Artist Terms of Use

When you use our Services, now or in the future, you are agreeing to the latest Terms of Use. There may be times where we do not exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Use; in doing so, we are not waiving that right or provision. These terms do contain a limitation of our liability. Any accounts in violation of the terms of use are subject to termination at the discretion of FOKAL LLC. If we discover you are using our products for a restricted purpose, we will take action as necessary, including notifying appropriate authorities where warranted or terminating the account when required under applicable law.

Account Terms

Ownership

The artist cannot take the artwork off of the walls once set up in a local business. Upon registering an artwork to the Fokal platform, that artwork cannot be sold through other platforms or private dealings that don't involve Fokal.

Authenticity

Artists cannot submit artwork that is not their own to be sold on the Fokal platform or in a Fokal Gallery. If ownership of the artwork is called into question, the artist may be required to provide some form of identification that proves the artwork is authentic, either by signature on the artwork itself or documentation of them making the artwork through the form of pictures or videos. Any artwork that is determined to be fraudulent will lead to the deletion of said artwork from the platform and in some cases also the termination of the associated account.

Liability

The artist retains and assumes the risk of their artwork while it is listed on Fokal. Whether Artwork remains in the artist's possession or in a Fokal partnered gallery location, the artist is responsible for any risk that is associated with hanging or displaying artwork. Damage of the artwork in any kind will not be covered by Fokal. Any framing or hanging materials are not covered by Fokal.

Delivery and Disputes

Any artwork that has been transferred to possession of Fokal will thereafter be Fokal's responsibility to ship or deliver which primarily applies to one of Fokal's legacy gallery locations. Any artwork still in the artist's possession and sold through the online portion of the Fokal website will be the artist's responsibility to ship or deliver to the buyer. How the buyer receives their artwork is up to your discretion meaning you can arrange any terms that are convenient for both you and the buyer. This also means that you are responsible for the experience you provide. When selling on Fokal you represent the Fokal brand. Failure to provide passable service to buyers could result in the suspension or termination of your account. Passable service may include but is not limited to arranging deliveries, shipments, or pickups of sold artwork in a timely manner, ensuring artwork is delivered undamaged, communicating effectively with buyers, etc. Fokal is aware that every situation is unique and will handle all claims of inadequate service on a case-by-case basis.

Premium users on Fokal will have the ability to sell prints of their original pieces. In the case of a print sale, Fokal will handle all the printing and delivering of that print on behalf of the artist. Fokal uses a third print on demand service to fulfill and ship artist prints. Please allow for a 5-7 business days for prints to ship and for funds to be accessible in your Fokal account.

Buyers will receive a purchase receipt email at the time of purchase. This confirmation email will serve as the buyer's proof of purchase during delivery. On this receipt email there will be a Delivery Confirmation QR Code as well as a 6 Digit Delivery Confirmation Numerical Code. These codes are for the artist to use in order to confirm a successful delivery. The Buyer is required to produce this email upon request when meeting for delivery. At time of delivery, you are responsible for scanning the Delivery Confirmation QR or saving the Delivery Confirmation Numerical Code.

After completing a delivery you will need to mark the delivery as completed on your artist dashboard on the orders page. Scanning the QR Confirmation Code will automatically mark the delivery as completed if the artist is signed into their account. If not using the QR code, marking the delivery as complete will prompt the artist for the confirmation code provided on the buyer receipt email. These codes are designed to protect you from delivery disputes and allow you to withdraw your payment sooner. Artists are eligible to withdraw the payment in 3 days if delivery confirmation is completed and 7 days if delivery confirmation is not completed. Before payment is withdrawn from your account, buyers are able to file a delivery dispute which could result in an artist's balance being frozen in order for Fokal to investigate the dispute. Frequent disputes against an artist account could result in suspension or termination of said artist account. Fokal reserves the right to take any steps necessary towards protecting all its users from fraudulent activity on its platform.

Completing the delivery confirmation process is the artist's primary source of protection in delivery disputes. Fokal strongly advises artists complete this process and suggests that you do not make any deliveries to any parties that cannot produce their purchase verification email. If artists do not complete delivery confirmation, the artist assumes responsibility for increased risk in the event of a delivery dispute including possibility of loss of funds.

In the event of a delivery dispute, Fokal reserves the right to gather evidence on behalf of both the buyer and seller and turn all evidence over to proper legal authorities. Fokal will not be held liable for any costs incurred related to disputes or complaints of any kind.

If you have questions about delivery or need assistance in the delivery process please contact us at info@fokal.us

Community Guidelines

Failure to comply with any of these terms could result in the termination of the artist account on the Fokal platform, and re-entry will be up to consideration by Fokal management.

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and password. Fokal cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage from your failure to comply with this security obligation.

You may not use the Services for any purpose outlined below. This includes any depictions of the below behavior through any uploaded content to the site as well.

• Violence, or threats thereof: If an activity qualifies as violent crime in the United States or where you live, you may not use Fokal products to plan, perpetrate, or threaten that activity
• Hate speech: You cannot use Fokal to advocate or depict the extermination, domination, or oppression of people
• Harassment: Intimidating or targeting people or groups through repeated communication
• Phishing or otherwise attempting fraud: It is not okay to lie about who you are or what you are offering to steal from, extort, or otherwise harm others
• Spamming: We don't tolerate users (including their bots) using Fokal for spamming purposes
• Infringing on intellectual property: You can't use Fokal to make or disseminate work that uses the intellectual property of others beyond the bounds of fair use

While our user restrictions are comprehensive, it's possible an offense could defy any current categorization. Fokal reserves the right to remove any account, artwork, depictions or otherwise from its site for any reason whatsoever. Fokal is not to be harnessed for harm, whether mental, physical, personal or civic.

You are responsible for all content posted and activity that occurs under your account. That includes content posted by others who either: (a) have access to your login credentials; or (b) have access to your logged in device.

Messaging and Communication

Some cases may require you to message a buyer directly via their preferred method of communication. Cases such as facilitating delivery of purchased artwork, working with buyers for commissions, asking general questions, etc. In doing so you are required to be a good shepherd of Fokal's community values. Using communication for any of the purposes listed below will not be tolerated and could lead to a permanent ban and termination from Fokal and a cancellation of all in progress communications, deliveries, transactions, etc.

Unclaimed Artwork Policy

Obligation to Retrieve Artwork

Artists are required to retrieve their artwork immediately following the conclusion of the show or exhibition arranged through the Fokal platform. It is the responsibility of the artist to ensure timely pickup of their artwork from the business hosting the display. In the event that artwork is not picked up by the end of the show, the hosting business will make reasonable efforts to contact the artist via the contact information provided. If the artist cannot be reached or fails to respond within 7 days, the following terms will apply.

Handling and Storage of Unclaimed Artwork

As soon as the show ends, the hosting business may move unclaimed artwork to a designated storage area within its premises to make room for new artwork. While the business will make reasonable efforts to ensure the safety and security of the artwork, neither the business nor Fokal assumes liability for any loss, damage, or deterioration that may occur during this period.

The hosting business will exercise its best efforts to keep unclaimed artwork safe and secure. However, the artist understands and accepts that the responsibility of the business is limited to providing reasonable care and storage, and that unforeseen circumstances may impact the condition of the artwork.

Duration of Storage

Unclaimed artwork will be stored by the hosting business for a maximum of 14 days from the initial notification date. After this period, the business reserves the right to take further action, including but not limited to, extending the storage period or donating it to a charitable organization.

Release of Liability

By using the Fokal platform to arrange the display of their artwork, the artist acknowledges and agrees that neither Fokal nor the hosting business is liable for any loss, damage, or deterioration of unclaimed artwork. The artist releases both Fokal and the hosting business from any claims, demands, or actions arising out of or related to the handling and storage of unclaimed artwork.

• Sending unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam;
• Harassing or abusing another member or otherwise behaving in any discriminatory manner
• Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to; or interfering with a transaction or the business of another member.
• Exchanging personal contact, financial or other information for the purposes of evading the checkout process on Fokal, including phone number, address, email, social media handles, external URLs, instructions for money transfer, etc.
• Always use caution when exchanging any personal information which is not strictly necessary for the completion of a transaction.

If you receive communication that violates any of these policies, please let us know right away by emailing us at info@fokal.us.

Harassment and Discrimination

Any use of communication to harass other members is strictly prohibited. Similarly, communication may not be used to support or glorify hatred. If you receive communication that violates this policy, please let us know right away by emailing us at info@fokal.us.

Premium

Fokal offers premium features on our website to subscribed users. Premium subscriptions can be purchased on an monthly or annual basis. If purchased on a monthly basis, Fokal will charge the card on file with your account every 31 days. You may cancel a premium subscription at anytime. In the event of a cancellation your accounts premium features will deactivate at the end of the active billing cycle. For example if a monthly subscription is set to renew on the 15th day of the current month and is canceled on the 10th day of the month, that users account would remain premium until the 15th day at which point the users premium subscriptions would be cancelled. Fokal offers no prorates on canceled subscriptions. Fokal may also offer an option to purchase additional months of a subscription at a discounted rate. For example Fokal may offer the option to purchase a years worth of premium for a percentage discount. When purchasing additional months of a subscription payment is due upfront and renewal of this transaction will take place as close to the original date of purchase plus the subscription length. Fokal offers no refunds on upfront purchases of subscriptions even if the account is cancelled or deactivated. A user with a premium account may still deactivate their Fokal account entirely in which case cancellation will not be complete until the next billing cylce.

Fokal reserves the right to update the price of our premium subscription at any time and for whatever reason. Before a change in pricing Fokal must make an adequate attempt to notify all of its users of the impending changes. Fokal will offer a minimum one week opt out window before any change to pricing allowing users enough time to cancel their subscription if they so choose. This one week opt out period will begin at the first reasonable attempt to communicate the pricing change. In the rare event that Fokal changes it's prices for premium subscriptions before the one week opt out period is complete, it will honor any refunds to charged accounts (in the amount equall to the price change) up until the one week opt out period upon an official request by a user. After the week opt out period passes all users that are still subscribed to premium features will be charged the updated rates at the beginning of the next payment cycle. No refunds or prorates will be offered to users who do not cancel their subscriptions during the opt out window.

Payment

Businesses are permitted to take commissions on the sale of artwork that is hosted in their space. Commission rates will set by the businesses and will be clearly listed and communicated to the artist on the invitation that each artist receives for the show.

Fokal takes a 5% commission on all artworks sold on the site including prints. All artwork listed on the marketplace is subject to this 5% commission. Upon the sale of any listing, an artist will receive payment for the piece in the amount of 100% of the sales price minus Fokal's 5% commission minus the business commission in the case that the art is displayed in a business and that business has set a commission rate for the show. (For Example: for an artwork on display at a show that takes 15% commission, the artist will receive 100% list - 15% show fee - 5% fokal fee = 80% list price as artist profit)

Payment processing services for artists on Fokal are provided by Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service(collectively, the "Stripe Services Agreement"). By agreeing to these terms or continuing to operate as a an artist on Fokal.us, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Services Agreement, as the same may be modified by Stripe from time to time. As a condition of Fokal enabling payment processing services through Stripe, you agree to provide Fokal accurate and complete information about you and your business, and you authorize Fokal to share it and transaction information related to your use of the payment processing services provided by Stripe.

Stripe payments incur a fee of 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. This fee is taken out of Fokal's 5% commission when payments are made. By registering your account, you agree to our Terms of Use and the Stripe Connected Account Agreement.

Payments will be automatic and users will be able to make withdrawals from their accounts based on their total profit earned.

Where required, we will collect taxes on behalf of the taxing authority and remit those taxes to taxing authorities. Otherwise, you are responsible for payment of all taxes, levies, or duties.

Cancellation and Termination

You may cancel your Fokal account at any time. To cancel your account email info@fokal.us. An email or phone request to cancel your account is not automatically considered cancellation.

All of your content will be inaccessible from Fokal immediately upon account cancellation. Within 60 days, all content will be permanently deleted. We cannot recover this information once it has been permanently deleted.

We have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of our Services for any reason at any time. Suspension means you will not be able to access the account or any content in the account. Termination will furthermore result in the deletion of your account or your access to your account, and the forfeiture and relinquishment of all content in your account. We also reserve the right to refuse the use of the Services to anyone for any reason at any time. We have this clause to protect against the possibility of a user using their account for something harmful other than its intended purpose.

Verbal, physical, written or other abuse (including threats of abuse or retribution) of a company employee or officer will result in immediate account termination.

Modifications to the Service and Prices

We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any part of our Services with or without notice.

Sometimes we change the pricing structure for our products. When we do that, we may exempt existing customers from those changes. However, we may choose to change the prices for existing customers as well. If we do so, we will give at least 30 days notice and will notify you via the email address on record. We may also post a notice about changes on our websites or the affected Services themselves. Users will be given the opportunity to opt out of services when pricing details change. Opting out could result in the termination of an accounts feature access or in some cases the entire account.

Uptime, Security, and Privacy

Your use of the Services is at your sole risk. We provide these Services on an “as is” and “as available” basis. When you use our Services, you entrust us with your data. You agree that Fokal may process your data as described in our Privacy Policy and for no other purpose. If necessary, we may also access accounts as part of an abuse report investigation.

To the extent required by applicable law. As a US company with all data infrastructure located in the US, we only preserve or share customer data if compelled by a US government authority with a legally binding order or proper request under the Stored Communications Act. If Fokal is audited by a tax authority, we only share the bare minimum billing information needed to complete the audit.

We use third party vendors and hosting partners to provide the necessary software, networking, storage, and related technology required to run Fokal.

Copyright and Content Ownership

All content posted on the Services must comply with U.S. copyright law. We claim no intellectual property rights over the content you provide to Fokal. All content uploaded remains yours. We do not pre-screen content, but reserve the right (but not the obligation) in our sole discretion to refuse or remove any content that is available via the Service.

The names, look, and feel of the Services are copyright© to the Company. All rights reserved. You may not duplicate, copy, or reuse any portion of the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or visual design elements without express written permission from the Company. You must request permission to use the Company's logo or any Service logos for promotional purposes. Please email info@fokal.us with requests to use logos. We reserve the right to rescind this permission if you violate these Terms of Use.

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any portion of the Services, use of the Services, or access to the Services without the express written permission by the Company.

You must not modify another website so as to falsely imply that it is associated with the Services or the Company.

Features and Bugs

We design our Services with care, based on our own experience and the experiences of customers who share their time and feedback. However, there is no such thing as a service that pleases everybody. We make no guarantees that our Services will meet your specific requirements or expectations.

We also test all of our features extensively before shipping them. As with any software, our Services inevitably have some bugs. We track the bugs reported to us and work through priority ones, especially any related to security or privacy. Not all reported bugs will get fixed and we don't guarantee completely error-free Services.

Liability

You expressly understand and agree that the Company shall not be liable, in law or in equity, to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, lost profits, special, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if the Company has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from: (i) the use or the inability to use the Services; (ii) the cost of procurement of substitute goods and services resulting from any goods, data, information or services purchased or obtained or messages received or transactions entered into through or from the Services; (iii) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data; (iv) statements or conduct of any third party on the service; (v) or any other matter relating to this Terms of Service or the Services, whether as a breach of contract, tort (including negligence whether active or passive), or any other theory of liability.

If you have a question about any of the Terms of Service, please contact us at info@fokal.us