Terms of Service

Important legal notice

These terms set the general rules for this website and describe the usual structure for a project engagement.

A signed project agreement controls the specific work. It controls the final scope, deliverables, schedule, price, payment schedule, ownership, warranty, support, cancellation, refund, dispute, and other negotiated terms. If a signed project agreement conflicts with these website terms, the signed project agreement controls for that project.

1. Who we are

DATAL Projects is a small independent development studio. References to "DATAL Projects", "we", "us", and "our" mean the individuals who operate the studio and the developers who work on an engagement. We do not state that the studio is a corporation, partnership, or other separate juridical entity.

Project agreements should identify the contracting people, their email addresses, the authorized representatives, and the exact obligations each person accepts.

2. Definitions

• "Client" means the person or organization requesting or purchasing project work.
• "Developer" means a person performing development, design, testing, project management, or related work.
• "Project scope" means the written requirements and limits used to evaluate and perform the work.
• "Deliverables" means the agreed files, code, designs, systems, builds, documentation, or other work product.
• "Project agreement" means the written agreement signed or accepted by the contracting parties for a project.
• "Website" means this site, its pages, forms, account features, ticket pages, and related communications.

3. Acceptance and eligibility

By using the website, submitting information, creating an account, replying to a ticket, or asking us to evaluate a project, you accept these terms. If you act for an organization, you confirm that you have authority to bind it. If you lack that authority, do not submit an inquiry or accept an agreement for the organization.

You must provide accurate information and keep it current. We might ask for information needed to verify your identity, authority, ownership of materials, or ability to enter an agreement.

4. Website access and availability

We work to keep the website available and accurate. Access might stop or change for maintenance, security, provider outages, updates, abuse prevention, or events outside our control. We do not promise uninterrupted access, permanent storage, error-free operation, or that every feature will suit your needs.

We might change, suspend, restrict, or remove a website feature without creating an obligation to continue it. The website is a communication and information channel. It is not a payment processor, order tracking system, escrow service, financial service, or guarantee of a completed engagement.

5. Project inquiries do not create a contract

A contact form submission, developer application, email, estimate, evaluation, or conversation does not create a project contract. It does not reserve a developer, reserve a schedule, confirm a price, or require either side to proceed.

A project begins only after the parties identify the contracting parties, agree on the scope and terms, and sign or otherwise accept the project agreement through an approved method. We can decline a request, ask for more information, or stop an evaluation before a project agreement takes effect.

6. Project scope and client information

A project scope explains the problem, users, required features, expected deliverables, technical limits, content, integrations, target platform, timeline, budget, and other facts needed to evaluate the work. Send a clear scope in PDF, DOCX, TXT, or another format we approve. The scope should state what the project does and does not include.

Missing, unclear, or changing information affects the evaluation, price, schedule, testing, and result. We might request clarification or return the scope for completion before preparing a proposal. Repeated revisions caused by missing client information might require a new evaluation, a new fee, or a written scope change.

You confirm that you own or have permission to provide every file, instruction, data set, design, brand asset, account, and other material you submit. Do not send passwords, secret keys, payment card data, government IDs, health data, or unrelated confidential information through an unapproved channel.

7. Evaluation, proposal, and contract

After receiving a scope, we review the information, technical requirements, schedule, risks, dependencies, and available developer capacity. We then decide whether to send a proposal. An evaluation is an internal review and is not a promise to accept the project.

A proposal might include the breakdown of work, deliverables, exclusions, assumptions, schedule, price, payment schedule, revision limits, warranty, support, client duties, third-party costs, and a project agreement. Estimates depend on the information provided and might change if the scope, dependencies, platform rules, or assumptions change.

Read the complete project agreement before signing. Ask questions before acceptance. The agreed payment schedule and contract terms become the basis for project work after acceptance.

8. Client responsibilities

The Client must:

• Provide accurate scope details, content, access, decisions, and approvals.
• Confirm that submitted materials and instructions are lawful to use.
• Provide required licenses, platform accounts, credentials, and permissions safely.
• Review work within the time stated in the project agreement.
• Give one clear decision maker or authorized contact for project approvals.
• Pay the agreed fees and approved third-party costs on time.
• Test the deliverables in the required environment before public release.
• Maintain backups and access to its own content, accounts, and business records.

Delays in information, feedback, access, approvals, payment, or third-party services extend the schedule and might create additional work or cost. We do not accept responsibility for a delay caused by the Client or a dependency outside our control.

9. Scope changes and revisions

A scope change includes a new feature, changed requirement, added platform, new integration, new content, changed design direction, additional revision, or change caused by incomplete information. We will record a scope change in writing before work starts when the change affects price, schedule, deliverables, risk, or resources.

Revision limits, review windows, and approval rules belong in the project agreement. Work outside those limits requires written approval and might require a revised fee or schedule. Silence, access to a draft, or a request to test a feature does not approve a scope change.

10. Delivery, review, and acceptance

We deliver the agreed work through the channel and schedule stated in the project agreement. The Client must review each delivery and report specific defects or missing agreed items within the review period. A report should include the steps to reproduce the issue, expected behavior, actual behavior, and supporting files when safe to send.

A deliverable becomes accepted when the Client gives written approval or when the review period ends without a specific written rejection based on the agreed scope. Acceptance does not remove a valid warranty right for a defect covered by the project agreement.

A production release needs the Client's approval unless the project agreement states another release process. The Client remains responsible for its final business decision, content, user communications, legal notices, and production operation.

11. Fees and payment schedules

The project agreement controls the price, currency, payment method, payment dates, taxes, third-party charges, milestones, and consequences of late payment. A common schedule is an initial payment at project commencement followed by a final payment after the agreed release conditions. Another project might use several milestone installments. The signed agreement controls.

The website does not process payments and does not hold client funds. Use only payment instructions confirmed in the project agreement or by an authorized team member. DATAL Projects does not ask for card numbers, account passwords, or security codes through the contact form.

The Client remains responsible for bank fees, platform fees, taxes, currency conversion, withholding duties, and payment provider rules unless the project agreement assigns them differently. A payment is not complete until the agreed recipient confirms receipt.

Late or failed payment might pause work, withhold delivery, move the schedule, limit support, or end the engagement. The project agreement controls notice and any applicable late charges. A payment dispute or chargeback does not cancel amounts already due for accepted work, approved expenses, or non-refundable third-party costs, subject to applicable law and the agreement.

12. Cancellations and refunds

Cancellation, refund, credit, and payment reversal rights depend on the project agreement and applicable law. A Client who wants to cancel must send written notice to the authorized contact. The notice should identify the project and requested effective date.

Unless the project agreement states otherwise, the parties should account for work completed, accepted work, reserved developer time, approved expenses, third-party charges, delivered materials, and amounts already due before calculating a refund. A refund is not automatic because a Client changes its mind or does not provide the information, access, approvals, or payment needed for the work.

If a material issue persists, the parties should document the issue, allow a reasonable opportunity to review and correct it, and follow the remedy process in the project agreement. Nothing here removes a right that applicable consumer or other law does not allow the parties to waive.

13. Limited warranty and support

Unless the project agreement states a different period, we provide a limited warranty for twelve months after the agreed delivery or release date for a reproducible defect in a deliverable that fails to meet the written project scope. The usual remedy is to correct the defect or re-perform the affected work.

The warranty does not cover:

• New features, redesigns, or work outside the signed scope.
• Changes made by the Client or another provider without written approval.
• Misuse, unsupported hosting, incorrect configuration, or missing dependencies.
• Third-party services, platform changes, outages, policy changes, or vulnerabilities.
• Changes to browsers, operating systems, devices, stores, or external APIs.
• Problems caused by content, data, credentials, instructions, or access supplied by the Client.
• Issues that cannot be reproduced with the agreed environment and information.

Report a suspected defect promptly with the project, environment, steps, logs, and screenshots needed for review. Support after the warranty period, maintenance, hosting, monitoring, content updates, and new features require a separate written agreement or approved change.

14. Third-party services and platforms

A project might use hosting, email, databases, payment providers, APIs, app stores, game engines, plugins, libraries, fonts, maps, analytics, or other third-party services. Each provider controls its own service, terms, pricing, data practices, availability, limits, and changes.

We do not guarantee a third party's operation, approval, security, pricing, uptime, policy compliance, or continued availability. The Client must maintain its accounts, licenses, subscriptions, and approvals unless the project agreement assigns a different duty. We might pause work when a third-party dependency is unavailable or unsafe.

Open-source and third-party components remain subject to their licenses. The Client must follow license notices and platform rules that apply to its use of the deliverables.

15. Intellectual property

Website text, design, branding, layouts, and original site code belong to DATAL Projects unless another owner or license is stated. You must not copy, sell, scrape, publish, modify, or redistribute website material without written permission, except for uses allowed by law.

Ownership, license scope, source code delivery, portfolio use, pre-existing materials, third-party components, and payment conditions for project deliverables belong in the project agreement. Unless that agreement states otherwise, ownership or a broader license does not transfer before the related required payments are complete.

We retain rights in our pre-existing tools, methods, templates, know-how, reusable components, and general skills. The Client receives the rights stated in the project agreement, including any rights needed to use the completed deliverables.

16. Confidentiality

Each party should protect non-public information received from the other party and use it only for the project. The duty does not cover information that was public without a breach, already known without a duty, received lawfully from another source, developed independently, or required to be disclosed by law.

The project agreement should identify confidential information, permitted recipients, security measures, return or deletion duties, required disclosures, and the duration of the confidentiality duty. Do not send trade secrets or sensitive credentials through a public form.

17. Privacy and personal information

Our Privacy Policyexplains how we handle information sent through the website, accounts, inquiries, applications, tickets, email, and project channels.

A Client that gives us personal information about other people must have the required authority and lawful basis. The Client must provide required notices and instructions. The project agreement or a separate data processing agreement should set the parties' duties, security controls, approved providers, retention, deletion, and incident handling.

18. Developer applications

A developer application is an application inquiry. It is not a project proposal, job offer, employment contract, partnership, or promise of future work. We review applications based on current needs, skills, experience, availability, and project requirements.

Submitting an application does not guarantee an interview, acceptance, paid work, reimbursement, or a response time. Application information is handled under the Privacy Policy. A separate written agreement is required before a developer performs paid work or receives access to client information.

19. Acceptable use

You must not use the website or project channels to:

• Submit unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, defamatory, or deceptive material.
• Infringe copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights.
• Send malware, harmful code, spam, automated abuse, or excessive requests.
• Impersonate another person or misrepresent authority, identity, or affiliation.
• Probe, scan, bypass, damage, overload, or gain unauthorized access to systems.
• Use project work to violate a platform rule, law, license, or third-party right.
• Send material you do not have the right to share or ask us to process.

We might reject content, restrict access, suspend an account, stop communication, or preserve evidence when we believe misuse, security risk, or unlawful activity occurred. We might report conduct to an appropriate provider or authority when required or appropriate.

20. Client decisions and legal compliance

We provide development and related technical services. We do not provide legal, tax, accounting, financial, medical, security certification, compliance, or regulatory advice unless a separate written agreement expressly says otherwise.

The Client remains responsible for its business model, claims, content, notices, permissions, licenses, privacy disclosures, accessibility duties, industry rules, consumer obligations, employment duties, tax duties, and use of the final product. The Client must obtain professional advice where its project involves regulated or high-risk activity.

21. Disclaimers

The website and its general information are provided for communication and reference. We do not promise that the website, a proposal, an evaluation, a deliverable, or a third-party service will be uninterrupted, secure, available, suitable for every use, free from every defect, or free from every security issue.

Development work depends on scope quality, client decisions, environments, data, third-party services, platform rules, testing, and release conditions. No statement on this website promises a bug-free result, a specific business outcome, revenue, ranking, user count, approval, uptime, or uninterrupted operation. Only the written warranty and acceptance terms in the project agreement apply to a specific project.

22. Liability limits

To the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, the studio and the individuals working through it are not responsible for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential loss arising from website use, lost data, lost profits, lost revenue, lost business, missed opportunity, service interruption, or third-party conduct.

For a project, the liability allocation and any agreed cap must appear in the signed project agreement. For website use without a project agreement, any liability is limited to the amount allowed by applicable law and the facts of the claim. Nothing in these terms excludes liability, rights, or remedies that the law does not allow the parties to exclude or limit.

23. Indemnity

To the extent allowed by law, you agree to protect and reimburse the studio and the people working through it for third-party claims, losses, costs, and reasonable legal fees arising from your unlawful content, unauthorized materials, breach of these terms, misuse of the website, violation of a third-party right, or failure to follow your project responsibilities.

We will give notice of a claim when reasonably possible and allow you to participate in the defense, subject to the project agreement and applicable law. This section does not require reimbursement for loss caused by our own final judgment, unlawful conduct, or duties that cannot be transferred by contract.

24. Suspension and termination

We might suspend access, reject a request, pause work, or terminate a project when there is non-payment, material breach, unlawful conduct, security risk, inaccurate authority, unavailable dependency, or a risk to people, data, systems, or property. The project agreement controls notice, cure periods, delivery, payment, refund, deletion, and post-termination duties.

You might stop using the website at any time. Ending website use does not remove payment duties, confidentiality duties, intellectual property terms, dispute terms, privacy duties, liability limits, indemnity duties, or other terms intended to survive.

25. Governing law and disputes

These website terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, subject to any mandatory law that applies to you. Project agreements should state the agreed dispute process, venue, notices, escalation steps, and remedies. We encourage the parties to document the issue and attempt a good-faith resolution before filing a claim.

This section does not remove a mandatory consumer, privacy, or other statutory right.

26. Notices and electronic records

Notices about a project must use the email address or other channel stated in the project agreement. A notice is effective when the receiving party confirms receipt or when the agreement says it is effective. Keep copies of inquiries, proposals, approvals, signed agreements, payment confirmations, revisions, and delivery records.

Electronic records, signatures, approvals, and email messages might form part of the parties' records when applicable law recognizes them. Each party must protect its account, email address, signature method, and access to those records.

27. Changes, severability, and waiver

We might update these website terms when the website, services, providers, or law changes. The updated version takes effect when posted unless a later date appears. A new project agreement might include different terms for that project.

If a court finds one provision invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to the extent allowed by law. A delay in enforcing a provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later. These website terms and the applicable project agreement contain the terms for their subject matter, except for written terms the parties expressly preserve.

28. Contact

Questions about these terms, a proposal, a project agreement, or a legal notice belong at admin@datalprojects.com.