Terms & Conditions

1. Who we are

These terms are between you and AFRICHAN (Pty) Ltd (registration 2024/147644/07), trading as Forge Digital Photography ("FORGE", "we", "us"). FORGE is a subscription software platform that lets independent photographers upload, edit, publish and sell their photographs through branded online galleries.

By creating an account or continuing to use the service, you agree to these terms. If you use FORGE on behalf of a business, you confirm you have authority to bind that business, or that you are of legal age to enter this agreement.

2. Your account

• You must provide accurate information and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity under your account.
• We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use FORGE within your selected plan.

3. Acceptable use

You must not misuse the service. This includes:

• Using FORGE for unlawful purposes, fraud or spam;
• Uploading content that infringes intellectual property rights or that you have no right to use;
• Interfering with the security or operation of the platform (including malware, probing or scraping);
• Reverse engineering, reselling or redistributing the service, or circumventing technical limits.

You retain ownership of the photographs and content you upload. You grant us a limited licence to host and process that content solely to provide the service to you and your customers.

4. Editing tools

FORGE provides automatic and manual photo-editing tools. Automated suggestions may not suit every image; you are responsible for reviewing results before publishing galleries to your customers.

5. Payments and subscription

Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com. Paddle.com is the Merchant of Record for all our orders. Paddle provides all customer service inquiries and handles returns.

Payment, billing, tax, cancellation and refund mechanics are governed by Paddle's Buyer Terms (https://www.paddle.com/legal/checkout-buyer-terms). The FORGE Studio subscription is billed monthly and renews automatically until cancelled. You can cancel at any time through the billing portal; access continues until the end of the paid period.

Money your own customers pay you for photographs is separate from your FORGE subscription: those payments are made directly to you via the banking details you configure, and never pass through FORGE or Paddle.

6. Intellectual property

We retain all ownership of the service and its intellectual property, including software, documentation and branding. These terms do not transfer any of our IP to you, or your IP to us.

7. Service level

We work hard to keep FORGE available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free performance. The service is provided "as is" and we disclaim all implied warranties (including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose) to the fullest extent permitted by law.

8. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate access for material breach of these terms, non-payment, security or fraud risk, or repeated and serious policy violations. When access ends, your galleries go offline; we may retain or delete your data in line with our Privacy Notice.

9. Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability is limited to the fees you paid in the 12 months before the claim, and we are not liable for indirect, consequential or special damages (including loss of profits, data or goodwill). Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, death or personal injury where the law requires it.

You indemnify us against claims arising from content you upload, unlawful use of the service, or breach of these terms.

10. General

• These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction over disputes.
• You may not assign this agreement without our consent; we may assign it in connection with a merger or acquisition.
• We are not liable for delays caused by events beyond our reasonable control.
• We may update these terms; continued use after notice of changes constitutes acceptance.

Questions? Contact us at info@forgedigitalstudio.dev.