Terms of Service
The Gist
We (the folks at Automattic) are on a mission to make the web a better place. We hope you love our products and services -- from website publishing tools to ecommerce solutions to security backup systems to management tools for global companies to the next great idea that we haven’t even thought of yet — as much as we love creating them. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) describe our commitments to you, and your rights and responsibilities when using our services. Please read them carefully and reach out to us if you have any questions. We’ve decided to make these Terms available under a Creative Commons Sharealike license. You can grab a copy of these Terms and other legal documents on Github. You’re more than welcome to copy them, adapt them, and repurpose them for your own use. Just make sure to revise the language so that your Terms reflect your actual practices. Also, if you do use these Terms, we’d appreciate a credit and link to Automattic somewhere on your website.
Terms of Service
These Terms govern your access to and use of WordPress.com, Jetpack.com, VaultPress.com, and Happy.Tools, as well as all content and Automattic products and services (for example, ecommerce services as outlined below in Section 7e) available at or through these websites (collectively, “Services”). These Terms also govern visitors’ access to and use of any websites that use our Services, such as websites hosted on WordPress.com that are operated by our users. For some of Automattic’s other products, services, and programs such as WooCommerce, Akismet, Crowdsignal, Newspack, WordPress.com VIP, and our Affiliate Program, and our Refer-A-Friend Program, additional Terms of Service may apply and will be posted on the respective websites. Our Services are offered subject to your acceptance, without modification, of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, Automattic’s Privacy Policy), and procedures that may be published from time to time by Automattic (collectively, the “Agreement”). You agree that we may automatically upgrade our Services, and the Agreement will apply to any upgrades. Please read the Agreement carefully before accessing or using our Services. By accessing or using any part of our Services, you agree to become bound by the Agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms of the Agreement, then you may not access or use our Services.
1. Who’s Who
Throughout these Terms, “you” applies to both individuals and entities that access or use our Services. If you are an individual using our Services on behalf of an entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity to the Agreement and that by using our Service(s), you are accepting the Agreement on behalf of that entity. We use the term “Designated Countries” to refer to Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, and all countries located in the European continent. If you reside in the “Designated Countries,” your Agreement is with Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. If you reside outside of the “Designated Countries,” your Agreement is with Automattic Inc. We refer to Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. and Automattic Inc. collectively as “Automattic” or “we” throughout these Terms.
2. Your Account
Where use of our Services requires an account, you agree to provide us with complete and accurate information when you register for an account and keep the information current. This is important because sometimes we may need to send you notable updates (for example, about changes to our Terms of Service or Privacy Policy), or we may want to let you know about and make informed choices in response to legal inquiries or complaints.
You will be solely responsible and liable for any activity that occurs under your account. You are responsible for keeping your account information up-to-date and for keeping your password secure.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and any Service-related website, store, or other content, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your account and any other actions taken in connection with our Services. You shall not share or misuse your access credentials. You must immediately notify us of any unauthorized uses of your account, store, or website, or of any other breach of security. We will not be liable for any acts or omissions by you, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.
When you create a WordPress.com account, we consider that to be an inquiry about our products and services, which means that we may contact you to share more details about what we have to offer. Don't worry -- if you aren't interested in learning more, you can opt out of the marketing communication, whether it's an email, phone call, or text message.
3. Minimum Age Requirements
Our Services are not directed to children. Access to and use of our Services is only for those over the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Union). If you are younger than this, you may not register for or use our Services. Any person who registers as a user or provides their personal information to our Services represents that they are 13 years of age or older (or 16 years or older in the European Union).
4. Responsibility of Visitors and Users
We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the content (such as, but not limited to, text, photo, video, audio, code, computer software, items for sale, or other materials) posted to our Services by users or anyone else (“Content”) and are not responsible for any use or effects of such Content. So, for example:
- We do not endorse any Content or represent that Content is accurate, useful, or non-harmful. Content could be offensive, indecent, or objectionable; include technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, or other errors; or violate or infringe the privacy, publicity rights, intellectual property rights (see our Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy section to submit copyright complaints), or other proprietary rights of third parties.
- If you post Content, comment on a website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) Content available on our Services, you are entirely responsible for the Content, and any harm resulting from, that Content or your conduct.
- We disclaim any responsibility for any harm resulting from anyone’s use, purchase, or downloading of Content. If you access or use any Content, you are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content.
- Any Content offered for sale through any of our Services are the seller’s sole responsibility, and you agree that you will look solely to the seller for any damages that result from your purchase or use of Content.
- We are not a party to, and will have no responsibility or liability for, any communications, transactions, interactions, or disputes between you and the provider of any Content.
- Please note that additional third party terms and conditions may apply to the downloading, copying, purchase, or use of Content.
We also have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and web pages that link to, or are linked from, WordPress.com or our other Services. For example:
- We do not have any control over those websites and are not responsible for their contents or their use.
- The existence of a link to or from one of our Services does not represent or imply that we endorse such website.
- You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content.
- We disclaim any responsibility for any harm resulting from non-Automattic websites.
5. Fees, Payment, and Renewal
a. Automattic Fees
Fees for Paid Services. Some of our Services are offered for a fee, such as Happy Tools, Jetpack plans, WordPress.com plans, and some Ecommerce Services (collectively, “Paid Services”). By using a Paid Service, you agree to pay the specified fees (for example, Jetpack fees, VaultPress fees, WordPress.com fees, and fees associated with specific features, such as Payments, WooCommerce Payments, and domain name registration and renewal). Depending on the Paid Service, there may be one-time fees, recurring fees, or revenue-based fees. For recurring fees, we’ll bill or charge you for in regular automatically-renewing intervals (such as monthly, annually, or biennially), on a pre-pay basis until you cancel, which you can do at any time by contacting the relevant support team. For revenue-based fees -- such as fees for Payments for your website’s subscriptions -- you pay us a percentage of the revenue your website generates. Revenue-based fees are ongoing.
Taxes. To the extent permitted by law, or unless explicitly stated otherwise, all fees are exclusive of applicable federal, provincial, state, local or other governmental sales, goods and services, harmonized or other taxes, fees, or charges now in force or enacted in the future (“Taxes”). You are responsible for payment of all applicable Taxes relating to your use of our Services, your payments, or your purchases. If we are obligated to pay or collect Taxes on the Fees you’ve paid or will pay, you are responsible for such Taxes, and we may collect payment for such Taxes.
Payment. If your payment fails, Paid Services are otherwise not paid for or paid for on time, or we suspect a payment is fraudulent, we may immediately cancel or revoke your access to Paid Services without notice to you. If you contact your bank or credit card company to decline or reverse the charge of fees for Paid Services, we may revoke your access to our Services.
Automatic Renewal. To ensure uninterrupted service, recurring Paid Services are automatically renewed. This means that unless you cancel a Paid Service before the end of the applicable subscription period, it will automatically renew, and you authorize us to invoice you or use any payment mechanism we have on record for you to collect the then-applicable subscription fee (as well as any Taxes). By default, your Paid Services will be renewed for the same interval of time as your original subscription period. For example, if you purchase a WordPress.com annual plan, you will be charged each year for the following 12-month period. We may charge your account up to one month before the end of the subscription period. It is your responsibility to make sure you are checking your email (including any spam or other filters) in order to receive any reminder email we send to you in advance of renewal. The date for the automatic renewal is determined automatically based on the date of the original purchase and cannot be changed. You can view your renewal date for WordPress.com Paid Services by visiting your Manage Purchases page. For more information about how WordPress.com subscriptions work, please see our Manage Purchases, Renewals & Cancellations support page.
Cancelling Automatic Renewal. You can manage and cancel your Paid Services at the respective Service’s site. For example, you can manage all of your WordPress.com plans through your WordPress.com Manage Purchases page. To cancel a WordPress.com plan, go to your Manage Purchases page, click on the plan you wish to cancel, then follow the instructions to “cancel the subscription.” You must repeat this process for each subscription you wish to cancel.
Fee Changes. We may change our fees at any time, or start charging fees for Services that were previously free. When applicable, we may give you advance notice of the fee changes. If you don’t agree with the fee changes, you must cancel your Paid Service.
No-Show Policy. We may have a “no-show policy” for some Paid Services (for example, for our Quick Start sessions), which means that if you fail to show up or are late for a scheduled session, we may withhold the Service without a refund.
Refunds. While you may cancel a Paid Service at any time, refunds are issued in our sole discretion, unless otherwise required by applicable law.
b. Fees Collected by Website Owners
Fees Paid to Websites or Website Owners. Website owners may choose to sell items (goods, content, services, etc.), offer subscriptions for their websites at specific price points and intervals, or simply collect payments. Please note that we are not involved in a website's subscription details, or a website's store operations (including the quality, timing, pricing, or legality of what may or may not be included in exchange for payment, or any goods or services purchased). If you purchase items or subscriptions from a website, your purchase is directly from the website owner, who is solely responsible for the items sold. Please contact the website owner if you have any questions or complaints.
Automatic Renewal. Any recurring payments you make to a website owner (such as a website subscription) are automatically renewed. This means that unless you cancel your website subscription before the end of the applicable renewal period, it will automatically renew. Your recurring payments will be renewed for the same interval of time as your original subscription period. For example, for an annual renewal schedule for your website subscription, you will be charged each year. You can view your renewal date by visiting your Other Sites page.
Cancelling Automatic Renewal of Website Subscriptions. You can manage and cancel your website subscriptions at your Other Sites page. Click on the automatically renewing payment you wish to cancel, then follow the instructions to cancel. You must repeat this process for each website subscription you wish to cancel.
Refunds. We are not responsible for refunds for fees paid to a website owner because those transactions are between website owners and their users. If you would like to request a refund for any fees paid to a website or website owner, please contact the website owner. If you have a complaint regarding a website owner, you can contact us.
6. General Representation and Warranty
You represent and warrant that your use of our Services:
- Will be in strict accordance with these Terms;
- Will comply with all applicable laws and regulations (including, without limitation, all applicable laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content, privacy, data protection, the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside, the use of financial services, notification and consumer protection, unfair competition, and false advertising);
- Will not use the Services for any unlawful purposes, to publish illegal content, or in furtherance of illegal activities;
- Will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party;
- Will not overburden Automattic’s systems, as determined by us in our sole discretion;
- Will not disclose sensitive personal information of others;
- Will not be used to send spam or bulk unsolicited messages;
- Will not interfere with, disrupt, or attack any service or network; and
- Will not be used to create, distribute, or enable material that is - or that facilitates or operates in conjunction with - malware, spyware, adware, or other malicious programs or code.
7. Specific Service Terms
a. WordPress.com Websites and Accounts
WordPress.com enables you to create beautiful websites and blogs, and we would love for you to use it. A WordPress.com account also allows you to sign into some of our Services. WordPress.com’s basic service is free, and we offer paid plans for advanced features such as a custom domain name, extra storage, and access to premium themes. Our service is designed to give you as much control and ownership over what goes on your website as possible and encourage you to express yourself freely. You own all content you post to your website. However, be responsible in what you publish. In particular, make sure that none of the prohibited items (like spam, viruses, or serious threats of violence) appear on your website. If you find a WordPress.com website that you believe violates these Terms, please visit our dispute resolution and reporting page.
Your WordPress.com Website. If you create a website on WordPress.com, you get to use an Automattic-owned subdomain, such as example.wordpress.com or mollys.food.blog. You must not engage in “domain squatting,” claim an unreasonable number of subdomains (as determined by us), or sell access to any subdomains.
License. By submitting Content to Automattic for inclusion on your website, you grant Automattic a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt, and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing, and promoting your website. This license also allows Automattic to make any publicly-posted Content available to third parties selected by Automattic (through Firehose, for example) so that these third parties can analyze and distribute (but not publicly display) the Content through their services. You also give other WordPress.com users permission to share your Content on other WordPress.com websites and add their own Content to it (aka to “reblog” your Content), so long as they use only a portion of your post and they give you credit as the original author by linking back to your website (the reblogging function on WordPress.com does this automatically!).
Removing Content. If you delete Content, we will use reasonable efforts to remove it from public view (or in the case of a private website, from view by the authorized visitors) on WordPress.com, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable.
Web Traffic. We use a third party, comScore, Inc. (“comScore”), to measure WordPress.com’s audience and usage. By hosting your website on WordPress.com, you agree to assign the traffic relating to your website to Automattic and authorize us to sign a Traffic Assignment Letter on your behalf for comScore audience measurement reports. Your website’s traffic will be included under Automattic. You understand that your website will not receive credit for traffic in these reports, and you must not assign your website’s traffic to any other party. If we or comScore require additional documentation to verify ownership of your website or domain name, you agree to make reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests.
Prohibited Uses. By using WordPress.com, you represent and warrant that your Content and conduct do not violate the User Guidelines.
HTTPS. We offer free HTTPS on all WordPress.com websites by default, including those using custom domains, via Let’s Encrypt. By signing up and using a custom domain on WordPress.com, you authorize us to act on the domain name registrant’s behalf (by requesting the necessary certificates, for example) for the sole purpose of providing HTTPS on your website.
Advertisements. We reserve the right to display advertisements on your website unless you have purchased a plan that includes the removal of ads.
Attribution. We reserve the right to display attribution text or links in your website footer or toolbar, attributing WordPress.com or the theme author, for example. Some of these attributions may not be altered or removed. For more details about what these attributions might look like, and under which circumstances (if any) they may be altered or removed, please see our Admin and Action Bars support page.
Friends of WP.com Themes. By activating a partner theme from the Friends of WP.com section of our themes directory, you agree to that partner’s terms of service. You can decline the terms of service at any time by deactivating the partner theme.
Domain Names. We act as a registrar and also work with third party registrars in order to provide domain name services. When you register a domain name on WordPress.com or transfer an existing domain name to WordPress.com, the policies of the respective registry apply, and you become bound by the relevant registrar’s terms and conditions, either the Automattic Domain Name Registration Agreement, Key-Systems GmbH Registration Agreement, Tucows Domain Inc. Registration Agreement, or this Domain Name Registration Agreement, in addition to these Terms. When you register a domain, you're presented with and agree to the relevant domain registration agreement. If you didn't make a note of it, you can look it up at any time. Please see this page for instructions on how to determine which domain registration agreement(s) apply to you and your domains. These registrar terms are incorporated by reference into these Terms.
Your use of your domain name is also subject to the policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”). You can read about your rights and responsibilities as a domain name registrant under ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement and about domain name registration generally.
For details about what happens during the domain expiration process, and how we may notify you of domain expiration, please see the Domain Expiration page. Please refer to the domain pricing and available TLDs page for details about fees associated with domain registrations, renewals, and redemptions.
When you register a domain name, you’re required to provide complete and accurate registration information. In most cases, the contact information you provide as part of the registration process will be used as your administrative contact, technical contact, and billing contact. This contact information can be updated at any time.
If the domain name registration information you’ve provided differs from the WordPress.com account holder’s information, we consider the administrative contact in the domain’s WHOIS records (the contact information provided on WordPress.com as part of the domain registration process) to be the owner of the domain, with full authority to manage the domain.
b. Jetpack
Jetpack is a plugin that connects your self-hosted WordPress website to WordPress.com’s infrastructure to give you powerful WordPress.com features.
Jetpack Content. You’re fully responsible for the content of any website you own that runs Jetpack (“Jetpack Content”).
Features. Jetpack includes various features, and you can visit Jetpack.com to learn more about them. Some features, like Enhanced Distribution, when activated, will include your Jetpack Content in Firehose. By activating these features, you grant us permission to display your Jetpack Content on WordPress.com for the purpose of distributing and promoting your website. Some features are on by default and others you need to enable manually. You can see which features are active, and activate and deactivate features, on your dashboard.
License. By using Jetpack, you grant us access to your website’s servers for the purpose of backing up and securing your Jetpack Content, and restoring files and database information (which may include access details for multiple servers or accounts for each website that we backup). Jetpack may temporarily install extra software on your website to backup your website and scan it for security vulnerabilities. In order to address security vulnerabilities, we may push an upgrade to your website or access your website to remove malicious code. We may also manually access your site to troubleshoot your support requests or if there's an emergency.
You agree that we may scan your website, and compile aggregated/anonymized statistics for our internal use to optimize Jetpack’s performance. By submitting Content to Automattic for inclusion on your website, you grant Automattic a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt, and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing, and promoting your website. This license also allows Automattic to make any publicly-posted Content available to third parties selected by Automattic (through Firehose, for example) so that these third parties can analyze and distribute (but not publicly display) the Content through their services.
Storage of Information. Certain Jetpack features rely on WordPress.com servers to function, such as those that allow you to send email, publish links, relate posts to each other, or resize images. To take advantage of the performance boosting features of Jetpack, certain information about the Content, settings, and setup of your website are synced with our servers, as described on our What Data Does Jetpack Sync? support page.
Prohibited Uses. Your website and Jetpack Content must comply with Jetpack’s Service Guidelines.
c. VaultPress
VaultPress is a subscription-based security and backup service for self-hosted WordPress websites.
VaultPress Content. VaultPress will backup your WordPress content (e.g., your WordPress database, plugins, themes, and uploads, as well as some additional files, as described in this introduction to VaultPress) (“VaultPress Content”). You can view the Content that VaultPress backs up via your VaultPress dashboard. You’re fully responsible for your VaultPress Content. It’s your responsibility to ensure that your website’s Content abides by applicable laws and by these Terms. We don’t actively review the VaultPress Content.
Access. If you lose access to your WordPress.com account, you may not be able to access your backed up VaultPress Content.
License. By using VaultPress, you grant us access to your website’s servers for the purpose of backing up and securing your VaultPress Content, and restoring files and database information (which may include access details for multiple servers or accounts for each website that we backup). In order to address security vulnerabilities, we may push an upgrade to your website, or we may access your website to remove malicious code. We may also scan VaultPress Content and compile aggregated/anonymized statistics for our internal use to optimize the performance of the VaultPress service. You also grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to copy and store your VaultPress Content, to the extent necessary to operate the VaultPress service. These Terms don’t give us any rights in your VaultPress Content, beyond those we need to operate VaultPress. You own your VaultPress Content.
Cancellation. If you cancel your subscription to VaultPress, we will queue your backed-up VaultPress Content for deletion.
d. Happy Tools
Happy Tools is a suite of software and consulting services to help modern and distributed companies manage, grow, and support their business.
Prohibited Uses. You agree not to:
- Modify, decompile, reverse engineer or otherwise alter or seek to derive the trade secrets and other inherent intellectual property of Happy Tools; or
- License, sublicense, sell, resell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, distribute, or otherwise commercially exploit or make Happy Tools available to any third party, other than your authorized users.
e. Ecommerce Services
There are certain features offered via WooCommerce, WooCommerce Shipping & Tax, WordPress.com, or Jetpack that enable you to sell items (goods, content, services, etc.) or receive payments on your website, such as WooCommerce Payments, Store, the Payments feature, and the Pay with PayPal block (collectively, “Ecommerce Services”). If you use WooCommerce, the WooCommerce Use Terms also apply.
If you use any Ecommerce Services, you represent and warrant that any information you provide about your business, products, and services is accurate, complete, and will be kept current. You agree to promptly notify us via email if you receive any inquiry or action from a government or regulatory agency (such as the Federal Trade Commission or a state Attorney General) relating to your transactions.
Usage of Information. WooCommerce Shipping & Tax may require Automattic’s servers, a connection to our partners, and/or data from your website, to work, as described on our “What Data Does Jetpack Sync?” support page.
Prohibited Uses. You may not use Ecommerce Services for any unlawful purposes, in furtherance of illegal activities, or in a manner that is unfair, deceptive, exposes us or customers to unreasonable risks, or does not disclose important terms of a transaction in advance.
Ecommerce Services cannot be used in or for the benefit of a country, organization, entity, or person embargoed or blocked by any government, including those on sanctions lists identified by the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).
If you’re using Ecommerce Services on WordPress.com, you must not violate our User Guidelines or Store Guidelines. If you're using Ecommerce Services to sell CBD and other hemp-derived products, you must not violate the WooCommerce Guidelines for CBD and Other Hemp-Derived Products.
We may terminate your access to Ecommerce Services or force refunds (where possible) to your subscribers and customers without notice to you if we determine (in our sole discretion) that your use is in violation of these Terms, or if a payment processor or regulatory authority directs us to do so.
Third Party Services. You may choose to set up and/or use third party services, such as Stripe or PayPal to collect payment, TaxJar to calculate Taxes, or EasyPost to manage shipping. Please note that WooCommerce Payments is powered by Stripe. If you use WooCommerce Payments or any third-party services, some of your — and your customers’ — data may be submitted directly to or passed to the respective third party, and the respective third party’s terms of service, privacy policy, and other policies may apply. For example, if you use Payments, you must create or use an existing Stripe account to manage payments, and by using Stripe, you agree to their terms and policies. Please note that third party services may also charge you fees to use or access their services, for example, as Stripe does for Payments.
We are not involved in these relationships, but may facilitate transactions or communication. For example, we may, on your behalf, receive notices or forms relating to your Stripe account.
Please note that some of these third party services (like TaxJar if you use Store) may be enabled by default, but you may disable them before your store is set up. If you do not want to use these third party services, please disable them.
More on WooCommerce Payments Specifically. As part of WooCommerce Payments, we may use certain third parties to fulfill our obligations to you, including integrating with payment processing third parties. You may be subject to terms and conditions with those third parties and agree to comply with those terms and conditions. In particular, you may not use WooCommerce Payments to enable any person (including you) to benefit from restricted businesses or activities. If we use another third party to fulfill these services, you authorize us to share your payment method information with an alternative third-party payment processor that is or will be integrated into WooCommerce Payments.
We may refuse, condition, or suspend any transaction or account (including your use of WooCommerce Payments) if we believe you have violated these Terms or if we believe your activities or transactions expose you, us, or others to unacceptable risks, as determined by us in our sole discretion.
You authorize us to share data relating to WooCommerce Payments with the applicable payment processing third party for their use in accordance with their privacy policy. Please refer to our privacy policy for details on how we otherwise collect, use, and disclose data made available to us as part of WooCommerce Payments.
Fees and Negative Balances. In some cases, you pay us fees relating to the Ecommerce Services you use. For example, for the Payments feature, you pay us a percentage (which depends on your plan) of the revenue your website generates through Payments; you authorize Stripe to direct payment of that percentage to us. As another example, if you use WooCommerce Payments, there are transaction fees and dispute fees. Please note that we have no obligation to reimburse or refund these revenue-based fees when you issue refunds to your subscribers or customers.
If you have a negative account balance (for example because of fraud, chargebacks, or other operational issues) or we are obligated to pay or collect any fees relating to your ecommerce activities or your use of Ecommerce Services, you are responsible for those losses and fees, and we may collect payment for those losses and fees.
Tax Calculations. You are responsible for payment of all applicable Taxes relating to your ecommerce activities and your use of Ecommerce Services. You must collect, report, and/or pay the correct amounts to the appropriate authorities if applicable, and if needed, inform your customers about any Taxes they may be required to pay and issue appropriate invoices. While some Ecommerce Services (for example, tax calculations may be provided by TaxJar, if you are using Store) allow you to include sales taxes or Value Added Taxes in transactions, you should not rely solely on these features. While our goal is to keep our documents and tools up-to-date, tax laws change rapidly, and we do not guarantee that tax calculations you receive through or in connection with our Services are complete and accurate. Tax laws also differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and may be subject to different interpretations by different authorities. We recommend that you consult with a tax professional for your specific tax situation when assessing the correct tax rates you should charge.
If we are obligated to pay or collect Taxes on your ecommerce activities or your use of Ecommerce Services, you are responsible for such Taxes, and we may collect payment for such Taxes.
Shipping Services. Shipping labels are provided by EasyPost and allow you to take advantage of real-time shipping rates to purchase postage and print shipping labels from certain mailing services, such as UPS, USPS, DHL, and Canada Post. We act only as an intermediary between you and these third parties; we are not involved in any way with your product or its shipment. We also do not warrant that the results you obtain from the use of these services (rates and labels, for example) will be accurate or reliable.
You are solely responsible for compliance with all applicable rules and regulations, including domestic and international shipping and customs regulations and those of the relevant mailing service. For example:
- If you use USPS postage, you need to comply with their shipping restrictions and mailing standards, among others.
- When using DHL’s services, you are responsible for compliance with all applicable DHL rules and terms, such as the DHL Express Terms and Conditions of Carriage.
In addition, you are solely responsible for customs charges, import taxes or duties, or any other charges related to your shipments. If any charges are assessed against us as a result of your use of the shipping services, you will reimburse us for the full amount within 7 days.
Please note that in some cases, you may need to pay fees to the carrier directly, like if you use UPS shipping labels. In other cases, you authorize us to charge you for the fees associated with each shipping label you create. Each fee will be charged separately to the payment methods you have provided in your WordPress.com account, which you can view and manage as described on the Payments Methods support page. If you have multiple payment methods, you can select which should be used for the shipping label service. If we are unable to collect payment from you for these fees, you will be responsible for payment within 7 days; please contact us to remit payment.
Refunds for unused shipping labels must be requested in your store’s wp-admin within 30 days of creating the label. Please note that depending on your bank and the third party involved, it may take up to 45 days for your refund to issue. If you haven’t received your refund within this time frame, please contact us.
You may not transfer or sell postage and/or shipping labels to a third party.
Your Responsibilities. You may only use Ecommerce Services for legitimate transactions with your customers. You are solely responsible for all of your ecommerce activities, including managing subscriptions for your website, managing your store, all applicable taxes and fees, compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and compliance with any applicable laws (such as those relating to automatic renewal). Among other things, this means that:
- We are not involved in your relationships or transactions with any customer or potential customer.
- You should use your best judgment. For example, you may not want to accept check payments if you’re not comfortable sharing your mailing address with customers.
- You must accurately communicate transactions, set expectations appropriately, and fulfill all promises, representations, or warranties you’ve made. For example, if you’d like to provide your visitors or subscribers with a new post each week for contributing to your site via Payments, but aren’t sure if you’ll be able to post that frequently, you should make it clear that it’s a goal and not a guarantee.
- You are responsible for the nature and quality of the products or services you provide, and for delivery, support, refunds, returns, and any other ancillary services you provide to your customers.
- You are responsible for resolving all support questions, comments, and complaints, including chargebacks and pricing questions. You must provide contact information so that customers may contact you with questions or complaints.
- You will maintain a fair return, refund, cancellation, or adjustment policy, and clearly explain how customers can request a refund.
- You are responsible for acquiring appropriate consent to submit charges through WooCommerce Payments on your customers’ behalf, providing confirmation or receipts to customers for each charge, verifying customers’ identities, and determining a customer’s eligibility and authority to complete transactions.
- If you believe that a transaction is erroneous or suspicious, you should research the transaction and, if necessary, contact your customer before fulfilling or completing the transaction.
- If you have transactions with individuals (i.e. consumers), you specifically agree to provide consumers disclosures required by law, and to not engage in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (“UDAAP”).
- You are financially liable for disputes (including chargebacks), refunds, reversals, or fines that arise from your use of Ecommerce Services.
8. Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy
As we ask others to respect our intellectual property rights, we respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or associated with an Automattic product or service violates your copyright, please notify us in accordance with Automattic’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) Policy. We will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. We will terminate a visitor’s access to and use of the website if, under appropriate circumstances, the visitor is determined to be a repeat infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of Automattic or others. In the case of such termination, we will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to us.
9. Intellectual Property
The Agreement does not transfer from Automattic to you any Automattic or third party intellectual property, and all right, title, and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with Automattic. Automattic, WordPress, WordPress.com, the WordPress.com logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with WordPress.com or our Services, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Automattic or Automattic’s licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with our Services may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of our Services grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any Automattic or third party trademarks.
10. Third Party Services
In using the Services, you may enable or use services, products, software (like themes or plugins), embeds, or applications developed by a third party or yourself (“Third Party Services”) on your website. If you use any Third Party Services, you understand that:
- Third Party Services are not vetted, endorsed, or controlled by Automattic.
- Any use of a Third Party Service is at your own risk, and we shall not be responsible or liable to anyone for Third Party Services.
- Your use is solely between you and the respective third party (“Third Party”) and will be governed by the Third Party’s terms and policies. It is your responsibility to review the Third Party’s terms and policies before using a Third Party Service.
- Some Third Party Services may request or require access to your (yours, your visitors’, or customers’) data, for example, via a pixel or cookie. If you use the Third Party Service or grant access, your data will be handled in accordance with the Third Party’s privacy policy and practices. We do not have control over how a Third Party Service may use your data. You should carefully review Third Party Services’ data collection, retention, and use policies and practices before enabling Third Party Services.
- Third Party Services may not work appropriately with your website, and we may not be able to provide support for issues caused by any Third Party Services.
- If you have questions or concerns about how a Third Party Service operates, or need support, please contact the Third Party directly.
In rare cases, we may at our discretion, suspend, disable, or remove Third Party Services from your account or website.
11. G Suite
If you purchase a G Suite subscription, this section applies. G Suite is provided by Google, and your use of G Suite is subject to Google’s Terms of Use for the services, which you’ll accept prior to using G Suite for the first time. Automattic is an authorized reseller of G Suite, but makes no warranties about the services provided by Google, and disclaims Google’s liability for any damages arising from our distribution and resale of their services. Google will provide technical support for its services, per its Technical Support Services Guidelines. If you’re a business and purchase G Suite for your WordPress.com website, you represent that you have 749 or fewer staff members.
12. Changes
We are constantly updating our Services and that means sometimes we have to change the legal terms under which our Services are offered. These Terms may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of Automattic, or by the posting by Automattic of a revised version. If we make changes that are material, we will let you know by posting on one of our blogs, or by sending you an email or other communication before the changes take effect. The notice will designate a reasonable period of time after which the new terms will take effect. If you disagree with our changes, then you should stop using our Services within the designated notice period, or once the changes become effective. Your continued use of our Services will be subject to the new terms. However, any dispute that arose before the changes shall be governed by the Terms (including the binding individual arbitration clause) that were in place when the dispute arose.
13. Termination
We may terminate your access to all or any part of our Services at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. We have the right (though not the obligation) to, in our sole discretion, (i) reclaim your username or website’s URL due to prolonged inactivity, (ii) refuse or remove any content that, in our reasonable opinion, violates any Automattic policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, (iii) ask you to make some adjustments, restrict the resources your website uses, or terminate your Services, if we believe your website’s storage or bandwidth usage is out of hand and/or burdens our systems (which is rare and typically only occurs when a website is used for file sharing or storage), or (iv) terminate or deny access to and use of any of our Services to any individual or entity for any reason. We will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.
If you wish to terminate the Agreement or your WordPress.com account, you may simply discontinue using our Services, or, if you are using a paid service, you may cancel at any time, subject to the Fees, Payment, and Renewal section in these Terms.
All provisions of the Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.
14. Disclaimer of Warranties
Our Services are provided “as is.” Automattic and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither Automattic, nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that our Services will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. If you’re actually reading this, here’s a treat. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, our Services at your own discretion and risk.
15. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law.
Except to the extent any applicable law provides otherwise, the Agreement and any access to or use of our Services will be governed by the laws of the state of California, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of law provisions. The proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to the Agreement and any access to or use of our Services will be the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California.
16. Arbitration Agreement
Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under the Agreement shall be finally settled in accordance with the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inc. (“JAMS”) by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with such Rules. The arbitration shall take place in San Francisco, California, in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce the Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees.
17. Limitation of Liability
In no event will Automattic, or its suppliers, partners, or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of the Agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed $50 or the fees paid by you to Automattic under the Agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action, whichever is greater. Automattic shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
18. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Automattic, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all losses, liabilities, demands, damages, costs, claims, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to your use of our Services, including but not limited to your violation of the Agreement or any agreement with a provider of third-party services used in connection with the Services, Content that you post, and any ecommerce activities conducted through your or another user’s website.
19. US Economic Sanctions
You expressly represent and warrant that your use of our Services and/or associated services and products is not contrary to applicable U.S. Sanctions. Such use is prohibited, and we reserve the right to terminate accounts or access of those in the event of a breach of this condition.
20. Data Processing Agreement
If you need a Data Processing Agreement with us for the GDPR requirements that apply to us as a data processor for your website, please follow these instructions.
21. Translation
These Terms were originally written in English (US). We may translate these terms into other languages. In the event of a conflict between a translated version of these Terms and the English version, the English version will control.
22. Miscellaneous
The Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Automattic and you concerning the subject matter hereof. If any part of the Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of the Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under the Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; Automattic may assign its rights under the Agreement without condition. The Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.