Terms of Service

Welcome to Open Spice Box. These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legal agreement between you ("you" or "User") and Open Spice Box ("we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using our website at openspicebox.com (the "Site") and any related services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Site.

1. Health, Medical, and Nutritional Disclaimer

Food safety and allergy disclaimer: Recipes on this Site may contain or come into contact with common allergens including but not limited to nuts, shellfish, dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, and sesame. We are not responsible for any adverse reactions to recipes or ingredients featured on the Site. You assume full responsibility for any risks associated with preparing and consuming food based on our content.

2. Use of the Site

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Site for personal, non-commercial purposes, subject to these Terms.

You must be at least 16 years of age to create an account or use interactive features of the Site. By creating an account, you represent that you meet this age requirement.

3. User Accounts

When you create an account, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep your account information updated. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at our sole discretion, with or without notice, for any reason, including violation of these Terms. Upon termination, your right to access the Site will cease immediately. We have no obligation to maintain or return any content associated with a terminated account.

4. Intellectual Property

All content on the Site — including but not limited to recipe narratives, headnotes, articles, photographs, illustrations, graphics, logos, site design, compilation, and software — is owned by or licensed to Open Spice Box and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

What you may do:

• Share a link to any page on the Site
• Use a single image with proper credit and a link back to the original page on openspicebox.com
• Reference or quote brief excerpts for commentary, criticism, or review (fair use)

What you may not do without written permission:

• Reproduce, republish, or redistribute full recipes (ingredients and directions together) or articles
• Use photographs combined with recipe ingredients and directions
• Use our content for commercial purposes
• Use our content, images, or data to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models
• Frame, mirror, or scrape any part of the Site

5. User-Generated Content

By submitting content to the Site — including comments, ratings, reviews, and public collections ("User Content") — you grant us a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to use, copy, modify, display, distribute, publish, and create derivative works of your User Content in any medium now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose, including commercial purposes.

You represent and warrant that:

• You own or have the necessary rights to submit your User Content
• Your User Content does not infringe on the intellectual property or other rights of any third party
• Your User Content does not violate any applicable law

We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor, edit, or remove any User Content at our sole discretion for any reason, including content we determine to be harmful, offensive, inaccurate, or in violation of these Terms.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Site for any unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or fraudulent purpose
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or any other harmful code
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Site, other accounts, or our systems
• Use automated tools, bots, scrapers, or crawlers to access or collect data from the Site without our written consent
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Site
• Use the Site to send unsolicited advertising, spam, or promotional materials
• Collect or harvest personal information of other users
• Use our content, data, or user-generated content to develop, train, or improve any artificial intelligence or machine learning system

7. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION, AND SERVICES PROVIDED ON THE SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM US OR THROUGH THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS.

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, OPEN SPICE BOX AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, BODILY INJURY (INCLUDING DEATH), OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE, OR ANY RECIPE, INGREDIENT INFORMATION, HEALTH INFORMATION, OR TRADITIONAL MEDICINE CONTENT PROVIDED ON THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00).

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Open Spice Box and its owners, officers, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Site; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any rights of any third party; or (e) any injury, illness, or damage resulting from your reliance on recipes, ingredient information, health information, or traditional medicine content on the Site.

10. Copyright and DMCA

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that content on the Site infringes your copyright, please send a notice to our designated copyright agent with the following information:

• A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed
• A description of where the allegedly infringing material is located on the Site
• Your contact information (name, address, telephone number, email)
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
• A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf
• Your physical or electronic signature

Send DMCA notices to: copyright@openspicebox.com

We may terminate the accounts of users who are determined to be repeat infringers.

11. Third-Party Links and Services

The Site may contain links to third-party websites, products, or services that are not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites or services. You acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any damage or loss caused by or in connection with the use of any third-party content, goods, or services.

The Site may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. This does not influence our editorial content or recommendations. Any such affiliate relationships will be disclosed.

12. Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, these Terms and your account information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Site shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If negotiation fails, the dispute shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitration shall take place in the State of California. You agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, you waive any right to a jury trial.

14. Modifications to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining Terms shall remain in full force and effect.

16. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Open Spice Box regarding your use of the Site and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us:

• Email: legal@openspicebox.com
• Contact form: openspicebox.com/contact