Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, accessing, or using OptoConnections, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

OptoConnections is an educational platform designed for optometry students, professionals, and enthusiasts. Our Service includes:

• Interactive educational games and puzzles
• Progress tracking and analytics
• Leaderboards and competitive features
• Educational content and resources
• Community features and forums

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice.

3. User Accounts

3.1 Account Creation

To access certain features of the Service, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information
• Maintain and update your information to keep it accurate
• Maintain the security of your password
• Accept responsibility for all activities under your account
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use

3.2 Account Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent's or guardian's permission to use the Service.

4. Subscriptions and Payments

4.1 Subscription Plans

OptoConnections offers both free and paid subscription plans. Paid plans ("Premium") provide access to additional features, content, and capabilities not available in the free tier. The specific features and pricing for each plan are described on our pricing page and are subject to change with notice.

4.2 Billing and Payment

By subscribing to a paid plan, you authorize OptoConnections to charge your payment method on a recurring basis for the applicable subscription fee. All fees are stated in U.S. dollars and are exclusive of any taxes, levies, or duties imposed by taxing authorities, which are your sole responsibility. You agree to provide accurate and complete billing information and to promptly update it as needed.

4.3 Auto-Renewal

Paid subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or annual, as selected) unless you cancel before the renewal date. You will be charged the then-current subscription rate at the start of each new billing period. We will provide reasonable notice of any price changes before they take effect.

4.4 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings or by contacting us at contact@optoconnections.com. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you will retain access to Premium features until that date. Canceling your subscription does not delete your account.

4.5 Refunds

Paid subscription tiers include a 7-day refund guarantee. You can request review from your account billing settings within 7 days of purchase, or contact us at contact@optoconnections.com. Refunds after that window are available only where required by applicable law or when we determine a charge was made in error.

4.6 No Free Trial

Paid tiers begin as paid subscriptions — there is no free trial. The free tier lets you try the platform before subscribing, and paid subscriptions and one-time purchases are covered by the 7-day refund guarantee described above.

4.7 Price Changes

We reserve the right to change subscription prices at any time. We will provide at least 30 days' notice of any price increase before it applies to your subscription. Your continued use of the Service after a price change becomes effective constitutes your agreement to pay the updated amount.

4.8 Account Suspension for Non-Payment

If payment is not received or your payment method is declined, we reserve the right to suspend or downgrade your account to the free tier until payment is resolved. You remain responsible for any outstanding amounts. We may use third-party payment processors and your use of those services is subject to their applicable terms and privacy policies.

4.9 Grandfathered Subscriptions

Certain users who subscribed during promotional periods or prior to pricing changes may be eligible for grandfathered rates ("Grandfathered Subscriptions"). A Grandfathered Subscription entitles you to retain your original pricing as long as your subscription remains active and in good standing without interruption.

Grandfathered pricing is non-transferable and applies only to the account and plan under which it was originally granted. Grandfathered status and pricing will be forfeited if you cancel your subscription, downgrade to a free plan, allow your subscription to lapse due to non-payment, or upgrade to a different plan tier. Upon forfeiture, re-subscribing will be at the then-current rates.

We reserve the right to modify or discontinue grandfathered pricing with at least 30 days' notice. If we discontinue your grandfathered rate, you may cancel your subscription before the new rate takes effect without penalty.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable laws or regulations
• Infringe upon the rights of others
• Transmit harmful, offensive, or inappropriate content
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or other accounts
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
• Use automated systems to access the Service without permission
• Impersonate any person or entity
• Collect or store personal data about other users without permission
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract content, questions, explanations, metadata, or analytics from the Service
• Use the Service, directly or indirectly, to build, train, benchmark, improve, or market a competing product or service
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to discover source code, scoring logic, content frameworks, or feature implementation details
• Access the Service on behalf of, or for the benefit of, competing exam-prep businesses, including OptoPrep or KMK, without our prior written consent
• Bypass, disable, or interfere with rate limits, access controls, account restrictions, or other protective measures we use to secure the Service
• Use Service content, outputs, or datasets to train or improve any machine learning or artificial intelligence model without our prior written consent
• Upload, post, or distribute exam-prep content, copyrighted material, or trademarks that you do not have legal rights to use
• Use third-party names, logos, or marks in a way that implies endorsement, affiliation, or sponsorship that does not exist

6. Intellectual Property

5.1 Our Content

All content on OptoConnections, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, software, and the compilation thereof, is the property of OptoConnections or its content suppliers and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

This includes our question banks, explanations, taxonomies, answer frameworks, educational methodologies, user interface designs, data structures, scoring systems, and product features, whether or not specifically identified as proprietary.

5.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of any content you submit, post, or display on the Service. By submitting content, you grant OptoConnections a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute your content for the purpose of operating and improving the Service.

5.3 Rights You Represent You Have

You represent and warrant that you own or have all rights necessary to submit any content you post to the Service, and that your content does not infringe any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other legal right of any third party.

5.4 Intellectual Property Complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright or trademark rights, contact us atcontact@optoconnections.comwith sufficient detail for us to investigate, including your contact information, a description of the rights asserted, identification of the allegedly infringing material, and a good-faith statement supporting your claim. We may remove or disable access to challenged content while we investigate and may terminate repeat infringers where appropriate.

7. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand how we collect, use, and protect your information.

8. Disclaimers

Independence and Non-Affiliation: OptoConnections is an independent educational platform. We are not endorsed by, sponsored by, affiliated with, or approved by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO), OptoPrep, KMK, or any other third-party exam-preparation provider unless explicitly stated by us in writing. Any third-party names, logos, or marks are the property of their respective owners and are used solely for descriptive or nominative purposes.

Educational Purpose Only: The content on OptoConnections is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Exam and Third-Party Material Disclaimer: OptoConnections does not publish official NBEO exam content, is not an official NBEO product, and does not claim endorsement by NBEO, OptoPrep, KMK, or any other third party. References to third-party exams, providers, or materials are informational only.

No Warranty: The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, OptoConnections shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses resulting from your use of the Service.

To the extent permitted by law, OptoConnections' total cumulative liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid to us for the Service during the 12 months before the event giving rise to liability, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars (USD $100).

Any claim or cause of action arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after the claim arose, or it is permanently barred to the fullest extent permitted by law.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless OptoConnections, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including legal fees) arising out of your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, your submitted content, or your infringement or misappropriation of any third-party rights.

11. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account and access to the Service immediately, without prior notice, for any reason, including if you breach these Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will cease immediately.

We may also take technical and legal enforcement actions to protect the Service, including preserving relevant records, removing content, limiting access, and seeking injunctive or other equitable relief for misuse, infringement, or unauthorized competitive conduct.

12. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of any material changes by posting the new Terms on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

13. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration; Class Waiver

Except for claims seeking injunctive or equitable relief related to intellectual property, unauthorized access, scraping, or competitive misuse, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration and not in court. You and OptoConnections waive any right to a jury trial and waive any right to participate in class actions, class arbitrations, private attorney general actions, or other representative proceedings to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Either party may seek temporary or preliminary injunctive relief in court to protect confidential information or intellectual property rights pending completion of arbitration.

Arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association under its applicable consumer arbitration rules, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court instead of arbitration where permitted by law and where the claim remains on an individual basis.

14. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict of law principles. For disputes that are not subject to arbitration, or for actions to enforce an arbitration award or seek permitted injunctive relief, you and OptoConnections agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Orange County, Florida.

15. Severability; No Waiver; Survival

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.

Provisions that by their nature should survive termination of these Terms will survive, including intellectual property protections, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, dispute resolution obligations, and governing law and venue provisions.

16. Contact Information

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Email: contact@optoconnections.com

Website: https://optoconnections.com