Terms of Service

Please read these Terms of Service (“Terms”) carefully before using the Services operated by Kovel.io, a subsidiary of Spaceship Earth, LLC d/b/a Kovel (“Kovel,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Kovel.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using kovel.ioor any Kovel application, portal, or service (collectively, the “Services”), you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you may not access or use the Services. Your continued use of the Services following any update to these Terms constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

2. Service Description

Kovel is a technology platform that facilitates attorney-directed AI-assisted legal research. The Services connect subscribers with independently licensed attorneys who direct subscribers’ use of AI research tools within a formal attorney engagement, consistent with the framework established in United States v. Kovel, 296 F.2d 918 (2d Cir. 1961). The Services include an AI research portal, a Law Library document environment, attorney-matching infrastructure, and related account management tools.

Kovel is a technology platform, not a law firm. Kovel does not practice law, does not provide legal services, and does not employ attorneys to represent subscribers. The legal services component of your subscription is provided solely by independently licensed attorneys in the Kovel network.

3. Eligibility

The Services are available only to individuals who are at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to form a binding contract under applicable law. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet these eligibility requirements. If you are using the Services on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms, and “you” in these Terms refers to that organization.

4. Accounts and Account Security

To access most features of the Services, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update that information as necessary. You are solely responsible for:

• maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and session tokens;
• all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorized by you;
• promptly notifying Kovel at legal@kovel.io of any suspected unauthorized use of your account.

Kovel uses magic-link email authentication and long-lived device tokens rather than passwords. You are responsible for maintaining control of the email address and devices associated with your account. Kovel will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with these obligations.

5. Attorney Relationships

The attorneys available through the Services are independent licensed professionals, not employees, agents, or contractors of Kovel. Kovel facilitates the connection between subscribers and network attorneys and provides the platform through which attorney-directed AI research is conducted, but Kovel is not a party to the attorney-client relationship.

Your engagement with a network attorney is governed by the engagement letter you execute with that attorney. Kovel is not responsible for:

• the professional conduct, competency, or malpractice of any network attorney;
• any outcome of any legal matter you pursue with or through a network attorney;
• any bar complaint, disciplinary action, or sanction involving a network attorney in connection with services they provide to you;
• any conflict of interest that may exist between you and a network attorney.

You acknowledge that Kovel’s role is limited to providing the technological platform and that all professional legal responsibilities remain with your attorney.

6. Privilege — Important Disclaimer

KOVEL IS A TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM, NOT A LAW FIRM. KOVEL DOES NOT PRACTICE LAW AND DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE. THE APPLICATION OF ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE TO COMMUNICATIONS MADE THROUGH THE SERVICES DEPENDS ON A VALID ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP, THE SPECIFIC FACTS OF YOUR ENGAGEMENT, THE NATURE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AT ISSUE, AND THE JURISDICTION IN WHICH PRIVILEGE IS ASSERTED. KOVEL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE THAT ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE WILL ATTACH TO ANY SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION. THE PRIVILEGE ANALYSIS UNDER U.S. V. KOVEL, 296 F.2D 918 (2D CIR. 1961) IS SUBJECT TO JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION AND FACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT VARY BY CASE. YOUR PRIVILEGE DEPENDS ON YOUR ATTORNEY’S ENGAGEMENT, YOUR CONDUCT, AND THE FACTS OF YOUR MATTER — NOT ON KOVEL’S PLATFORM STANDING ALONE.

7. No Legal Advice — AI Output Disclaimer

AI-generated content provided through the Services is for research and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Kovel, and must not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney. AI systems may make errors of law, fact, reasoning, or citation. You are solely responsible for independently verifying all AI-generated content and for any decisions you make based on it.

8. Permitted Use

You may use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• use the Services in violation of any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation;
• submit any content, query, or material that infringes, misappropriates, or violates the intellectual property rights or privacy of any third party;
• reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source code of any portion of the Services;
• scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from the Services by automated means without Kovel’s prior written consent;
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion or feature of the Services, or to any other system or network connected to the Services;
• use the Services to generate, transmit, or store material that is defamatory, obscene, harassing, threatening, or otherwise objectionable;
• impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
• use the Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Services or interfere with any other party’s use of the Services;
• share your account credentials or provide unauthorized third parties access to the Services through your account.

9. Payments and Billing

Kovel offers subscription plans, currently including:

• Shield — $149 per month per individual subscriber.
• Fortress — $199 per attorney seat per month (minimum 3 seats), with additional client portal seats available.

Subscriptions are billed monthly and renew automatically at the then-current price on the same calendar day each month unless cancelled before the renewal date. Mid-cycle plan upgrades are prorated for the remainder of the current billing period. Plan downgrades take effect at the next renewal date.

All fees are non-refundable except in Kovel’s sole discretion. Kovel may change pricing with thirty (30) days’ advance email notice to your registered address. If you do not cancel before the price change takes effect, you accept the new pricing. All prices are quoted in U.S. dollars and exclude applicable taxes.

Failure to pay fees when due may result in suspension or termination of your account. Kovel reserves the right to charge a late fee or collection costs for past-due amounts.

10. Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings page. Upon cancellation, your access to the Services will continue through the end of the current paid billing period. No partial-month refunds are issued. After the billing period ends, your account will be downgraded to a free tier (if any) or deactivated. Your directing attorney will be notified of the cancellation so that they may appropriately close the engagement.

11. Intellectual Property

11.1 Kovel’s Property

The Services and all associated software, interfaces, documentation, trademarks, trade names, logos, and other content created by or on behalf of Kovel are the exclusive intellectual property of Kovel or its licensors. These Terms do not grant you any ownership interest in the Services. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Services solely for the purposes described in these Terms.

11.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of the content and materials you submit to the Services (“Your Content”). By submitting Your Content, you grant Kovel a limited, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to process, store, transmit, and display Your Content to the extent necessary to provide the Services to you and your directing attorney. This license does not grant Kovel the right to use Your Content for any other purpose, including training AI models.

You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to submit Your Content to the Services and to grant the license above, and that Your Content does not infringe the rights of any third party.

12. Third-Party Services

The Services incorporate or rely on third-party services, including:

• Anthropic, PBC — the AI model provider. Kovel routes AI queries through enterprise API endpoints; Kovel is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of AI-generated outputs.
• Stripe, Inc.— payment processing. Kovel is not responsible for billing errors or disputes arising from Stripe’s systems.
• Network attorneys — independently licensed legal professionals. Kovel is not responsible for attorney conduct, malpractice, or professional discipline.

Your use of third-party services is governed by those parties’ own terms and policies. Kovel expressly disclaims any liability arising from your use of third-party services.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

KOVEL MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. KOVEL PROVIDES NO SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT OR GUARANTEE OF AVAILABILITY. WHILE KOVEL IMPLEMENTS COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE SECURITY MEASURES, NO SECURITY SYSTEM IS IMPENETRABLE, AND KOVEL CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ABSOLUTE SECURITY OF YOUR DATA. KOVEL SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, ALTERATION, THEFT, DESTRUCTION, OR DISCLOSURE OF YOUR CONTENT OR DATA.

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. KOVEL DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT ANY RESULTS OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR RELIABLE.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, KOVEL AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, LICENSORS, AND SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, EVEN IF KOVEL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

KOVEL’S MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO KOVEL IN THE ONE (1) CALENDAR MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS ($25.00). THIS LIMITATION APPLIES REGARDLESS OF WHETHER KOVEL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

15. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Kovel and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your access to or use of the Services; (b) your reliance on any AI-generated content provided through the Services; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any applicable law or regulation or the rights of any third party; (e) any content or materials you submit to or through the Services; (f) any legal matter you research through the Services and any outcome of that matter; (g) any assertion that attorney-client privilege was waived, failed to attach, or was otherwise unavailable with respect to any communication made through the Services; (h) any disciplinary proceeding, sanction, bar complaint, or claim involving any attorney in connection with your use of the Services; or (i) any claim by any third party arising from your use of the Services.

16. DMCA — Copyright Notices

If you believe that content available through the Services infringes your copyright, please send a notice that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512) to:

Your notice must include: (i) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed; (ii) identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location in the Services sufficient for us to locate it; (iii) your contact information; (iv) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner; (v) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner; and (vi) your electronic or physical signature.

17. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law principles. To the extent any claim is not subject to the arbitration agreement in Section 18, you agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of Delaware for the resolution of any such claim.

18. Dispute Resolution

18.1 Informal Resolution

Before initiating any formal dispute proceeding, you agree to contact Kovel at legal@kovel.io and describe your dispute in reasonable detail. The parties agree to attempt to resolve the dispute informally for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of that notice. If the dispute is not resolved within that period, either party may proceed to binding arbitration as set forth below.

18.2 Binding Arbitration

Except for disputes that qualify for small claims court and except as otherwise provided herein, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity thereof, or your use of the Services, shall be determined by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (or Commercial Arbitration Rules if you are acting in a commercial capacity), as in effect at the time the demand is filed. The arbitration shall be conducted in Delaware, or by telephone or video conference if agreed by the parties.

The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this arbitration agreement. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. Filing fees and arbitrator compensation will be governed by the applicable AAA rules.

18.3 Class Action Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AND KOVEL EACH AGREE THAT ANY PROCEEDING TO RESOLVE CLAIMS WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. IF FOR ANY REASON A CLAIM PROCEEDS IN COURT RATHER THAN IN ARBITRATION, YOU AND KOVEL EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

18.4 Exceptions

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek emergency injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights or confidential information.

19. Changes to These Terms

Kovel reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will provide at least thirty (30) days’ advance email notice to the address associated with your account. The updated Terms will be posted at this URL with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of the updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not accept the changes, you must cancel your account before the effective date.

20. General Provisions

Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any engagement letter executed with a network attorney, constitute the entire agreement between you and Kovel with respect to the Services and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver.Kovel’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms will not be deemed a waiver of that provision.

Assignment.You may not assign these Terms or any of your rights or obligations hereunder without Kovel’s prior written consent. Kovel may assign these Terms freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Force Majeure. Kovel will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, pandemics, governmental actions, or failures of third-party infrastructure.

21. Contact

For legal notices, questions about these Terms, or DMCA notices, please contact: