Subscriber Terms of Use

These terms govern access to the subscriber content of the ERISA Benefits Law Desk Reference published by ERISA Benefits Tech, LLC ("EBT"), and to the Desk Reference research assistant. By subscribing, or by signing in to read the subscriber content or to use the research assistant, a subscriber agrees to them.

1. The license

A subscription is a license to read the subscriber content of the Desk Reference and to use the research assistant described in Section 5. It is not a sale, and EBT keeps all rights in the content. Each license is issued to one person and one email address. The license may not be shared, and sign-in credentials may not be given to anyone else. An organization that wants access for several people needs a license for each of them.

2. Kinds of license

• Paid subscription. A paid subscription runs for the period purchased, monthly or annually, at the price shown before purchase. It renews automatically at the end of each period, for another period of the same length, at EBT's then-current published price for that plan, until it is cancelled. If that price is higher than the price the subscriber last paid, EBT will email the subscriber at least 30 days before the renewal, so that the subscriber can cancel before it takes effect. A subscriber may cancel at any time from the subscription management page linked from the subscriber's account page. Cancelling stops the next renewal; access continues until the end of the period already paid for and then ends. No refund or partial refund is given for a period that has begun.
• Engagement access. At the request of ERISA Benefits Law Group, PLLC, EBT may grant access without charge to a client of that firm as part of an engagement, for a period the firm sets. Access may be extended, shortened, or ended at any time, and it ends when the engagement ends unless the firm states otherwise.

Both kinds of license include the research assistant.

When a license ends, access to the subscriber content and to the research assistant ends. The free pages of the Desk Reference remain open to everyone.

3. Permitted use

A subscriber may read the subscriber content, print or save individual sections for the subscriber's own professional reference, and quote brief passages with a citation to the Desk Reference. A subscriber may use the research assistant's answers in the subscriber's own professional work, subject to Section 5.

4. Prohibited use

A subscriber may not:

• copy, publish, sell, or distribute the subscriber content, in whole or in substantial part, or make it available to anyone who does not hold a license;
• download the content systematically, or use automated tools to collect, index, or extract it;
• use the content to build, train, or improve any database, product, or software model;
• remove copyright or other notices; or
• attempt to get around the sign-in or any other access control.

EBT may suspend or end a license that is used in breach of these terms.

5. The research assistant

5.1 What it is. The research assistant answers questions about the federal law of employee benefit plans. It researches in the Desk Reference and in official government sources, and it can read documents the subscriber attaches. Its answers are written by an artificial-intelligence model. No lawyer writes or reviews an answer before the subscriber sees it.

5.2 General information, not legal advice. The research assistant provides general information about the law. When it applies the law to facts the subscriber describes, or to a document the subscriber attaches, its answer is still general information and not legal advice. Using it does not create an attorney-client relationship with EBT, with ERISA Benefits Law Group, PLLC, or with anyone else. A subscriber who needs legal advice should consult the subscriber's own counsel. The subscriber is responsible for any use the subscriber makes of an answer, including any advice the subscriber gives to others.

5.3 Answers can be wrong. An answer written by artificial intelligence can misstate the law, miss an authority that matters, cite a source inaccurately, or misread a document or the facts. Each answer cites the authority it relies on. The subscriber should check the cited authority before relying on an answer. A citation marked "(from memory; not verified)" was not checked against its source. The Desk Reference states the law as of the date each section gives, and the law may have changed since.

5.4 The monthly allowance. Each license includes a research allowance for each allowance period. A period runs for one month from the day of the month on which the license began. For a paid subscription that is the subscription's billing day, and an annual subscriber's allowance also renews month by month. For engagement access it is the day access was granted. In a month that has no such day, the period begins on the last day of that month. The allowance is measured by the cost of the research each answer requires, so a question about a long document, or one that needs extensive research, uses more of it than a short question. The research assistant shows the share used as a percentage, and EBT sends an email when 80% is used and when it is used up. When it is used up, no new question can be asked until the next period begins; an answer already being written is finished, and past conversations remain available to read. Unused allowance does not carry over to the next period, and no refund or credit is given for it. EBT sets the amount of the allowance and may change it; a reduction applies to a paid subscription from its next renewal.

5.5 Documents a subscriber attaches. A subscriber may attach documents within the number, size and page limits shown in the research assistant. The subscriber is responsible for having the right to share each document with EBT and with the service provider that writes the answers, and for complying with any duty of confidentiality, any plan or employer policy, and any law that applies to it. A subscriber may not attach protected health information, Social Security numbers, or other information that identifies a participant or beneficiary, and must remove or redact it first. Sharing a privileged or confidential document with a third party can affect the privilege or confidentiality that protects it; a subscriber who is unsure whether that risk is acceptable should not attach the document. By attaching a document, the subscriber permits EBT to store it, to read it, and to send it to EBT's service provider, only to answer the subscriber's questions and as the Privacy Notice describes.

5.6 How long conversations are kept. Each conversation, with its answers and documents, is deleted automatically 90 days after its last message. A subscriber may delete a conversation sooner, and it is then deleted at once. All of a subscriber's conversations are deleted when the subscriber's account is closed. EBT does not keep a copy after deletion, and a deleted conversation cannot be recovered, so a subscriber who wants to keep an answer should save a copy. Section 13 of the Privacy Notice describes what EBT keeps and who receives it.

5.7 Acceptable use. In using the research assistant, a subscriber may not:

• let anyone else use it under the subscriber's license, or use more than one account to obtain more than one allowance;
• send questions by automated means, or use it to extract the Desk Reference's content in bulk or to reproduce the assistant's instructions;
• use it, or its answers, to build, train, or improve any other artificial-intelligence model, database, or product;
• attach or enter anything the subscriber has no right to share, or anything unlawful;
• try to make it act outside its purpose, get around its limits, or interfere with the service; or
• use it in any way the usage policy of EBT's artificial-intelligence provider forbids.

EBT may suspend the research assistant, or end a license, for use in breach of this section.

5.8 Availability and changes. The research assistant may at times be slow or unavailable, and an answer may fail; an answer that fails does not count against the allowance. EBT may change how the research assistant works, including the model that writes the answers, the sources it reads, and its limits on documents.

6. Not legal advice

The Desk Reference and the research assistant are general information, not legal advice, and a subscription does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Legal Notices page applies to the subscriber content and the research assistant as well as to the free pages.

7. No warranty and limit of liability

The Desk Reference and the research assistant, including its answers, are provided "as is." EBT does not warrant that they are complete, current, or free of error, or that access will be uninterrupted. To the extent the law allows, EBT is not liable for any loss arising from use of the Desk Reference or the research assistant, and its total liability to a subscriber for any claim is limited to the amount the subscriber paid for the license in the twelve months before the claim arose.

8. Privacy

EBT uses a subscriber's email address to provide access, to send sign-in links, renewal reminders, and the research assistant's allowance emails, and to tell subscribers about significant changes to the Desk Reference. EBT handles what a subscriber puts into the research assistant as Section 13 of the Privacy Notice describes. EBT does not sell subscriber information.

9. Changes

EBT may revise the Desk Reference at any time. It may change these terms by posting a revised version; a change applies to a paid subscription from its next renewal.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of Arizona. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Maricopa County, Arizona.

11. Contact

Questions about a subscription may be sent to hello@erisabenefitstech.com.