Terms of Service

Last updated: July 20, 2026

1. Acceptance of These Terms

Welcome to PriorForge. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website at priorforge.com and the products and services offered through it (collectively, the "Services"). PriorForge is operated as a sole proprietorship ("PriorForge," "we," "us," or "our").

By accessing the website, creating an account, downloading a brief, or purchasing any product or subscription, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Services. If you are using the Services on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity, and "you" refers to that entity.

Sophisticated party acknowledgment. The Services are marketed and offered for business, professional, and commercial use, including to law firms, patent agents, and other IP professionals. By purchasing or using the Services, you represent that you are acting in a business or professional capacity, that you have had a reasonable opportunity to review these Terms (including with your own counsel) before agreeing to them, and that you are not relying on any statutory or common-law protection available specifically to individual consumers acting for personal, family, or household purposes. If you are in fact purchasing for personal use, notify us before purchase so the applicable terms can be adjusted.

2. Description of the Services

PriorForge is a patent intelligence platform. We mine publicly available USPTO bulk data to identify patents that have expired early due to non-payment of maintenance fees ("fee-lapse expirations"), score those patents for commercial viability, and produce analytical work products, including:

The Services are informational research products only. PriorForge does not provide legal advice, and nothing in any brief, feed, or communication from us constitutes legal advice or an opinion of patent counsel. Patent status, freedom-to-operate, and design decisions should always be verified with a qualified, licensed patent attorney before you rely on them. Patent records can contain errors, expirations can in some cases be revived, and related patents may still be in force.

3. Patent Status Risk; No Guarantee of Freedom to Operate

"Expired" is a data classification, not a legal conclusion. Our briefs identify patents that USPTO bulk data shows as expired for non-payment of a maintenance fee as of the data's publication date. This classification can be incomplete or become inaccurate for reasons outside our control, including but not limited to:

We make no representation, warranty, or guarantee that any patent identified in a brief or feed is, or will remain, unenforceable, or that practicing the underlying technology will not infringe that patent, a related patent, or any other third party's intellectual property rights. You are solely responsible for obtaining independent verification — including a formal freedom-to-operate opinion from a licensed patent attorney — before making any commercial, product, investment, or legal decision based on our content.

4. No Professional Relationship; Not Legal, Business, or Investment Advice

PriorForge is a data and research provider, not a law firm, registered patent agent, investment adviser, or business consultant. Using the Services does not create an attorney-client relationship, a fiduciary relationship, or any other professional relationship between you and PriorForge. Nothing we provide is legal advice, an opinion of counsel, investment advice, or a recommendation to pursue any specific business, product, or commercial strategy. Our commercial-viability scoring reflects our own methodology applied to public data; it is not a guarantee of market success, regulatory clearance, or legal safety.

Our analysis addresses patent status only. It does not address, and you should not rely on it for, trademark rights, trade secret rights, copyright, regulatory approval requirements (e.g., FDA, FCC), export control, or any other legal or regulatory barrier that may affect your ability to commercialize a product or technology.

5. Assumption of Risk

You acknowledge that identifying and acting on expired-patent opportunities carries inherent legal and commercial risk, that this risk is not eliminated by purchasing our Services, and that you assume that risk when you choose to rely on our content for any purpose. You agree that PriorForge's role is limited to providing informational research, and that all decisions to develop, manufacture, market, or sell any product or technology referenced in our content are made solely by you, at your own risk.

6. Independent Professional Judgment; No Third-Party Beneficiaries

If you are a law firm, patent agent, or other professional using the Services in connection with advice or work product you provide to your own clients, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) you retain full, non-delegable professional responsibility for independently verifying any information from PriorForge before incorporating it into advice, filings, or work product for your clients; (b) PriorForge's content is one research input among others you are expected to apply your own professional judgment to, not a substitute for that judgment; (c) any professional duty, standard of care, or malpractice exposure you owe to your clients is yours alone and is not assumed, shared, or guaranteed by PriorForge in any respect; and (d) you will not represent to your clients, opposing counsel, courts, or any third party that PriorForge content is itself a legal opinion, an attorney work product, or independently verified beyond what these Terms state.

No third-party beneficiaries. These Terms, and the Services provided under them, are solely for the benefit of you and PriorForge. No client, customer, employer, or other third party to whom you provide advice, analysis, or work product based on the Services has any right to enforce these Terms or to bring any claim against PriorForge, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, arising from your use of the Services. You agree to make this limitation clear in your own engagement terms with such third parties as needed to give it effect.

7. Accounts and User Responsibilities

Some features may require you to provide an email address or other information. You agree to provide accurate information and to keep it current. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any credentials, download links, or access tokens issued to you, and for all activity that occurs under them.

You agree not to:

8. Payments, Billing, and Taxes

All payments are processed by Stripe, Inc., a third-party payment processor. We do not collect or store your full payment card details on our servers; that information is transmitted directly to Stripe and handled under Stripe's terms and privacy policy.

Prices for briefs and subscriptions are stated at checkout in U.S. dollars. For subscriptions, you authorize recurring monthly charges to your payment method until you cancel. You may cancel a subscription at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you will not be charged for subsequent months. See our Refund Policy for details on refunds and cancellations.

You are responsible for any applicable sales, use, or similar taxes not collected at checkout, to the extent required by the laws that apply to you.

9. Intellectual Property

What we own. The briefs, subscription feed content, commercial viability scoring methodology, augmentation vector analyses, technology maps, website content, branding, and all other original work product produced by PriorForge are our intellectual property, protected by copyright and other laws. When you purchase a brief or subscription, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use that content for your own internal business, research, and product development purposes. This license does not permit resale or public redistribution of the content itself.

What we don't own. The underlying expired patents that our briefs analyze are public records, and technology whose patent protection has lapsed is in the public domain. Nothing in these Terms restricts your right to use, practice, or build upon expired patent technology itself — our license terms apply only to our analytical work product, not to the public-domain subject matter it describes, and is expressly subject to Section 3's limits on what that classification means.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Without limiting the foregoing, we do not warrant that: (a) any patent identified as expired is in fact unenforceable, or will remain so; (b) practicing any expired patent will not infringe other patents, including continuations, related family members, revived patents, or third-party patents; (c) our scoring or analysis will be accurate, complete, or suitable for any particular commercial decision; (d) any product or technology you develop based on our content will be free of other legal or regulatory barriers to commercialization; or (e) the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free. USPTO data itself may contain errors or delays that are outside our control. You are solely responsible for independently verifying patent status and freedom to operate with qualified patent counsel before making commercial decisions.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AND REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ASSERTED — WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, WARRANTY, STATUTE, OR OTHERWISE — PRIORFORGE AND ITS OWNER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY THIRD-PARTY PATENT INFRINGEMENT CLAIM, PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM, OR OTHER DEMAND OR LAWSUIT BROUGHT AGAINST YOU OR YOUR CLIENTS ARISING FROM YOUR DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURE, MARKETING, SALE, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE INVOLVING ANY PRODUCT OR TECHNOLOGY REFERENCED IN OUR CONTENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID TO PRIORFORGE FOR THE SERVICES GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for PriorForge's own gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud, or for any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded as a matter of law — these exclusions are deliberate, not an oversight: broader disclaimers that purport to cover intentional wrongdoing are routinely struck down as unconscionable, which risks invalidating the entire limitation rather than just the overreaching part. Some jurisdictions also do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you; in such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PriorForge and its owner from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your misuse of the Services; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any law or third-party right in connection with your use of the Services; (d) any product, technology, or business decision you develop, manufacture, market, or sell in reliance on our content, including any third-party claim that such product or technology infringes a patent, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property right; or (e) any claim brought by your own client, customer, or employer arising from advice, analysis, or work product you provided them based in whole or in part on the Services, consistent with Section 6.

13. Force Majeure

We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disaster, war, terrorism, riot, labor conditions, governmental action, changes to USPTO data availability or format, and internet, hosting, or third-party service outages (including Stripe).

14. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time if you breach these Terms, misuse the Services, or engage in conduct that we reasonably believe is harmful to PriorForge or others. You may stop using the Services and cancel any subscription at any time. Upon termination, your license to use purchased content for internal purposes survives, but all other rights granted to you under these Terms end. Sections 3 through 6 and 9 through 18 survive termination.

15. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

16. Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL.

16.1 Agreement to Arbitrate. You and PriorForge agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Services, or any purchase (a "Claim") will be resolved by binding individual arbitration, rather than in court, except as set out in Section 16.6. This agreement to arbitrate is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.

16.2 Arbitration Procedure. Arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Commercial Arbitration Rules (or, if you are found to have purchased primarily for personal use rather than for a business, its Consumer Arbitration Rules, in which case any AAA fee schedule inconsistent with those rules is superseded by them), before a single arbitrator, and seated in Fulton County, Georgia. The arbitrator, not any court, has exclusive authority to resolve any dispute about the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this arbitration agreement, including any claim that all or part of it is void or voidable.

16.3 Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver. YOU AND PRIORFORGE EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND AGREE THAT CLAIMS WILL BE BROUGHT ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, 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 not preside over any form of a class, collective, or representative proceeding. To the fullest extent permitted by law, this includes a waiver of the right to bring a representative action under any state private attorney general statute; where such a waiver is unenforceable for a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) will be severed and may proceed in court while all other Claims remain in individual arbitration.

16.4 Mass Filing Protocol. If 25 or more similar Claims represented by the same or coordinated counsel are filed within a 60-day period ("Mass Filing"), the parties agree: (a) claims will be resolved in batches of no more than 50 at a time, selected by agreement or, absent agreement, by the administrator; (b) only filing and administrative fees for the initial batch are due before those claims proceed, with fees for subsequent batches due only as each batch is reached; (c) the arbitrator(s) appointed for a batch's bellwether claims may apply their rulings on common issues of law or fact to the remaining claims in that batch; and (d) the parties will cooperate with the administrator on any mass-filing supplementary procedures then in effect. This section is intended to make Mass Filings administrable in an orderly, cost-proportionate way for both sides, not to deny any individual claimant a forum.

16.5 Opt Out. You may opt out of this Section 16 by emailing [email protected] with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out," including your name and the email address used for your account, within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. If you opt out, this Section 16 will not apply to you, but every other part of these Terms remains in effect, and Section 17 governs instead.

16.6 Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court for a Claim within that court's jurisdictional limits, in lieu of arbitration. Notwithstanding Section 16.1, PriorForge may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent actual or threatened infringement of its intellectual property, unauthorized use of the Services, or breach of confidentiality, without first arbitrating and without posting bond.

16.7 Limitations Period. To the extent permitted by applicable law, any Claim must be commenced within one (1) year after it accrues, or it is permanently barred, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary.

16.8 Severability. If Section 16.3's class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular Claim for reasons other than the private-attorney-general carve-out above, this entire Section 16 (but not the rest of these Terms) is void as to that Claim only, and that Claim proceeds under Section 17.

16.9 Pre-Arbitration Notice. Before filing a Claim in arbitration or small claims court, the claiming party must send the other party a written notice describing the Claim and the specific relief sought, in enough detail for the other party to evaluate it, and the parties must attempt in good faith to resolve the Claim informally for at least thirty (30) days after notice is sent. Send notice to PriorForge at [email protected]; PriorForge will send notice to the email address on your account. Compliance with this notice requirement is a condition precedent to filing, and either party may seek dismissal or a stay of an arbitration or small claims filing that skipped it.

16.10 Confidentiality. The parties will keep the existence, content, and outcome of any arbitration under this Section 16 confidential, except: to their attorneys, accountants, and insurers on a need-to-know basis; where disclosure is required by law, regulation, or court order; as necessary to enforce or appeal an award; or as needed for a party's own professional or regulatory obligations. This confidentiality obligation survives resolution of the Claim.

16.11 Protective Order for Proprietary Information. Any discovery or disclosure in an arbitration under this Section 16 involving PriorForge's scoring methodology, augmentation vector analyses, source code, underlying models, or other trade secrets or proprietary processes (collectively, "Proprietary Materials") is subject to an attorneys'-eyes-only protective order before production, limiting access to the requesting party's outside counsel and independently retained experts (who may not be current or former PriorForge competitors), and prohibiting use of Proprietary Materials for any purpose other than the arbitration. The arbitrator has authority to limit discovery of Proprietary Materials to what is proportional and necessary to resolve the specific Claim, and to deny discovery requests that amount to a general audit of PriorForge's methodology rather than evidence relevant to the Claim.

16.12 Finality. The arbitrator's award is final and binding, and judgment on it may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Judicial review of the award is limited to the grounds available under the Federal Arbitration Act; the parties do not agree to expanded judicial review of the arbitrator's decision.

16.13 Fee-Shifting for Bad-Faith Claims. Each party ordinarily bears its own attorneys' fees and costs, consistent with AAA rules and applicable law. If the arbitrator finds that a Claim, defense, or position was brought or maintained in bad faith or without substantial justification, the arbitrator may award the prevailing party its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in responding to that Claim, defense, or position, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Drafted using standard, widely-used commercial arbitration patterns (individual arbitration, class/jury waiver, mass-filing batching, opt-out, confidentiality, a proprietary-information protective order, and carve-outs favoring PriorForge for IP, small claims, and bad-faith claims). It still needs a licensed attorney's sign-off before going live: confirm Commercial vs. Consumer AAA rules classification matches your actual customer base, confirm the PAGA/representative-claims carve-out and 1-year limitations period against Georgia and your customers' home-state law, confirm the fee-shifting and protective-order provisions align with the AAA rules edition you actually select, and confirm the opt-out mechanism is actually honored in practice — an unhonored opt-out clause is worse than none.

17. Disputes and Venue for Opt-Outs

This section applies only if you validly opt out of Section 16 under Section 16.5. In that case, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Georgia, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. Before filing any claim, you agree to first contact us at [email protected] and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, for material changes, make reasonable efforts to provide notice (for example, by email to subscribers or a notice on the website). Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

19. General

Entire agreement; no reliance. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and PriorForge regarding the Services and supersede all prior or contemporaneous proposals, representations, or agreements, whether oral or written. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise, or representation not expressly set out in these Terms — including anything in marketing materials, sample briefs, or informal communications — in deciding to purchase or use the Services.

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving its original intent. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a sale or transfer of the business.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email us at [email protected]. A mailing address is available on request.