These Terms of Service (these “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Watch Safe, Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Miami, Florida (“Watch Safe,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms govern your access to and use of the Services (defined in Section 1).
You accept these Terms when you click or tap to accept them, create an account, join the waitlist, submit a serial number lookup, place an Order, or otherwise access or use the Services. Where we present these Terms for affirmative acceptance, your acceptance is recorded. If you do not accept these Terms, do not use the Services. If you are accepting on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that organization, and “you” refers to that organization.
01Definitions
1.1 “Certificate Materials” means the items issued in connection with a Registry Record, which may include a physical NFC-enabled hang tag and a Digital Certificate.
1.2 “Digital Certificate” means a non-transferable, blockchain-anchored token, minted and held in custody by Watch Safe, that references a Registry Record as described in Section 11.
1.3 “Inspection” means an examination of a watch performed by a Partner, including the Partner’s findings, photographs, and related documentation.
1.4 “Order” means a purchase placed through the Services, including an Inspection booking, a registration, an ownership transfer recording, or a subscription.
1.5 “Owner” means the person identified in a Registry Record as the current owner of the registered watch.
1.6 “Owner Alert” means a notification sent to an Owner when the serial number of the Owner’s registered watch is submitted to the Registry lookup function.
1.7 “Partner” means an independent professional, admitted to the Watch Safe partner network by invitation, who performs Inspections. Partners are not employees, agents, partners, or joint venturers of Watch Safe.
1.8 “Registry” means the database of Registry Records operated by Watch Safe.
1.9 “Registry Record” means the record of a watch maintained in the Registry, including the Inspection findings of the named Partner, provenance and service history, photographs, and status information.
1.10 “Services” means the websites operated by Watch Safe at watchsafe.io and its subdomains, the Registry, the collector vault, the Partner portal, the lookup and Owner Alert functions, the Certificate Materials, and all related features, applications, and content offered by Watch Safe.
1.11 “Verification Code” means a single-use, time-limited code issued to an Owner that, when shared by the Owner, releases access to a Registry Record.
02The Services; Watch Safe’s Role
2.1 What Watch Safe does. Watch Safe operates the Registry. Watch Safe records, publishes, and maintains Registry Records; verifies the credentials a Partner submits during onboarding; facilitates the booking of Inspections with Partners; processes related payments through its payment processor; issues Certificate Materials; records ownership transfers; and operates the lookup and Owner Alert functions.
2.2 What Watch Safe does not do. Watch Safe does not perform Inspections and does not render any opinion on the authenticity, condition, originality, provenance, title, or value of any watch. Watch Safe does not authenticate, certify, appraise, or guarantee any watch. Each Registry Record identifies the Partner who performed the Inspection, and that Partner is solely responsible for the findings, opinions, and conclusions contained in the Inspection. A Registry Record is a record of the named Partner’s findings; it is not a statement, warranty, or guarantee by Watch Safe about the watch.
2.3 Administrative review only. Watch Safe’s review of a Partner submission is limited to an administrative completeness check confirming that required fields, photographs, and documentation are present. This is a process gate, not an authenticity gate. Watch Safe’s review does not evaluate, validate, or adopt the Partner’s findings.
2.4 Independent Partners. The contract for an Inspection is between you and the Partner who performs it. Watch Safe is not a party to that contract. Partners set their own service modes, availability, and schedules and exercise their own independent professional judgment. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment, agency, partnership, or joint venture relationship between Watch Safe and any Partner.
2.5 No party to watch transactions. Watch Safe does not buy, sell, broker, consign, or take possession of watches, and is not a party to any purchase, sale, or other transaction in a watch between users or between a user and any third party.
2.6 Partner agreements. Use of the Partner portal is additionally governed by a separate written agreement between the Partner and Watch Safe (a “Partner Agreement”). If a Partner Agreement conflicts with these Terms, the Partner Agreement controls with respect to the Partner relationship.
03Eligibility
3.1 You must be at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract to use the Services.
3.2 The Services are offered in the United States. All fees are stated and charged in U.S. dollars.
04Accounts
4.1 Certain features, including the collector vault and the Partner portal, require an account. You will provide accurate and complete registration information and keep it current.
4.2 You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You will notify Watch Safe promptly at legal@watchsafe.io of any unauthorized use of your account.
4.3 Watch Safe may suspend or terminate any account as described in Section 20.
05Registry Access
5.1 Public lookup. Any person may submit a serial number to the Registry lookup function. A public lookup returns only the watch’s status (Registered, Not Found, or Flagged Stolen) and minimal identifying details about the watch. Public lookup results do not include Owner identity or the contents of the Registry Record.
5.2 Owner-controlled release. The full Registry Record is released only upon entry of a valid Verification Code shared by the Owner. Verification Codes are single-use and expire after a limited time. The Owner controls whether and to whom a Registry Record is released.
5.3 Owner Alerts. When a registered serial number is submitted to the lookup function, an Owner Alert is sent to the Owner. By registering a watch and opting in to notifications, you consent to receive Owner Alerts as described in Section 10.
5.4 Notice to persons performing a lookup. If you submit a serial number to the lookup function, you should expect that the registered Owner will be notified that a lookup occurred and that the lookup event, including your IP address and the approximate city derived from it, will be logged for notification, security, and abuse-prevention purposes, as described in the Privacy Policy. The Owner Alert does not disclose your name or contact information to the Owner.
5.5 Rate limits and abuse controls. Watch Safe applies rate limiting and other controls to lookup activity. Watch Safe may restrict, throttle, or block lookup activity that Watch Safe reasonably determines to be automated, excessive, abusive, or intended to harass an Owner.
06Inspections and Registration
6.1 Booking. You may book an Inspection with a Partner through the Services. Service modes, availability, and scheduling are set by the Partner.
6.2 Registration. Upon completion of the Partner’s submission and Watch Safe’s receipt of payment for the Order, Watch Safe records the watch in the Registry and issues the applicable Certificate Materials. Watch Safe does not impose a separate substantive review before a Registry Record becomes active.
6.3 Nature of the Registry Record. A Registry Record reflects the named Partner’s findings as of the date of the Inspection. A Registry Record does not establish, and Watch Safe does not represent, that the watch is authentic, unaltered, in any particular condition, or of any particular value, whether at the time of the Inspection or at any later time. The presence or absence of a Registry Record for a watch is not a representation by Watch Safe about that watch.
07Ownership Transfers
7.1 The Owner of a registered watch may request that a change in ownership be recorded in the Registry. Transfer recordings are subject to the transfer fee displayed at the time of the request.
7.2 Upon completion of a transfer recording, the Registry Record and associated Certificate Materials are updated to reflect the new Owner, and the chain of custody is recorded. The Registry Record remains associated with the watch through changes in ownership.
08Theft and Loss Flags
8.1 Flagging. An Owner may flag the Owner’s registered watch as stolen or lost at no charge. By submitting a flag, you represent that you are the Owner, that the flag is truthful, accurate, and submitted in good faith, and that you have a reasonable basis for the report. Watch Safe may require a reference to a police report or other supporting information before publishing or maintaining a stolen flag.
8.2 Nature of a flag. A Flagged Stolen status reflects the Owner’s report. It is not a finding or determination by Watch Safe. Watch Safe is not a law enforcement agency, does not investigate theft, and does not undertake to recover any watch.
8.3 Disputes and removal. Watch Safe maintains a process for disputing a flag. A person who believes a flag is mistaken, false, or abusive may contact Watch Safe at legal@watchsafe.io. Watch Safe may remove or modify a flag that Watch Safe reasonably determines to be false, mistaken, or abusive, and will act on a well-supported dispute without undue delay.
8.4 False flags. Knowingly submitting a false flag is a material breach of these Terms, may result in suspension or termination, and may expose you to civil or criminal liability. You will indemnify Watch Safe for any claim arising from a flag you submit, as described in Section 19.
09Fees and Payment
9.1 Fees. Fees for Orders are displayed at the time of purchase. By placing an Order, you authorize Watch Safe’s payment processor to charge your selected payment method for the displayed amount, plus any applicable taxes.
9.2 Payment processing. Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. (“Stripe”). Watch Safe does not receive or store full payment card numbers and does not hold customer funds. Amounts payable to Partners are settled to Partners through Stripe in accordance with the applicable Partner Agreement. Watch Safe does not take custody of, hold, or act as an escrow agent for any funds.
9.3 Refunds and recovery. Except as required by applicable law or expressly stated in these Terms, fees are non-refundable once the corresponding Inspection has been performed or Registry action has been completed. If a booked Inspection is not performed, contact Watch Safe at legal@watchsafe.io, and Watch Safe will facilitate a reschedule or a refund of the Inspection fee. Where a refund is issued after any portion of the fee has been settled to a Partner, recovery of the Partner’s portion is governed by the applicable Partner Agreement.
9.4 Subscriptions and automatic renewal. Watch Safe offers paid subscriptions. Before you purchase a subscription, Watch Safe discloses the subscription term, the recurring price, the billing frequency, and the cancellation method. Unless stated otherwise at purchase, subscriptions renew automatically at the then-current price for successive terms until canceled. You may cancel an automatically renewing subscription at any time through your account settings, effective at the end of the current billing period, and your cancellation method is at least as simple as the method you used to subscribe. Where required by law, Watch Safe will provide advance notice of a renewal or a price change and will obtain any required consent. Except as required by law, amounts already charged for a completed subscription period are non-refundable.
9.5 Price changes. Watch Safe may change fees prospectively. Price changes do not affect Orders already placed and, for subscriptions, take effect only at the start of a renewal term after any notice required by law.
10Communications; SMS Terms
10.1 Transactional communications. Watch Safe sends communications relating to your account, your Registry Records, and your Orders, including Owner Alerts, Verification Codes, security notifications, and service notices, by email, SMS, or both, according to your notification settings and applicable consents.
10.2 SMS consent. You will receive SMS messages only if you provide your mobile number and opt in. Consent to receive SMS messages is not a condition of purchasing any good or service. Message frequency varies with activity relating to your Registry Records and account. Message and data rates may apply.
10.3 Opt-out. You may opt out of SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any message or by adjusting your notification settings, and you may reply HELP for assistance. If you opt out, Watch Safe will not send you Owner Alerts by SMS, which reduces the notification function of the Registry for your watch. Messages that you initiate, such as a Verification Code you request, may still be delivered.
10.4 No marketing on the alert channel. Watch Safe does not send marketing or promotional messages through the Owner Alert SMS channel.
11Digital Certificates and Blockchain Records
11.1 Nature of the Digital Certificate. A Digital Certificate is a record-keeping instrument that references a Registry Record. Digital Certificates are not securities, investments, commodities, currencies, or financial instruments; they are not offered or sold as such; they cannot be fractionalized; and Watch Safe makes no representation that a Digital Certificate has or will have any monetary value.
11.2 Custody. Watch Safe mints and retains custody of Digital Certificates on behalf of Owners. You are not required to hold a cryptocurrency wallet to use the Services. Digital Certificates are non-transferable tokens; ownership changes are reflected through chain-of-custody entries recorded by Watch Safe under Section 7.
11.3 No personal information on-chain. Watch Safe does not write names, contact details, plain-text serial numbers, photographs, or other personal information to any blockchain. The on-chain components of a Digital Certificate consist only of a salted cryptographic hash and non-identifying certificate data, which are designed so that they cannot, by themselves, be used to identify a person.
11.4 Third-party networks. Blockchain networks and decentralized storage systems are operated by third parties that Watch Safe does not control. Watch Safe is not responsible for the availability or performance of, or changes to, any blockchain network or decentralized storage system, and makes no representation that any third-party network will continue to operate.
12User Content
12.1 License. You retain ownership of the content you submit to the Services, including photographs, documents, and record information (“User Content”). You grant Watch Safe a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, adapt for display, and use User Content as reasonably necessary to operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Services, including maintaining Registry Records through changes in ownership.
12.2 Representations. You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to submit your User Content and grant the license in Section 12.1, and that your User Content is accurate and does not infringe or misappropriate the rights of any third party.
12.3 Durability of Registry Records. Registry Records are designed to be durable records associated with the watch. The handling and deletion of personal information within Registry Records are governed by the Watch Safe Privacy Policy.
12.4 Feedback. If you provide suggestions or feedback regarding the Services, Watch Safe may use them without restriction or obligation to you.
13Acceptable Use
You will not, and will not permit any third party to:
(a) submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information to the Registry, including false ownership claims, false theft or loss flags, or fabricated provenance or service history;
(b) use the Services in connection with the sale, attempted sale, or transfer of counterfeit, stolen, or materially misrepresented goods;
(c) access the Services by automated means, perform scripted or bulk lookups, scrape any portion of the Services, or harvest data from the Registry;
(d) use lookups, Owner Alerts, or any other feature to harass, intimidate, stalk, or surveil any person;
(e) circumvent or attempt to circumvent any security feature, rate limit, access control, or the owner-controlled release mechanism described in Section 5.2;
(f) reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the Services, except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by applicable law;
(g) impersonate Watch Safe, any Partner, or any other person, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
(h) interfere with the operation of the Services, including by introducing malicious code or imposing an unreasonable load on Watch Safe’s infrastructure; or
(i) use the Services in violation of applicable law.
14Intellectual Property; Trademarks
14.1 Watch Safe property. The Services, including the Watch Safe name, the WS monogram, logos, software, site design, and the selection, arrangement, and curation of the Registry and reference library, are owned by Watch Safe or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. Watch Safe grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Services as permitted by these Terms. No other rights are granted.
14.2 Third-party trademarks. Watch brand names and marks appearing in the Services are the trademarks of their respective owners and are used solely to identify the watches to which Registry Records and reference materials relate. Watch Safe is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any watch manufacturer.
15Copyright Complaints
15.1 Notice and takedown. Watch Safe respects the intellectual property rights of others and responds to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). If you believe that content on the Services infringes a copyright you own or control, send a written notice to Watch Safe’s designated agent that includes: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (c) identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to locate it; (d) your contact information; (e) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (f) a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the owner or are authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.
15.2 Designated agent. Notices must be sent to the Watch Safe DMCA agent at legal@watchsafe.io, or at the address in Section 25, attention: DMCA Agent. [Designated agent name and Copyright Office registration number to be inserted upon registration.]
15.3 Counter-notice. If your content was removed or disabled and you believe the removal was a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice to the designated agent containing the information required by the DMCA. Watch Safe may restore the content as permitted by the DMCA.
15.4 Repeat infringers. Watch Safe may suspend or terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.
16Third-Party Services
The Services interoperate with services provided by third parties, including payment processing, messaging delivery, hosting, mapping, and blockchain infrastructure. Your use of a third-party service may be subject to that third party’s terms. Watch Safe is not responsible for third-party services.
17Disclaimers
17.1 The Services, the Registry, all Registry Records, all Certificate Materials, and all content are provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Watch Safe disclaims all implied warranties, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, accuracy, and non-infringement.
17.2 Without limiting Section 17.1, Watch Safe does not warrant, represent, or guarantee: (a) the authenticity, condition, originality, provenance, title, or value of any watch; (b) the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any Inspection, Registry Record, or reference data; (c) that a watch with a Registry Record is genuine, or that a watch without a Registry Record is not genuine; or (d) that the Services, including Owner Alerts and lookups, will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
17.3 Inspection findings are the professional opinions of the named Partner and not of Watch Safe. Any reliance you place on a Registry Record or on the presence or absence of a Registry Record is at your own risk.
17.4 Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties. To that extent, some of the exclusions in this Section 17 may not apply to you.
18Limitation of Liability
18.1 To the maximum extent permitted by law, Watch Safe and its officers, directors, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, loss of goodwill, diminution in the value of any watch, or the cost of substitute services, arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services, regardless of the theory of liability and even if Watch Safe has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
18.2 To the maximum extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of Watch Safe for all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid to Watch Safe for the Services in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim and (b) $100.
18.3 Watch Safe is not liable for the acts, omissions, findings, or opinions of any Partner, or for any transaction in a watch between you and any other person.
18.4 Exceptions. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, willful misconduct, or gross negligence. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the limitations in this Section 18 may not apply to you. The limitations in this Section 18 apply notwithstanding any failure of essential purpose of any limited remedy.
19Indemnification
You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Watch Safe and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Services; (b) your User Content; (c) any theft or loss flag you submit; (d) your breach of these Terms or violation of applicable law; or (e) any transaction or dispute between you and any Partner or other user.
20Term; Suspension; Termination; Survival
20.1 These Terms apply from your first use of the Services and continue until terminated under this Section 20.
20.2 You may stop using the Services at any time and may request deletion of your account through your account settings or by contacting legal@watchsafe.io.
20.3 Watch Safe may suspend or terminate your access to all or part of the Services, with notice where practicable, if you breach these Terms, if suspension is reasonably necessary to protect the Services, the Registry, Owners, or other users, or as required by law.
20.4 Upon termination, your license under Section 14.1 ends. Sections 1, 2, 8.3, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.4, 21, 22, and 24 survive termination.
21Dispute Resolution; Arbitration; Class Action Waiver
21.1 Informal resolution. Before initiating any proceeding, you and Watch Safe will attempt to resolve the dispute informally. The complaining party will send written notice describing the dispute to the other party (to Watch Safe at legal@watchsafe.io), and the parties will negotiate in good faith for at least 30 days after the notice is received.
21.2 Agreement to arbitrate. Except as provided in Sections 21.5 and 21.7, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services that is not resolved under Section 21.1 will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect.
21.3 Procedure. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator in Miami-Dade County, Florida, or remotely by videoconference if the parties agree or the AAA rules permit. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Section 21.
21.4 Class action waiver. All proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis. You and Watch Safe each waive the right to participate in any class action, class arbitration, or other representative or consolidated proceeding. If this Section 21.4 is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim, and only that claim, will proceed in court under Section 22, and the remainder of this Section 21 remains in effect.
21.5 Public injunctive relief. Notwithstanding the agreement to arbitrate, the parties agree that any claim for public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the general public) is severed from arbitration and may be brought only in the courts described in Section 22. Proceedings on a claim for public injunctive relief are stayed pending the completion of arbitration of all other claims. This Section 21.5 does not invalidate the remainder of this Section 21, and if this Section 21.5 is unenforceable the parties will sever only the claim for public injunctive relief.
21.6 Coordinated and mass arbitration. If 25 or more demands for arbitration of a similar nature are filed against Watch Safe by or with the assistance of the same law firm or coordinated group of law firms, the parties agree that the demands will be administered in sequential batches of up to 50 demands at a time, that a single set of filing and administrative fees will be assessed per batch, and that a single arbitrator will preside over each batch unless the parties agree otherwise. The parties will cooperate in good faith with the AAA and may use a bellwether process to resolve representative demands first. Any applicable statute of limitations is tolled for demands awaiting their batch. This Section 21.6 is intended to promote the efficient and fair resolution of coordinated filings and does not waive any party’s individual rights.
21.7 Exceptions. Either party may (a) bring an individual claim in small claims court if the claim qualifies, and (b) seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court described in Section 22 for actual or threatened infringement or misuse of intellectual property or unauthorized access to the Services.
21.8 Fees. Payment of AAA filing, administration, and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules.
21.9 Opt-out. You may opt out of the arbitration and related provisions in Sections 21.2 through 21.6 by sending an email to legal@watchsafe.io within 30 days after you first accept these Terms, stating your full name, the email associated with your account, and that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out of arbitration does not affect any other provision of these Terms.
22Governing Law; Venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of laws principles, except that the Federal Arbitration Act governs Section 21. For any matter not subject to arbitration under Section 21, you and Watch Safe consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
23Changes to These Terms
Watch Safe may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, Watch Safe will provide notice by posting the updated Terms with a new version number and effective date and, where appropriate, by email or notification through the Services. Updated Terms take effect on the stated effective date. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not accept the updated Terms, you must stop using the Services.
24General
24.1 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Watch Safe Privacy Policy and any additional terms you accept for specific features (including any Partner Agreement), constitute the entire agreement between you and Watch Safe regarding the Services and supersede all prior agreements regarding the Services.
24.2 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions will remain in full force.
24.3 Waiver. A party’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision or of the right to enforce it later.
24.4 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without Watch Safe’s prior written consent. Watch Safe may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets.
24.5 Notices. Watch Safe may provide notices to you by email to the address associated with your account, by SMS where you have opted in, or through the Services. You may provide notices to Watch Safe at legal@watchsafe.io or at the address in Section 25.
24.6 Force majeure. Watch Safe is not liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, labor disputes, governmental actions, utility or telecommunications failures, and failures of third-party networks described in Section 11.4.
24.7 Interpretation. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation. “Including” means “including without limitation.”
25Contact
Watch Safe, Inc.
[Street Address]
Miami, Florida [ZIP]
legal@watchsafe.io