Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated: June 10, 2026

These Terms govern your use of tropelang.com and the TropeLang editor at editor.tropelang.com ("the Service"), operated by Kelvin Nishikawa ("we", "us"). By using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

1. The Service

TropeLang is an editor and engine for describing narrative structure in the .trl language. A Free tier runs entirely in your browser. A paid Pro tier adds cloud features (such as Google Drive persistence). Some features are still in development and may change or be withdrawn. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue parts of the Service.

2. Nature of the corpus

The TropeLang corpus is a vocabulary for analyzing narrative. Because it aims to describe the full range of storytelling, some entries discuss mature themes — including violence and sexuality — in an analytical, text-only form (there are no images or other media). If you make the Service available to others (for example, in a classroom), consider whether the material is appropriate for your audience.

3. Eligibility & sign-in

You must be old enough to form a binding contract in your jurisdiction. Paid features require signing in with a Google account; you're responsible for your account and for keeping your access credentials secure. You authenticate through Google — we don't create or hold a separate password for you.

4. Your content

You own the .trl content you create. We claim no ownership of it. On the Free tier it stays on your device; on Pro it's stored in your own Google Drive. You're responsible for your content and for having the rights to use it. You grant us only the limited rights necessary to operate the Service for you (for example, transmitting a file between your browser and your Drive at your request) — nothing more, and nothing that lets us use your content for any other purpose.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use the Service unlawfully, or to create or store content that is illegal or infringes others' rights;
• circumvent, disable, or abuse the Pro entitlement or any access control, or share access you aren't entitled to;
• disrupt, overload, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its infrastructure;
• resell or commercially redistribute the hosted Service without our permission. (This does not restrict your rights in the open-source TropeLang language and corpus — see §8.)

6. Pro plans, billing & payments

When paid plans go live, they'll be offered as a recurring subscription and/or a one-time Lifetime purchase, billed through Stripe. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled; you can cancel at any time and retain Pro through the end of the paid period. Prices, taxes, and plan details are shown at checkout and may change with notice for future periods. Refunds: you may request a full refund within 30 calendar days of purchase, no questions asked. (Billing is not yet live; this section takes effect when it launches.)

7. Bring-your-own-LLM & third-party services

Where the Service lets you connect your own AI model provider, you supply your own API key and are responsible for that provider's costs, terms, and the content of its output. The Service relies on third-party services — including Google Drive (storage and sign-in) and Stripe (payments) — whose use is governed by their own terms and privacy policies. We aren't responsible for third-party services or their availability.

8. Intellectual property

The TropeLang language, its specification, and the standard corpus are open source and governed by the license stated in their repository; your use of those is governed by that license, not these Terms. The hosted website and editor, and the TropeLang name and marks, remain ours. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to use the Service as intended.

9. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, to the fullest extent permitted by law. Recognition, validation, and coverage results are best-effort and may be incomplete or wrong; they are not professional, legal, or other advice. We don't warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that your data will never be lost — keep your own backups of work that matters.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we won't be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost data, profits, or goodwill. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or US$100.

11. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access if you breach these Terms or to protect the Service. Your locally stored work and your Drive files remain yours and aren't affected by termination of access; ending Pro stops the paid features.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as the product evolves. Material changes will be reflected by the "last updated" date above; continuing to use the Service after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. You agree that disputes relating to the Service will be handled in the state or federal courts located in San Mateo County, California, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms: admin@tropelang.com.