email or in the Service, and that they satisfy any requirement that they be in writing.
22.3. Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms to a successor in connection with a sale, merger or reorganization of the Service, provided the successor agrees to be bound by them and by our Privacy Policy for information already collected.
22.4. Severability and waiver. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, it will be enforced to the greatest extent permitted and the rest of these Terms will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.
22.5. Events beyond our control. We are not responsible for any delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as failures of the internet, of hosting or payment providers, or of power, or natural disasters, epidemics, war, or acts of government.
22.6. No third-party beneficiaries. These Terms do not give rights to anyone other than you and us.
22.7. Headings and language. Headings are for convenience only. The word "including" means "including without limitation." If these Terms are translated, the English version controls.
23. Contact
Mark T. Fulwider, doing business as TheoreticalPhysics.ai
4100 Cedar St., Rocklin, California 95677
Telephone: (916) 412-9720
Email: mark@theoreticalphysics.ai
Help: support@theoreticalphysics.ai · Privacy: privacy@theoreticalphysics.ai
