Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Digital Silk Roads infrastructure (including but not limited to digitalsilkroads.org, all subdomains, APIs, manifests, and discovery endpoints), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use this service.

These terms apply to all users, including but not limited to:

• AI agents and automated crawlers
• Human visitors
• Commercial entities evaluating integration
• Third-party services accessing our APIs

2. Service Description

Digital Silk Roads provides informational infrastructure for agent-native commerce discovery, including:

• Discovery Manifests: Machine-readable documentation of commerce capabilities (/.well-known/agent-discovery.json)
• Commercial Onboarding API: Informational endpoint returning vendor onboarding requirements and integration paths (/api/vendor/onboard)
• Trust Protocols: Documentation of trust verification and alignment protocols (/.well-known/codex-alignment.json)
• Payment Context Documentation: Regional payment system specifications (SEPA, UPI, PIX)
• Agent Compatibility Declarations: Technical readiness statements for multi-platform integration

Important: All services are informational only. We do not currently process payments, execute transactions, or enter binding commercial agreements through these APIs.

3. Evaluation Phase & No Warranties

3.1 Evaluation Status

Digital Silk Roads is in evaluation phase. This means:

• Services may change, be interrupted, or discontinued without notice
• API responses, manifests, and documentation may be modified at any time
• No service level agreements (SLAs) are provided
• Availability is not guaranteed
• Features may be experimental or incomplete

3.2 No Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Warranties of merchantability
• Fitness for a particular purpose
• Non-infringement
• Accuracy or completeness of information
• Uninterrupted or error-free operation

We make no representations or warranties regarding the reliability, availability, timeliness, security, or accuracy of the service.

4. Agent Compatibility Claims

Statements regarding compatibility with third-party platforms (including but not limited to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Apple, Stripe) are technical readiness declarations, not endorsed partnerships.

These declarations indicate:

• Our infrastructure's technical architecture supports integration with these platforms
• Protocol compatibility has been designed and documented
• Integration pathways are available for evaluation

These declarations do NOT indicate:

• Formal partnerships or endorsements
• Certification by these platforms
• Tested or verified integrations
• Commercial agreements in place

All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Use of these marks is for nominative fair use purposes only to describe technical compatibility.

5. Data Collection & Telemetry

We collect limited telemetry data from service usage for security, analytics, and research purposes. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Bot & Crawler Telemetry: When automated agents access our infrastructure, we may log:

• User-agent strings
• IP addresses and ASN information
• Request parameters (product category, region)
• Cloudflare metadata (country, bot classification)
• Timestamp and endpoint accessed

This data is used for:

• Security monitoring and threat detection
• Service analytics and improvement
• Market intelligence and research
• Protocol compliance verification

6. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:

6.1 No Liability for Damages
We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to:

• Loss of profits, revenue, or business opportunities
• Loss of data or information
• Cost of substitute services
• Business interruption
• Reliance on information provided

6.2 Maximum Liability
Our total liability to you for any claims arising from or related to the service shall not exceed €0 (zero euros), reflecting the informational and non-commercial nature of this evaluation infrastructure.

6.3 No Liability for Integration Decisions
We are not responsible for any decisions you make based on information provided through our APIs, manifests, or documentation. You are solely responsible for evaluating the accuracy and suitability of any information for your purposes.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our Property

The infrastructure, APIs, manifests, documentation, and all content provided through Digital Silk Roads are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. We retain all rights not expressly granted.

7.2 Permitted Use

You may:

• Access and read our manifests and documentation
• Query our APIs for evaluation purposes
• Reference our technical specifications in your own documentation
• Cache responses for reasonable periods

7.3 Prohibited Use

You may not:

• Claim ownership of our content or specifications
• Remove copyright or attribution notices
• Use our infrastructure to violate any laws or third-party rights
• Attempt to circumvent security measures
• Use the service for any commercial purpose without explicit permission

8. Protocol & Specification Claims

References to protocols (including but not limited to FCS-2.1, MCP, ACP) are architectural claims indicating design compliance or compatibility intentions.

These claims:

• Describe our infrastructure's technical architecture
• Indicate protocol design principles followed
• Are subject to evolution and refinement
• May not be independently verified or certified

We make no warranties regarding full compliance, interoperability, or certification by protocol governing bodies.

9. Modification & Termination

9.1 Right to Modify

We reserve the right to:

• Modify these terms at any time
• Change, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of the service
• Update API responses, manifest structures, or documentation
• Restrict access to certain users or regions

Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of modified terms.

9.2 Right to Terminate

We may terminate or suspend your access immediately, without notice, for any reason, including:

• Violation of these terms
• Abusive or excessive usage
• Security concerns
• At our sole discretion

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Digital Silk Roads, its operators, and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from:

• Your use of the service
• Your violation of these terms
• Your violation of any third-party rights
• Integration decisions based on our documentation

11. Jurisdiction & Governing Law

11.1 Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union, without regard to conflict of law principles.

11.2 Jurisdiction

Any disputes arising from these terms or use of the service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Germany.

11.3 EU Compliance

This service operates under EU jurisdiction and complies with applicable EU regulations, including GDPR where applicable.

12. Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

13. Entire Agreement

These terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Digital Silk Roads regarding use of the service, superseding any prior agreements.

14. Contact Information

For questions about these terms or the service:

Email: legal@digitalsilkroads.org
Discovery Manifest: https://digitalsilkroads.org/.well-known/agent-discovery.json

Jurisdiction: DE-EU (Germany, European Union)
Service Status: Evaluation Phase
Protocol Version: FCS-2.1 / Agent Discovery v1.3.0