‍Effective Date: May 1, 2026

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA  •  www.alchem.ie  •  privacy@alchem.ie


PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING PIPH AUTHOR.

By creating an account, checking the acceptance box, or using Piph Author in any way, you agree to be bound by this End User License Agreement. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use Piph Author.


IMPORTANT: EQUITABLE ACCESS NOTICE

Piph Author provides tools to support equitable access to complex scientific figures for students who are blind or have low vision. Equitable access — meaning students can engage with your content with the same depth and independence as sighted peers — is a shared responsibility.If you do not use Piph Author’s accessible SVG outputs as intended, Alchemie cannot guarantee that your content will provide equitable access for screen reader users. Equitable access outcomes depend on how you author and implement your content using this tool.By using Piph Author, you acknowledge that equitable access is a shared responsibility between Alchemie’s tools and how you use them.


1. DEFINITIONS
‍
“Alchemie” means Alchemie Solutions, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Troy, Michigan.
‍“Piph Author” or “the Software” means Alchemie’s web-based accessibility authoring tool, available at alchem.ie/piph, including all features, updates, and associated services.
‍“User” or “you” means the individual faculty member, instructor, or institutional representative who has created an account and is licensed to use Piph Author.
‍“Institutional User” means a User whose license is purchased by or on behalf of an educational institution.
‍“Content” means any scientific figures, diagrams, structures, or other materials you submit to Piph Author for processing.
‍“Output” means the accessible SVG files and AI-generated alternative text descriptions produced by Piph Author from your Content.
‍“Subscription Period” means the twelve (12) month period for which a license fee has been paid.


2. LICENSE GRANT

Subject to your acceptance of and compliance with this Agreement and payment of the applicable license fee, Alchemie grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use Piph Author during your Subscription Period solely for your own internal educational content authoring purposes.

This license does not include the right to:
- Copy, modify, distribute, sell, or sublicense the Software or any component thereof
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software
- Use the Software to build a competing product or service
- Share your account credentials with any other individual
- Use the Software for any purpose other than creating accessible educational content


3. SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PAYMENT

3.1 LICENSE FEE

Access to Piph Author requires payment of an annual license fee of $200.00 USD per individual user. Institutional licenses covering multiple users are available; contact privacy@alchem.ie for institutional pricing.

3.2 BILLING

Payment is processed securely through Stripe. By providing payment information, you authorize Alchemie to charge the applicable license fee through Stripe. Alchemie does not store your payment card information. Your use of Stripe’s payment services is also subject to Stripe’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
3.3 RENEWAL

Subscriptions do not auto-renew automatically. You will be notified prior to the expiration of your Subscription Period with instructions to renew. If you do not renew, your access to Piph Author will end at the conclusion of your current Subscription Period.
3.4 REFUND POLICY

All license fees are non-refundable. There are no partial refunds for unused portions of a Subscription Period. If you cancel your subscription, you will retain access to Piph Author until the end of your current Subscription Period.

4. OWNERSHIP AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
4.1 ALCHEMIE'S RIGHTS

Alchemie retains all right, title, and interest in and to Piph Author, including all intellectual property rights therein. This Agreement does not transfer any ownership rights in the Software to you. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by Alchemie.

4.2 YOUR CONTENT AND OUTPUT

You retain full ownership of all Content you submit to Piph Author and all Output generated from your Content. Alchemie claims no ownership over your Content or Output.

By submitting Content to Piph Author, you grant Alchemie a limited, non-exclusive license to process your Content solely for the purpose of generating accessible Output for you. This license terminates when your Content is no longer being processed.
4.3 FEEDBACK

If you provide Alchemie with feedback, suggestions, or ideas regarding Piph Author, you grant Alchemie the right to use such feedback without restriction or compensation to you.


5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

5.1 AI-POWERED ALT TEXT GENERATION

Piph Author uses the Anthropic Claude API to generate alternative text descriptions for complex scientific figures. By using the alt text generation feature, you acknowledge and agree that:

- Scientific figure content you submit will be transmitted to Anthropic’s API for processing
- No personal information or student data is included in or transmitted with these requests
- Anthropic does not retain submitted content after processing, and API inputs are not used to train Anthropic’s models, per Anthropic’s usage policies
- AI-generated alt text is provided as a starting point and should be reviewed for accuracy, particularly for highly specialized or novel scientific content
- Alchemie is not responsible for the accuracy of AI-generated descriptions and recommends review before publication

5.2 THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Piph Author relies on the following third-party services, each governed by their own terms:
- Firebase / Google Cloud Platform: Account authentication and infrastructure hosting
- Stripe: Payment processing
- Anthropic Claude API: Alt text generation

Alchemie is not responsible for the availability, performance, or terms of these third-party services.


6. EQUITABLE ACCESS - USER RESPONSIBILITY

Section 6 — Equitable Access: Your Role

‍Piph Author gives you powerful tools to make complex scientific figures accessible to students who are blind or have low vision. But the tool is only part of the equation.

Equitable access — meaning your students can engage with your content with the same depth and independence as sighted peers — depends on how you use what Piph Author produces. Specifically:

- Use the accessible SVG outputs that Piph Author generates, not just the visual versions of your figures
- Review the AI-generated alt text for accuracy before your content goes live — especially for highly specialized or novel structures
- Implement your content as Piph Author intends, so the full accessible experience reaches your students

If figures are exported or embedded without using Piph Author's accessible SVG outputs, students using screen readers may not be able to access your content equitably — and that's a gap no tool can close after the fact.

Alchemie is here to help you get this right. If you have questions about implementing accessible content, contact us at privacy@alchem.ie.


7. ACCEPTABLE USE

You agree to use Piph Author only for lawful purposes and in accordance with this Agreement.
You agree not to:
- Use Piph Author in any way that violates applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation
- Submit Content that infringes any third-party intellectual property rights
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of Piph Author or its related systems
- Use Piph Author to transmit any harmful, offensive, or unlawful content
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of Piph Author
- Attempt to circumvent any security or access controls
- Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to access or use Piph Author without Alchemie’s prior written consent
web applications (collectively and including all related documentation, information,

8. PRIVACY AND DATA

Alchemie's collection and use of your personal information in connection with Piph Author is governed by Alchemie’s Privacy Policy, available at https://www.alchem.ie/privacy-policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

In summary, Alchemie collects only your email address for account authentication. Payment information is processed entirely by Stripe. Scientific figures submitted for alt text generation are not retained by Alchemie after processing. Anonymous telemetry data is collected for quality assurance purposes only.


9. TERM AND TERMINATION

9.1 TERM

This Agreement begins when you create an account and accept these terms, and continues for the duration of your Subscription Period and any renewals thereof.

9.2 TERMINATION BY YOU

You may cancel your subscription at any time by contacting privacy@alchem.ie. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current Subscription Period. No refunds are provided for unused portions of the Subscription Period.

9.3 TERMINATION BY ALCHEMIE

Alchemie may suspend or terminate your access to Piph Author immediately and without notice if you breach any provision of this Agreement, engage in fraudulent or unlawful conduct, or if Alchemie discontinues Piph Author as a product.

9.4 EFFECT OF TERMINATION

Upon termination of this Agreement for any reason, your license to use Piph Author ends. You remain responsible for all fees incurred prior to termination. Sections 4, 6, 10, 11, and 12 survive termination.


10. DISCLAIMERS

PIPH AUTHOR IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. ALCHEMIE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

ALCHEMIE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT PIPH AUTHOR WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ALCHEMIE DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF AI-GENERATED ALT TEXT DESCRIPTIONS.

ALCHEMIE DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT USE OF PIPH AUTHOR WILL RESULT IN COMPLIANCE WITH ANY ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD, LAW, OR REGULATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WCAG, SECTION 508, OR THE ADA. EQUITABLE ACCESS OUTCOMES DEPEND ON HOW YOU AUTHOR AND IMPLEMENT YOUR CONTENT.


11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ALCHEMIE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF PIPH AUTHOR.

IN NO EVENT SHALL ALCHEMIE’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO ALCHEMIE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or damages. In such jurisdictions, the above limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.


12. GENERAL PROVISIONS

12.1 GOVERNING LAW

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising under this Agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Oakland County, Michigan.

12.2 ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement, together with Alchemie’s Privacy Policy, constitutes the entire agreement between you and Alchemie regarding Piph Author and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings.

12.3 MODIFICATIONS

Alchemie reserves the right to modify this Agreement at any time. We will notify you of material changes by email or by posting a notice within Piph Author. Your continued use of Piph Author after such notice constitutes acceptance of the updated Agreement.

12.4 SEVERABILITY

If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

12.5 WAIVER

Alchemie’s failure to enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

12.6 ASSIGNMENT

You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or any rights hereunder without Alchemie’s prior written consent. Alchemie may assign this Agreement freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

12.7 CONTACT

For questions about this Agreement, contact:

Alchemie Solutions, Inc.
‍Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA
privacy@alchem.ie
‍