Terms of Service (AGB)

3.1 Account Creation

You may create a free account using email/password or OAuth (Google, GitHub, LinkedIn). Each email address may only be associated with one account.

3.2 Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and API keys. You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access.

3.3 Account Suspension

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or abuse the Service.

4.1 Environments

Sandbox: API keys with prefix env_sandbox_ generate PDFs with a "SANDBOX" watermark. Sandbox usage is unlimited and free.

Live: API keys with prefix env_live_ generate production PDFs without watermarks. Live usage counts against your monthly quota.

4.2 Key Security

You are responsible for keeping your API keys secure. If a key is compromised, revoke it immediately via the dashboard. We are not liable for unauthorized use of your API keys.

4.3 Usage Tracking

Usage is tracked per API key. We log the endpoint, template, success status, and response time. We do NOT log invoice content.

6.1 Billing

Paid subscriptions are billed monthly via Stripe. Payment is due at the start of each billing period. All prices are in Euros (€) and include German VAT if applicable.

6.2 Automatic Renewal

Subscriptions renew automatically each month unless canceled. You can cancel anytime via the dashboard.

6.3 Payment Failure

If payment fails, we will attempt to charge your payment method again. After 7 days of unsuccessful charges, your account will be downgraded to Sandbox (free tier).

6.4 Refund Policy

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: If you are not satisfied with our service, you may request a full refund within 30 days of your initial purchase.

To request a refund, please contact our support team at hello@thelawin.dev with your account details. Refunds are processed within 5-10 business days.

Note: Refunds are handled by Paddle.com, our Merchant of Record. Paddle issues all invoices and processes all refund requests.

7.1 Monthly Quota

Your monthly quota resets on your billing date (the day you subscribed or upgraded).

7.2 Rate Limiting

API requests are rate-limited to 100 requests per minute per API key. Exceeding this limit returns a 429 Too Many Requests error.

7.3 Fair Use Policy

You may not abuse the Service through excessive requests, attempts to circumvent rate limits, or other malicious behavior. We reserve the right to suspend accounts violating fair use.

7.4 Temporary Quota Adjustments

To maintain secure and reliable service availability, we may temporarily reduce rate limits or quotas during:

• Scheduled maintenance windows
• Deployments and system updates
• Security incidents or DDoS mitigation
• Infrastructure scaling operations

We will make reasonable efforts to minimize impact and restore normal quotas as quickly as possible. Critical maintenance will be announced in advance when feasible.

8.1 Uptime Target

We aim for 99.5% uptime (excluding scheduled maintenance). However, we do NOT provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA) during the beta phase.

8.2 Maintenance

Scheduled maintenance will be announced at least 48 hours in advance via email or dashboard notification.

8.3 No Uptime Guarantee

We make no guarantees about Service availability during the beta phase. We are not liable for downtime, data loss, or interruptions.

9.1 API Code

The thelawin.dev API code is proprietary. The Rails Dashboard is open source and available on GitHub.

9.2 Generated PDFs

You own the PDFs generated by the API. We claim no intellectual property rights to your invoice data or output.

9.3 Open Standards

ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, XRechnung, and EN 16931 are open standards. We use the open-source Mustangproject library (Apache 2.0 license) for PDF/A-3 generation.

10.1 "AS IS" Service

The Service is provided "AS IS" during the beta phase, without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that the Service will be error-free, uninterrupted, or meet your requirements.

10.2 EN 16931 Compliance

We make our best effort to generate EN 16931-compliant invoices. However, you are responsible for validating the output and ensuring it meets your legal requirements.

10.3 Limitation of Liability

Our liability is limited to the amount you paid in the 12 months preceding any claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost data, or business interruption.

10.4 User Responsibility

You are responsible for:

• The accuracy and legality of invoice data you submit
• Validating API output before using it in production
• Compliance with tax laws and e-invoicing regulations in your jurisdiction
• Backup copies of your invoice data (we do not store it)

10.5 Invoice Responsibility and Duty of Care

Technical Service Only: thelawin.dev provides a technical service that transforms structured invoice data (JSON) into PDF/XML documents conforming to EN 16931 standards (ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, XRechnung, etc.). We are not involved in the creation, verification, or transmission of your invoices.

Scope of Technical Validation: Our Service performs technical conformity checks including:

• XML schema validation against EN 16931 specifications
• PDF/A-3 structural compliance
• Mandatory field presence (according to the selected format)
• Data format consistency (dates, numbers, currency codes)

No Content Verification: We do not verify or validate:

• Accuracy of amounts, VAT rates, or calculations
• Correctness of seller/buyer information (company names, addresses, VAT IDs)
• Legitimacy of transactions or business relationships
• Compliance with your specific tax obligations or accounting standards
• Appropriateness of item descriptions, quantities, or prices
• Legal validity of invoice issuance in your jurisdiction

Legal Responsibility Under §14 UStG: According to German VAT Law (§14 UStG), the invoice issuer (you or your client) bears full legal responsibility for:

• Ensuring all mandatory invoice information is correct and complete
• Authenticity of origin and integrity of content
• Compliance with tax reporting obligations
• Proper invoice issuance timing (within 6 months of service delivery)

This responsibility cannot be transferred to thelawin.dev through use of our Service.

Duty of Care (Sorgfaltspflicht): You are required to:

• Review all generated invoices before sending them to recipients
• Verify that calculations, amounts, and VAT rates are correct
• Ensure seller and buyer information is accurate and current
• Confirm that the invoice complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction
• Maintain proper records as required by tax authorities
• Not rely solely on automated technical validation

No Invoice Transmission: thelawin.dev does not send, transmit, or deliver invoices on your behalf. You remain solely responsible for:

• Sending invoices to your customers through appropriate channels
• Ensuring secure and reliable delivery
• Confirming receipt when required
• Handling invoice corrections, cancellations, or disputes

Limitation of Liability for Invoice Content: To the maximum extent permitted by law, thelawin.dev is not liable for:

• Errors, inaccuracies, or omissions in invoice content
• Financial losses resulting from incorrect invoices
• Tax penalties, interest, or fines due to non-compliant invoices
• Loss of VAT input deduction rights by invoice recipients
• Disputes between you and your customers regarding invoice content
• Damages arising from undetected technical errors in generated PDFs/XML

Acknowledgment: By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree that:

• You bear full responsibility as the invoice issuer under applicable law
• You will perform final review and approval of all invoices before use
• Technical conformity validation does not constitute legal or accounting advice
• You will not hold thelawin.dev liable for any invoice-related issues
• You understand the limitations of automated technical validation

References:
- §14 UStG - Invoice Requirements (Germany)
- EN 16931 - European e-Invoicing Standard
- Germany E-Invoicing Obligations

13.1 User Termination

You may cancel your subscription or delete your account at any time via the dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. For refund eligibility, see Section 6.4 (Refund Policy).

13.2 Provider Termination

We may terminate your account with 30 days notice for any reason, including discontinuation of the Service.

13.3 Immediate Termination

We may immediately suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or abuse the Service.

13.4 Data Deletion

Upon account deletion, we will permanently delete your account data, API keys, and usage logs within 30 days. Since we do not store invoice data, no invoice-related data exists to delete.