Terms of Service - Sideline Captions

1. Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, accessing, or using Sideline Captions (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service & End User License Agreement ("Terms"). These Terms apply to all users, including those using a free trial and those with a paid license.

If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you may not download, install, or use the Service.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Sideline Captions regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

1.1 Privacy, cookies, and analytics

By using the Service, you acknowledge that we collect and process information as described in our Privacy Policy, including through cookies and similar technologies, third-party analytics and measurement tools (such as Google Analytics and Meta Pixel), performance monitoring on our web applications, and payment and infrastructure providers. If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, see our GDPR Privacy Notice. If you are a California resident, see our California Privacy Notice (CCPA).

1.2 Electronic Communications

By using the Service or providing your email address, you consent to receive communications from us electronically, including license keys, account notices, billing receipts, service announcements, and legal or policy updates. You agree that such communications satisfy any legal requirement that they be in writing.

2. Service Description

Sideline Captions provides multiple services:

Desktop Application: Downloadable software that runs locally on your device and provides AI-powered captioning through third-party APIs such as Google's Gemini API and OpenAI. The application requires an internet connection to access AI captioning features. The desktop app may also offer optional tools to upload approved photos to destinations you configure (FTP, SFTP, or Dropbox) and to auto-download files from remote FTP/SFTP servers through Sideline Wire.
Sideline Live: A web-based real-time photo gallery service that allows you to upload images via FTP and share password-protected galleries with clients. Images update automatically as you upload them.
Sideline Wire: A desktop feature that monitors a remote FTP or SFTP server you configure and downloads new files to a local folder on your Mac.
Sideline for Teams: A subscription plan that allows multiple users (seats) to share Sideline Live access under one billing account, billed per seat (minimum 2 seats).
Roster Database: A web-based service that provides access to roster data, allowing you to browse teams and generate Photo Mechanic code replacement files and roster files for other photo editing software.

The Service combines locally-installed software with cloud-based services and external APIs that we do not control.

3. License Grant

Sideline Captions grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the Service, subject to the terms below:

3.1 Free Trial License

If you are using the Service under a free trial or evaluation version:

You may process up to 500 images in total with no time limit
You may use the Service for personal, commercial, or professional evaluation purposes
You will receive software updates during your trial period
Your trial license may be terminated or limited at any time at our discretion
Once you reach the 500-image limit, the Service's processing features will be disabled until you purchase a paid license
You may install the trial on multiple devices, but the 500-image limit applies cumulatively across all installations
You may not circumvent, bypass, or attempt to reset the trial limitations through any means, including reinstallation, file deletion, or technical manipulation

3.2 Subscription License

If you purchase a subscription (monthly or yearly):

You are granted access to the Service for the duration of your active subscription period
You may install and use the Service on unlimited devices, provided you are the sole user
Monthly subscriptions include up to 5,000 images per month and 1,000 images per day
Yearly subscriptions include up to 5,000 images per month and 1,000 images per day
Usage limits reset at the beginning of each billing cycle (monthly or yearly, depending on your subscription)
You will receive all software updates and improvements while your subscription remains active
Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless cancelled
If your subscription expires or is cancelled, your access to the Service will be suspended until you renew or purchase a new subscription

3.3 Lifetime License

If you purchase a lifetime license (one-time payment):

You are granted lifetime access to the Service for personal or professional use by a single user
You may install and use the Service on unlimited devices, provided you are the sole user
You may process unlimited images (requires your own API key for AI services)
You will receive all software updates and improvements while the Service remains operational
"Lifetime" means access to updates and the Service for as long as we continue to operate and maintain it, and does not obligate us to support the Service indefinitely

3.4 Team Subscription License

If you purchase a Sideline Live Team plan (monthly or annual):

Access is granted per seat; the team administrator manages members and seat count
Usage limits and renewal follow your plan; your subscription automatically renews at the end of each billing period unless cancelled
Adding seats to your plan is charged prorated for the remainder of the current billing period
Reducing seats from your plan does not generate a refund or credit—your next bill will be for the new seat count

3.5 General License Terms

This license does not grant you ownership of the Service or its components
All rights not expressly granted are reserved by Sideline Captions
The Service is licensed, not sold

4. License Restrictions

You agree not to:

Share, sell, rent, lease, sublicense, or otherwise transfer your license key or trial access to others
Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify, or attempt to derive the source code of the Service
Remove or alter any copyright, trademark, or proprietary notices
Use the Service in violation of any applicable laws or third-party rights
Upload or process content that infringes intellectual property or privacy rights
Scrape, crawl, harvest, or systematically extract data from the Service by automated or manual means
Interfere with or disrupt the Service or its servers
Circumvent or attempt to bypass trial limitations, including through reinstallation, file manipulation, or technical workarounds

4.1 Prohibition on Competitive Use

You may not use the Service, any outputs from the Service (other than your own AI-generated captions as described in Section 6), or any roster or code-replacement data made available through the Service to:

Build, train, develop, benchmark against, or assist any competing roster database, code-replacement service, sports captioning product, or similar dataset or offering
Use AI-generated outputs, roster data, or other Service data to train machine-learning models intended to replicate or compete with the Service's functionality
Systematically extract, aggregate, or redistribute data from the Service for any commercial purpose unrelated to your own sports photography or journalism workflow

Violation of these prohibitions may result in immediate license termination without refund and potential legal action.

5. System Requirements & Internet Connectivity

The Service requires an internet connection to access AI captioning features. If your internet connection is interrupted during use, captioning functionality will cease until connectivity is restored.

While we strive to maintain compatibility with current operating systems, we do not guarantee that the Service will remain compatible with future OS updates or system changes. We are not obligated to update the Service to maintain compatibility with all future system configurations.

6. User Content, AI Processing & Ownership

6.1 Your Ownership

You retain all rights to any captions, metadata, images, galleries, and other materials ("User Content") you create, submit, or process through the Service. You own all AI-generated captions produced by the Service for your photos and other User Content. This ownership does not extend to Roster-Derived Files (as defined in Section 6.6) or to the Service itself.

6.2 Limited License to Use

When you submit User Content to the Service, you grant Sideline Captions a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, store, process, display, and distribute your User Content to operate and provide the Service to you, including but not limited to: processing images through AI captioning tools, storing and serving gallery images, generating thumbnails, and displaying galleries to designated recipients.

You also grant us the right to use your User Content in our marketing materials, social media, promotional communications, and other advertising to promote the Service, with attribution to you as the photographer where practicable.

6.3 AI Processing

The Service uses Google's Gemini API, OpenAI API, and other third-party services to generate captions. By using the Service, you acknowledge and consent to your data being transmitted to these third-party services for processing in accordance with their respective privacy policies.

To ensure service reliability and quality, we may temporarily store user-submitted data (including captions, metadata, and image previews) for up to 30 days for debugging, quality assurance, and service improvement purposes, as described in our Privacy Policy. This data is never used for advertising, resale, or AI model training.

6.4 Gallery Content and Sharing

When you use Sideline Live:

Images you upload to galleries are stored on our servers and made accessible via gallery links
You control who can view your galleries through password protection and link sharing
Anyone with a gallery link and password can view and download images in that gallery
You are responsible for the security of your gallery passwords and FTP credentials
You agree not to upload any content that is illegal, infringes third-party rights, or violates our policies

6.5 Your Responsibilities

You represent and warrant that:

You own or have the necessary rights to all User Content
Your submission and use of User Content does not violate any third-party rights
You have all necessary permissions to process any images containing identifiable individuals
If any image depicts a minor (any person under 18), you have obtained all required parental or guardian consents, model releases, and permissions for processing, display, and—where applicable—commercial use of that minor's likeness, and you comply with all applicable laws governing minors' privacy and publicity rights
You will not upload malicious files, viruses, or content intended to harm the Service or other users
You will not use the Service to store or distribute illegal, defamatory, or obscene content

Sideline Captions does not verify consents or releases. You are solely responsible for determining what permissions are required for images of minors—including high-school and youth athletes—and for obtaining and retaining documentation of those permissions.

Sideline Captions assumes no responsibility or liability for any User Content uploaded or processed through the Service.

6.6 Roster-Derived Files

Roster data, code-replacement files, roster export files, and similar materials generated from or derived from the Sideline Captions curated roster database ("Roster-Derived Files") are not User Content and are not owned by you. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use Roster-Derived Files solely for your own sports photography or journalism captioning workflow. The underlying compiled roster database—including its structure, selection, curation, normalization, and arrangement—remains the exclusive property of Sideline Captions. You may not bulk-extract, redistribute, resell, sublicense, or use Roster-Derived Files to build, train, or assist any competing product or dataset, as further described in Sections 4.1, 9, and 10.

6.7 Desktop Outbound Photo Upload

When you use the desktop application to upload approved photos to FTP, SFTP, or Dropbox destinations you configure:

You are solely responsible for configuring destinations, maintaining credential security, and ensuring you have the right to upload content to those destinations
Uploads are initiated from your Mac and sent directly to the server or service you select; Sideline Captions does not host those files on our servers as part of this feature
Only photos you approve for upload are transmitted. Original files are sent as-is (including XMP sidecar files for RAW images when available)
You must comply with the terms, policies, and acceptable-use rules of any third-party service you connect (including Dropbox) and of any FTP/SFTP server you use
You may disconnect Dropbox or remove saved destinations at any time through the app

We do not guarantee that uploads will succeed, complete within a particular time, or remain available at the destination. Network conditions, server limits, credential errors, and third-party outages are your responsibility to resolve with the relevant provider.

6.8 Sideline Wire

When you use Sideline Wire to monitor and download from a remote FTP or SFTP server:

You are responsible for the accuracy of server settings, download folder permissions, and credential security
Downloaded files are saved locally on your Mac; we do not store them on Sideline Captions servers
You must have authorization to access the remote server and to download the files you retrieve
You agree not to use Sideline Wire to access servers or data without permission, or to interfere with remote systems

7. Sideline Live Gallery Service Terms

7.1 FTP Access and Credentials

When you create a Sideline Live gallery, you receive FTP credentials to upload images. You agree to:

Keep your FTP credentials secure and confidential
Not share your FTP credentials with unauthorized parties
Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access
Accept responsibility for all activity under your FTP account

7.2 Storage Limits and Fair Use

Sideline Live includes reasonable storage for sports photography workflows. We reserve the right to:

Impose storage limits per gallery or per account
Remove galleries or images not used for their intended purpose
Throttle or suspend accounts engaged in excessive or abusive usage

7.3 Gallery Retention and Deletion

Gallery images are retained as long as your subscription is active and you choose to keep them. When you:

Delete a gallery: Images are immediately removed from public access and permanently deleted from our servers. This action cannot be undone.
Cancel your subscription or trial: Your galleries will remain accessible for a 30-day grace period from the date of cancellation. During this grace period, you can view and download your images, but you will not be able to create new galleries or upload new images. After 30 days, all galleries and their images will be permanently deleted from our servers. We strongly recommend backing up any important content during the grace period.
Let your subscription lapse due to payment failure: Galleries are immediately suspended (not accessible) and will be permanently deleted after 30 days if your subscription is not reactivated. If you reactivate your subscription within the 30-day period, your galleries will be restored.

Important: We recommend backing up important gallery content regularly. Sideline Captions is not responsible for data loss. Once galleries and images are deleted (either by you or after the grace period expires), they cannot be recovered.

7.4 Prohibited Uses

You may not use Sideline Live to:

Store or distribute illegal, obscene, defamatory, or infringing content
Resell or sublicense gallery access to third parties
Use galleries as general cloud storage or file hosting
Upload malware, viruses, or malicious code
Scrape, crawl, harvest, or systematically extract gallery content (images, metadata, captions, or related data) by automated or manual means
Export, migrate, mirror, or replicate gallery content to third-party gallery platforms or competing services without our prior written consent
Use share links or gallery APIs for bulk extraction by services other than intended recipients of those links

Gallery share links are intended only for the clients, editors, and recipients you choose to share them with—not for third-party platforms to import or replicate your galleries. Violations may result in immediate suspension of gallery access and account termination as described in Section 4.1.

7.5 Payment Processing for Image Sales

Sideline Live allows photographers to sell images directly to customers if they desire. You must be at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to enable payment features and receive payouts. By enabling payment features, you agree to the following terms:

7.5.1 Stripe Connect Integration

All payment processing is handled through Stripe Connect. To receive payments from image sales, you must:

Create and maintain a valid Stripe Connect account
Complete Stripe's identity verification and onboarding process
Comply with Stripe's Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy
Maintain accurate and up-to-date banking information in your Stripe account

Sideline Captions does not store or have access to your bank account details, tax identification numbers, or other sensitive financial information. All such information is securely handled by Stripe.

7.5.2 Platform Fees and Payment Processing

When a customer purchases an image through Sideline Live:

Platform Fee: Sideline Captions collects a 10% platform fee on the total sale price before any other deductions
Stripe Processing Fees: Stripe's payment processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) are deducted from the gross amount of the sale
Net Payout: After the platform fee and Stripe fees are deducted, the remaining amount is transferred to your Stripe Connect account

Example: If a customer purchases an image for $10.00:

Platform fee: $1.00 (10%)
Photographer's gross amount: $9.00
Stripe fee: ~$0.59 (2.9% + $0.30 on the gross amount)
Net photographer payout: ~$8.41

Fees are deducted at the time of payment processing. Actual Stripe fees may vary based on card type, currency, and other factors determined by Stripe.

7.5.3 Payout Schedule

Payouts are processed according to Stripe's standard payout schedule, which Sideline Captions does not control:

Pending Period: After a sale, Stripe holds funds as "Future Payouts" for 2–7 days (timing varies based on your account history, risk assessment, and Stripe's policies)
In Transit: Once cleared, funds move to "In Transit to Bank" status and typically arrive in your bank account within 1–2 business days
Total Timeline: Total payout time ranges from 3 to 9 business days from the date of sale

Payout timing is determined entirely by Stripe and may be affected by weekends, holidays, bank processing times, and account verification status. We recommend checking your Stripe Dashboard for real-time payout status.

7.5.4 Pricing and Minimums

The minimum price you may set for an image is $1.00 USD
There is no minimum withdrawal amount or payout threshold
The photographer sets the price for each image
All prices are set in USD

7.5.5 Photographer Responsibilities

As a photographer selling images through Sideline Live, you are responsible for:

Tax Compliance: Reporting all income to appropriate tax authorities and paying applicable taxes. Sideline Captions does not withhold taxes from your payouts unless legally required. You are an independent contractor, not an employee.
Accurate Pricing: Setting fair and accurate prices for your images
Content Rights: Ensuring you have the legal right to sell all images you offer, including model releases, property releases, and usage rights
Minors Depicted in Images Offered for Sale: If any image offered for sale depicts a minor, you warrant that you have obtained all required parental or guardian consents, model releases, and permissions for commercial sale and distribution of that minor's likeness, and that you comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and school or league policies governing minors' likenesses, privacy, and publicity rights. You are solely responsible for this compliance; Sideline Captions does not review releases or verify that images of minors may lawfully be sold
Customer Service: Responding to customer inquiries about purchases in a timely and professional manner
Refunds: Handling customer refund requests according to your own refund policy (see Section 7.5.7 below)
Compliance: Complying with all applicable laws, including consumer protection laws, data protection regulations, and intellectual property laws

7.5.6 Customer Payment Information

When customers purchase images through Sideline Live:

Payment information (credit card numbers, billing addresses) is collected and processed directly by Stripe
Sideline Captions never stores or has access to full credit card numbers
Customers' payment data is subject to Stripe's Privacy Policy and PCI-DSS compliance standards
We collect and retain transaction metadata (order ID, amount, date, customer email) for record-keeping and support purposes

7.5.7 Refunds and Disputes

Photographers are responsible for handling refund requests from customers:

You must establish and communicate your own refund policy to customers
Refunds must be processed through the Stripe Dashboard
Sideline Captions' 10% platform fee is not refunded on refunded transactions
If you receive a chargeback or payment dispute, you must respond promptly with requested documentation
Excessive chargebacks or refund rates may result in suspension or termination of payment processing capabilities

7.5.8 Account Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your payment processing capabilities if:

You violate Stripe's Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy
Your Stripe account is suspended or terminated
Your Sideline Live account is suspended or terminated for any reason, including but not limited to: license non-renewal or expiration, or other violations of these Terms of Service
You engage in fraudulent activity or misrepresent your services
You receive excessive chargebacks or customer complaints
You violate these Terms of Service
We are required to do so by law or court order

Suspension or termination of payment processing does not affect your gallery hosting services unless your account is terminated.

7.6 Desktop FTP, SFTP, and Dropbox Upload Terms

This section applies to outbound photo uploads from the desktop application. It does not apply to Sideline Live gallery FTP (Section 7.1), which uses credentials and storage on our infrastructure.

By saving FTP, SFTP, or Dropbox destinations and uploading photos, you agree to:

Keep passwords, OAuth authorizations, and server credentials confidential
Accept responsibility for all uploads initiated from your device under your saved destinations
Ensure uploaded content complies with applicable law and does not infringe third-party rights
Indemnify Sideline Captions against claims arising from content you upload or from your use of third-party servers and services

Sideline Captions is not responsible for loss, corruption, unauthorized access, or unavailability of files at FTP, SFTP, or Dropbox destinations. Dropbox uploads are subject to Dropbox’s terms and availability. FTP and SFTP uploads are subject to the policies and security of servers you control or are authorized to use.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue outbound upload features (including specific protocols or providers) at any time. Features labeled beta, preview, or experimental are provided without service-level commitments, as described in Section 29.

7.7 Sideline Wire Terms

Sideline Wire is provided for your convenience to ingest files from remote FTP/SFTP servers into a local workflow. We do not warrant uninterrupted polling, complete file discovery, or compatibility with every server configuration. You are solely responsible for verifying downloaded files, managing disk space, and complying with the terms of any remote service you access.

8. Copyright Complaints and DMCA Policy

Sideline Live hosts user-uploaded images and facilitates sales of those images. We respect intellectual property rights and respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), 17 U.S.C. § 512.

8.1 Designated DMCA Agent

Our designated agent for receiving notifications of claimed copyright infringement is:

Attn: DMCA Agent
Organization: Sideline Captions
Email: dmca@sidelinecaptions.com

All DMCA notices must be sent to this agent. For mailed notices, contact dmca@sidelinecaptions.com for the current mailing address. Safe-harbor protection under the DMCA also requires registering this agent with the U.S. Copyright Office (copyright.gov/dmca-directory).

8.2 Filing a DMCA Takedown Notice

If you believe that content hosted on Sideline Live infringes your copyright, you may submit a written notification to our DMCA Agent containing all of the following:

Your physical or electronic signature
Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed, or a representative list if multiple works are involved
Identification of the infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate it (such as the gallery URL, image filename, or other specific location within the Service)
Your contact information, including address, telephone number, and email address
A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
A statement, 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

Upon receipt of a valid notice, we will promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material and notify the user who uploaded it. We may terminate repeat infringers' accounts in appropriate circumstances.

8.3 Counter-Notification

If you believe your content was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification to our DMCA Agent containing:

Your physical or electronic signature
Identification of the material that was removed and its location before removal
A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification
Your name, address, telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or, if outside the United States, any judicial district in which Sideline Captions may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice

If we receive a valid counter-notification, we may restore the removed content after 10–14 business days unless the original complainant files a court action seeking to restrain the user from engaging in infringing activity.

8.4 Misrepresentations

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or that material was removed by mistake, may be liable for damages, including costs and attorney's fees.

9. Roster Database and Roster Generator

9.1 Roster Data Source and Accuracy

Sideline Captions maintains a curated roster database comprising the selection, curation, normalization, and arrangement of athlete and team information drawn from publicly available sources. While individual factual elements (such as a player's name or jersey number) are not proprietary and may appear in public records, the compiled database as a whole—including which teams and athletes are included, how records are structured, linked, and maintained across approximately 1.6 million athletes and 110,000 teams—is a protectable work product of Sideline Captions.

You acknowledge that:

Roster data is provided "as is" without warranty of accuracy or completeness
We do not control upstream data sources and cannot guarantee data freshness
Roster information may be outdated, incomplete, or contain errors
You are responsible for verifying roster accuracy before use in published work

9.2 Acceptable Use

The roster database is intended for sports photographers and journalists to facilitate accurate captioning. You may not:

Scrape, download, or systematically export roster data in bulk
Use roster data for purposes unrelated to sports photography or journalism
Sell, redistribute, or sublicense roster data to third parties
Attempt to reverse engineer or circumvent access controls
Use roster data to build, train, or assist any competing product or dataset (see Section 4.1)

9.3 Ownership of the Compiled Database

Sideline Captions claims compilation copyright in the curated roster database as a whole and treats the compiled, structured dataset as proprietary and confidential trade secret information. Your license to access and use the roster database and Roster-Derived Files is limited to the uses expressly permitted in these Terms. No ownership interest in the database, its compilation, or its underlying structure transfers to you.

10. Intellectual Property

All code, designs, text, graphics, logos, algorithms, documentation, and other materials forming part of the Service are owned or licensed by Sideline Captions and are protected by intellectual property laws.

This includes, without limitation, the Sideline Captions curated roster database and all compilations, selections, arrangements, normalizations, and derivative data products derived from it—including code-replacement files and roster exports generated through the Service. Sideline Captions claims compilation copyright in the database as a whole and protects the compiled dataset as trade secret information, notwithstanding that individual factual elements within it may be publicly available.

Sideline Captions and its logo are trademarks of Sideline Captions. You may not use them without prior written permission.

No right, title, or interest in the Service is transferred to you except the limited license granted herein. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works based on the Service without prior written consent.

11. Subscription Billing and Renewal

11.1 Billing Cycles

Subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis:

Monthly Subscriptions: Billed every month on the anniversary of your initial purchase date
Yearly Subscriptions: Billed annually on the anniversary of your initial purchase date
Your billing cycle begins on the date you first purchase your subscription

11.2 Auto-Renewal

Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless you cancel it before the renewal date. By purchasing a subscription, you authorize us to charge your payment method on file for each renewal period.

11.3 Payment Failure

If payment fails for any reason (expired card, insufficient funds, etc.):

We will attempt to charge your payment method again
You will receive email notifications about the payment failure
If payment cannot be processed after multiple attempts, your subscription will be suspended
During suspension, you will lose access to the Service's processing features
You may reactivate your subscription by updating your payment method and successfully processing payment
If your subscription remains unpaid for an extended period, it may be cancelled and you will need to purchase a new subscription

11.4 Subscription Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings or by contacting us. Cancellation takes effect immediately and you will lose access to the Service immediately.

Cancelling your subscription does not entitle you to a refund for the current billing period.

11.5 Price Changes

We reserve the right to change subscription prices at any time. Price changes will not affect your current billing period but will apply to subsequent renewal periods.

If you do not agree to a price increase, you may cancel your subscription before the price change takes effect.

11.6 Subscription Limits

Subscription plans include usage limits:

Monthly and yearly subscriptions include up to 5,000 images per month
Daily limit of 1,000 images per day applies to all subscription plans
If you exceed your monthly limit, processing will be disabled until the next billing cycle begins
If you exceed your daily limit, processing will be disabled until the next day
Unused images do not roll over to the next billing period
Lifetime licenses have no usage limits

11.7 Team Plan Billing (Seat Changes)

For Sideline Live Team plans:

Adding seats: You are charged a prorated amount for the additional seats for the remainder of the current billing period.
Reducing seats: The change takes effect for the next billing period. No refund or prorated credit is issued for the unused portion of the reduced seats.

12. Trial-to-Paid Conversion

When you purchase a subscription or lifetime license after using the trial:

Your 500-image processing limit is immediately removed
All previously created captions and data are preserved
For subscriptions, you receive access according to your subscription plan's limits
For lifetime licenses, you receive unlimited access (with your own API key)
Your license key will be delivered via email to the address provided at purchase

13. Refund Policy

13.1 Lifetime License Refunds

You may request a full refund for a lifetime license within 7 days of purchase by contacting us through the contact form on our website. Refunds will be processed to your original payment method within 5-10 business days. Upon refund, your license key will be deactivated and you will revert to trial access (subject to the 500-image limit if not already exceeded).

13.2 Subscription Refunds

For subscription purchases:

You may request a full refund within 7 days of your initial subscription purchase
After the initial 7-day period, refunds for subscription renewals are not available
If you cancel your subscription, you will retain access until the end of the billing period you have already paid for
Refunds for subscription renewals are only available in exceptional circumstances at our sole discretion

13.3 Day Pass Refunds

Day Passes for Sideline Live are one-time purchases that provide 48 hours of access to Sideline Live galleries. Day passes are non-refundable. No refunds will be issued for Day Pass purchases, regardless of usage or circumstances.

13.4 General Refund Restrictions

Refunds are not available if:

More than 7 days have passed since your initial purchase (for lifetime licenses or first subscription payment)
You have received a refund for a Sideline Captions purchase within the past 12 months
Your license has been misused, shared, or violated these Terms
You are requesting a refund for a subscription renewal (after the initial purchase period)
You are requesting a refund for a day pass purchase (day passes are non-refundable)
You are requesting a refund or credit for reducing seats on a Sideline Live Team plan (seat reductions do not generate a refund or credit)

13.5 Team Plan Refunds and Seat Changes

Reducing the number of seats on a Sideline Live Team plan does not entitle you to any refund or credit. For initial Team subscription purchases, the same 7-day refund policy as other subscriptions applies (see 13.2 above).

14. Updates and Maintenance

We may, at our discretion, provide updates, bug fixes, or enhancements to the Service. Active subscription holders and lifetime license holders receive all updates at no additional cost for as long as we maintain the Service.

Updates are provided "as is" and do not guarantee:

Perpetual compatibility with all future systems or operating systems
Continued functionality with third-party APIs beyond our control
Addition of specific features or capabilities

We reserve the right to discontinue the Service at any time, though we will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice to active subscribers and lifetime license holders.

15. Eligibility

The Service is intended for users aged 13 and older. If you are under 18, you must have parental or guardian consent to use the Service. Payment processing and image-selling features through Sideline Live and Stripe Connect require you to be at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction). By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements and are competent to agree to these Terms.

16. Disclaimers

The Service and all related materials are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Sideline Captions does not warrant that the Service will be error-free, uninterrupted, secure, or that defects will be corrected.

To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including but not limited to:

Merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement
Accuracy or reliability of AI-generated captions
Uninterrupted or error-free operation
Compatibility with your specific system configuration
Continued availability of third-party APIs

You acknowledge that AI-generated content may contain errors, inaccuracies, or inappropriate suggestions. You are solely responsible for reviewing and verifying all AI-generated output before use.

17. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Sideline Captions and its affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of or inability to use the Service.

In no event shall Sideline Captions' total liability to you exceed the amount you paid for the license, not to exceed $50.

18. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sideline Captions, its owners, employees, and affiliates from and against any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, or expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from:

Your use or misuse of the Service
Your breach of these Terms
Your violation of any third-party rights
Your User Content or its processing

19. Termination

19.1 By Sideline Captions

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service for violation of these Terms or other misuse. We will provide notice before termination unless your conduct poses an immediate security risk or involves clear Terms violations such as license key sharing or reverse engineering attempts.

19.2 By You

You may terminate your use of the Service at any time by:

For Subscriptions: Cancelling your subscription through your account settings or by contacting us. Your access will continue until the end of your current billing period.
For Lifetime Licenses: Ceasing to use the software and uninstalling it from your devices.

Termination does not entitle you to a refund unless within the 7-day refund period for initial purchases.

19.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination or cancellation:

For subscriptions: Your access will continue until the end of the billing period you have already paid for, after which your license will cease. If you cancel your subscription, access to Sideline Live galleries will continue for a 30-day grace period, during which you can view and download your images. After the grace period, all galleries and images will be permanently deleted.
For trials: If you cancel your trial within the trial period, access is revoked immediately. Sideline Live galleries will remain accessible for a 30-day grace period from the cancellation date, during which you can view and download your images. After the grace period, all galleries and images will be permanently deleted.
For lifetime licenses: Your license will immediately cease upon termination. Sideline Live galleries will remain accessible for a 30-day grace period from the termination date, during which you can view and download your images. After the grace period, all galleries and images will be permanently deleted.
For day passes: Access expires at the end of the 48-hour period. Galleries created during the day pass period will remain accessible for a 30-day grace period from when the day pass expires, during which you can view and download your images. After the grace period, all galleries and images will be permanently deleted.
For Team subscriptions: When a Sideline Live Team subscription is cancelled or lapses, the owner and all members lose write access. A 30-day grace period applies; after 30 days, galleries are permanently deleted.
You must stop using the Service and destroy all copies in your possession
We will delete your User Content in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the grace periods described above
All gallery images, metadata, and associated data will be permanently deleted after the applicable grace period expires

Data Backup: We strongly recommend backing up any important gallery content before cancellation or termination, as deleted content cannot be recovered.

20. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

Any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Service will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify.

RIGHT TO OPT OUT: You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to us within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, email address, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration.

The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator under the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and will take place in Kentucky or remotely at your option. You and Sideline Captions each waive the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action or representative proceeding.

If you are a consumer in the EU, UK, or EEA, this arbitration clause does not apply to you, and you retain your right to bring claims in your local courts.

This provision does not preclude either party from seeking injunctive or equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property or confidential information.

21. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms.

21.1 European Union Users

If you are a consumer located in the European Union, United Kingdom, or European Economic Area, nothing in these Terms affects your mandatory statutory rights under applicable consumer protection laws. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and your local consumer protection laws, your local laws shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.

22. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your license without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, provided the assignee agrees to honor these Terms.

23. Changes to Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time. Updates will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

24. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

25. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Sideline Captions regarding the Service. Any modification to these Terms must be in writing and authorized by Sideline Captions.

26. Survival

The following sections survive termination or expiration of these Terms and your use of the Service: Sections 4 (License Restrictions), 6 (User Content, AI Processing & Ownership), 8 (Copyright Complaints and DMCA Policy), 9 (Roster Database and Roster Generator), 10 (Intellectual Property), 16 (Disclaimers), 17 (Limitation of Liability), 18 (Indemnification), 19.3 (Effect of Termination), 20 (Dispute Resolution & Arbitration), 21 (Governing Law), 26 (Survival), and any other provisions that by their nature should survive.

27. Force Majeure and Third-Party Dependencies

Sideline Captions is not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms when caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, labor disputes, government actions, internet or telecommunications failures, power outages, cyberattacks, or failures of third-party services and infrastructure providers.

The Service depends on third-party providers including, without limitation, any hosting, payment, database, AI infrastructure, Dropbox, or other storage and transfer partners. We do not control these providers and are not responsible for their outages, policy changes, rate limits, API modifications, or discontinuation of services. Service interruptions caused by third-party provider failures do not entitle you to refunds, credits, or extensions unless required by applicable law.

28. Feedback

If you submit suggestions, ideas, feature requests, bug reports, or other feedback about the Service ("Feedback"), you grant Sideline Captions a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, modify, and incorporate that Feedback into the Service or any other products or services, without any obligation to compensate you or acknowledge you as the source.

29. Beta and Experimental Features

From time to time, we may offer features labeled as beta, preview, experimental, or early access (including but not limited to Sideline Wire, Sideline Local, desktop outbound photo upload to FTP/SFTP/Dropbox, and similar offerings). Such features are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, may contain bugs or incomplete functionality, may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice, and are not subject to any service-level commitments. Your use of beta or experimental features is at your sole risk.

30. Contact Information

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

General inquiries: Use the contact form on our website
Copyright / DMCA: dmca@sidelinecaptions.com
Website: sidelinecaptions.com

Terms of Service & End User License Agreement (EULA)