Terms and Conditions

Effective as of May 20, 2024.


These terms of use (“Terms of Use”) apply to your use of the Doubao Team websites, applications, services and products (“Services” or individually a “Service”) that post a link to these Terms of Use and that are provided by the Doubao Team (“Doubao Team”, “we”, “us” or “our”).


By accessing or using our Services, you confirm that you can form a binding contract with the Doubao Team, that you accept these Terms of Use and that you agree to comply with them. You understand and agree that we will treat your access or use of the Services as acceptance of the Terms of Use from that point onwards. These Terms of Use expressly incorporate by reference and include the Service’s Privacy Policy and any guidelines, policies or additional terms or disclaimers that may be posted and/or updated on the Service or on notices that are sent to you. If you do not agree with these Terms of Use, do not use the Services.


You should print or save a local copy of the Terms of Use for your records.


Using our Services


You may not access or use the Services if you are not fully able and legally competent to agree to these Terms of Use or are not authorized to use the Services by your parent or legal guardian.


Unless otherwise set out in these Terms of Use, content made available through the Services, including articles, text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos, videos, audio, images, applications, programs, computer code and other information (collectively, the “Content”), including but not limited to the design, layout, “look and feel” and arrangement of such Content, is owned by the Doubao Team, its licensors or its content providers and is protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property and unfair competition laws.


Except as otherwise provided in any additional terms for a Service, you may print or download Content from the Services for commercial, personal, informational or scholarly use, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.


You may not copy, display, distribute, modify, publish, reproduce, store, transmit, post, translate or create other derivative works (including resulting from the use of artificial intelligence tools) from, or sell, rent or license all or any part of the Content, or products or services obtained from the Services, in any medium to anyone, except as otherwise expressly permitted by any relevant license or subscription agreement or authorization by us.


You may not reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile or translate any software in the Content, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of such software, except to the extent expressly permitted under applicable law, without our prior written permission. You may not engage in the systematic retrieval of Content from the Services to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory without our prior written permission. You may not use the Services to upload, transmit, distribute, store or otherwise make available in any way: files that contain viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.

You may not use Content from the Services in combination with an artificial intelligence tool, (including to train an algorithm, test, process, analyze, generate output and/or develop any form of artificial intelligence tool).


You may not use any robots, spiders, crawlers or other automated downloading programs, algorithms or devices, or any similar or equivalent manual process, to: (i) continuously and automatically search, scrape, extract, deep link or index any Content; (ii) harvest personal information from the Services for purposes of sending unsolicited or unauthorized material; or (iii) cause disruption to the working of the Services or any other person’s use of the Services. If the Services contain robot exclusion files or robot exclusion headers, you agree to honor them and not use any device, software or routine to bypass them. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion or feature of the Services, any other systems or networks connected to the Services or to any the Doubao Team server, or any of the products or services provided on, accessed from or distributed through the Services. You may not probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Services or any network connected to the Services or breach or attempt to breach the security or authentication measures on the Services or any network connected to the Services.


You may not, without the approval of the Doubao Team, use the Services to publish or distribute any advertising, promotional material, or solicitation to other users of the Services to use any goods or services. For example (but without limitation), you may not use the Services to conduct any business, to solicit the performance of any activity that is prohibited by law, or to solicit other users to become subscribers of other information services. Similarly, you may not use the Services to download and redistribute public information or shareware for personal gain or distribute multiple copies of public domain information or shareware.


Your access to and use of the Services is subject to these Terms of Use and all applicable laws and regulations.




Content provided to us or posted on or through the Service


Some of our Services allow you to upload, submit, store, send or receive content. Except as otherwise provided in any additional terms or agreements for or relating to a Service, we do not claim ownership of any content, application or other material that you or third parties provide to us (including feedback and suggestions) or post, upload, input or submit on or through the Services, including our blog pages, message boards, comment or discussion features, chat rooms and forums, for review by the Doubao Team and its suppliers or licensors, the general public, registered users of the Services, or by the members of any public or private community (“Submission”), and you retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in the Submission. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy or compliance with relevant laws or regulations of any Submission that contains content that is not owned by the Doubao Team. However, by posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting (“Posting”) a Submission, you grant us (and those we work with) a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive right and license to publish, post, reformat, index, archive, make available, link to, and otherwise use such Submission in all forms and media (whether now known or later developed), in connection with the operation of our respective businesses (including, without limitation, the Services) and to permit others to do so. You shall not make any Submission anonymously, and you warrant and represent that any such Submission is original, and has been written by you. We are under no obligation to display or otherwise use any Submission you may provide, and we may remove any Submission at any time in our sole discretion. By Posting such a Submission, you also warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to your Submission including, without limitation, all the rights necessary for granting the permission specified above.


You may not use the Services to publish or distribute any information (including software or other content) which is illegal, which violates or infringes upon the rights of any other person, which is defamatory, abusive, hateful, profane, pornographic, threatening or vulgar, which contains errors, viruses or other harmful components, or which is otherwise actionable at law. The Doubao Team may at any time exercise editorial control over the Content of the Services.


We shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor Submissions to determine compliance with these Terms of Use and any operating rules we establish and to satisfy any law, regulation or authorized government request. We shall have the right in our sole discretion to edit, refuse to post, or remove any Submission. We reserve the right to remove Content at any time for any reason.


Notification of infringement


We respect intellectual property rights and ask you to do the same. As a condition of your access to and use of the Services, you agree to the terms of the Copyright Policy. Notifications regarding any alleged intellectual property infringement should be directed to the Legal Department of the Doubao Team by email addressed to doubao-llm@bytedance.com.


If a counter-notice is received by the Doubao Team’s Copyright Agent, we may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that we may replace the removed content or cease disabling it. Unless the original complaining party files an action seeking a court order against the content provider, member or user, the removed content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in ten business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at the Doubao Team’s sole discretion.


Links


The Services may contain links to third-party sites or resources. We do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from external sites or resources linked to the Services. Transactions that occur between you and any third party are strictly between you and the third party and are not the responsibility of the Doubao Team.


The Doubao Team welcomes you to link to the Services. You may establish a hypertext link to the Services, provided that the link does not state or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of your site, company, product and/or service by the Doubao Team. You may not use on your site any trademarks, service marks or copyrighted materials appearing on the Services, including but not limited to any logos, without the express written consent or an explicit license of the owner of the mark or right. You may not frame or otherwise incorporate into another site any of the Content or other materials on the Services without prior written consent of the Doubao Team.


Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability


Neither the Doubao Team nor its suppliers or licensors make any specific promises about the Services or the Content or any Submission made available through the Services. For example, we don’t make any commitment that the operation of the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free; that any defects will be corrected; that the Services, including the server that makes them available, are free of viruses or other harmful components; that the Content is accurate; or as to the accuracy, completeness, reliability, availability, suitability, quality, non-infringement, operation or result obtained from the use of any Content or Submission provided on, accessible from or distributed through the Services.


THE DOUBAO TEAM AND ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS PROVIDE THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT AND ANY SUBMISSION INCLUDED IN OR ACCESSIBLE FROM THE SERVICES “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND (EXPRESS, IMPLIED AND STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF TITLE AND NONINFRINGEMENT AND THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), ALL OF WHICH THE DOUBAO TEAM AND ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT AND SUBMISSIONS, INCLUDED IN OR ACCESSIBLE FROM THE SERVICES ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK.


To the extent permitted under applicable law, neither the Doubao Team nor its suppliers and licensors assume responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons, animals or property as a matter of products liability, malpractice, failure to warn, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any ideas, instructions, methods, tests, products or procedures displayed on the Services or incorporated in the Content or any Submission included in or accessible from the Services. Practitioners and researchers must rely on their own experience, knowledge and judgment in evaluating or applying any information, which remains their professional responsibility. Because of rapid advances in the science and changes in government regulations and clearances, we recommend that independent verification of all research papers and outcomes made available as part of the Content. Discussions, views, and recommendations expressed may not be considered absolute and universal for every situation. The Doubao Team remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The Doubao Team will not be liable for the failure by any user of the Services, Content or Submission to use due care in the use and validation of results made available through the Services or included in the Content or any Submission.


TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE DOUBAO TEAM OR ITS SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, PERSONAL INJURY (INCLUDING DEATH), LOSS OF PROFITS, CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES OR THE CONTENT OR SUBMISSIONS, OR SHALL THE LIABILITY OF THE DOUBAO TEAM OR ITS SUPPLIERS AND LICENSORS EXCEED A SUM EQUAL TO THE FEES PAID BY YOU HEREUNDER, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.


The Doubao Team does not claim ownership, endorse or take responsibility for any third-party products, information, guidelines, materials or services that may be offered, advertised, provided or displayed on the Service or incorporated in the Content or any Submission contained on, accessible from or distributed through the Services.


Indemnification


You hereby agree to indemnify and hold the Doubao Team, its directors, officers, shareholders, predecessors, successors in interest, employees, agents, suppliers and licensors harmless from and against any and all third-party claims of liability, losses, damages and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ or legal fees, arising out of or in connection with your violation of these Terms of Use, and your use of or inability to use any of the Services or the Content or Submissions.




Informal resolution process first


If we have a dispute with you relating to or arising out of these Terms of Use, we will first try and resolve it with you amicably. You agree to do the same for us. To be clear, when we use the terms “Doubao Team,” “we,” or “us” in this Section we mean Beijing Chuntian Zhiyu Technology Co., Ltd. and all of our affiliated companies and individuals.


The party raising a dispute will initiate this process by notifying the other. Whichever party receives the notice will have 60 days to respond. If the dispute has not been resolved after the response time has expired, or within 30 days after a response has been issued, whichever is earlier, either party may file legal action against the other. Engaging in this informal dispute resolution process is a requirement that must be completed before filing any legal action. You and the Doubao Team agree that you both will make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute amicably before either you or the Doubao Team files any legal action against the other, and that the statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the informal dispute resolution process.


About these Terms of Use


Term and Termination: Any license granted to you to use any Service is effective until the the Doubao Team terminates it (which you can do at any time), or until you provide notice to Doubao Team of your decision to terminate it (which it can do at any time). Your rights under the license will terminate automatically without notice to you if you fail to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms of Use. The Doubao Team reserves the right to suspend, discontinue or change a Service, or its availability to you, at any time without notice. Upon termination of the license to a Service, you shall cease all use of the Service.


Export Controls: Where the Service, its Content or any Submission consist of software that is subject to US, EU or any other export controls, you represent and warrant that (a) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government, EU or other embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government or the EU as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (b) you are not listed on any U.S. Government, EU or any other list of prohibited or restricted parties.


No Assignment: You may not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms of Use to anyone.


No Waiver: Neither failure nor delay on the part of the Doubao Team to exercise or enforce any right, remedy, power or privilege hereunder nor course of dealing between the parties shall operate as a waiver thereof, or of the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege. No part of these Terms of Use shall be deemed waived, and no breach consented to, unless such waiver or consent shall be in writing and signed by the party claimed to have waived or consented. No waiver of any rights or consent to any breaches shall constitute a waiver of any other rights or consent to any other breach.


Additional Terms: Additional or superseding terms and conditions may apply to purchases or supply of goods or services including intellectual property, to specific portions or features of a Service, and to subscriptions or licenses with institutions with which you may be employed or affiliated. If there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and the terms that are posted for or applicable to a specific portion of the Service, for any service offered on or through the Service, or set forth in an institutional subscription or license agreement, the latter terms shall control.


Compliance with Laws: You agree to comply with relevant laws and regulations that apply to your use of the Services, Content or any Submission.


Security: We do not guarantee that our Services will be secure or free from bugs or viruses. You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programs and platform to access our Services. You should use your own virus protection software.


Severability: If any provision in these Terms of Use is held invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.


Governing Laws and Venue: All matters relating to your access to or use of the Services, including all disputes, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of China, without regard to its conflicts of law principles. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue with respect to any action or suit arising out of or pertaining to the subject matter hereof shall be the courts of competent jurisdiction located in China. You also agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of either of these courts for the purpose of litigating any such claim.


Any claim arising out of or in connection with your use of or inability to use the Service or the Content or any Submission must be brought within one (1) year after the event or such claim is barred.




Changes: The Doubao Team reserves the right to change, modify, add or remove portions of these Terms of Use at its sole discretion at any time and without prior notice. Please check these Terms of Use periodically for any modifications. Your continued use of any Service following the posting of any changes will mean that you have accepted and agreed to the changes. If you do not agree to the new Terms of Use, you must stop accessing or using the Services.


Contact Us: You can write to the Doubao Team at doubao-llm@bytedance.com.