Service availability

This page forms part of the Terms of Use and sets out where Bernuvia is available and where it is not. Where the Terms refer to availability, they refer here.

The binding version of this document is the English one. Versions in other languages are automatic courtesy translations generated by the platform.

1. Three layers

Availability is organised in three layers, and it is enough for one of them to apply for the Service to be unavailable.

1.1 Layer 1: sanctions

The Service is not available to anyone who is located in, resident in, incorporated in or a national of a comprehensively sanctioned territory, to anyone appearing on the sanctions lists administered by the OFAC of the United States Treasury, the European Union, the United Nations Security Council or the United Kingdom, or to anyone owned or controlled by such a person.

This restriction is permanent and admits no exception. It does not depend on our will or our configuration: no authorisation of ours can lift it, and there is no procedure for requesting a waiver.

1.2 Layer 2: countries where we do not hold a required authorisation

Some countries require an authorisation, a licence or a registration in order to provide services involving virtual assets. Where one is required and we do not hold it, the Service is unavailable in that country until we do.

This layer can change: we lift it if we obtain the authorisation, and we apply it if a new rule requires one where none was needed before.

1.3 Layer 3: countries where operating with virtual assets is prohibited

Where local law prohibits the activity itself, the Service is unavailable regardless of our own authorisations.

1.4 The European Union is treated as a whole

Where a restriction under layers 2 or 3 affects a Member State of the European Union, we apply it to the Union as a whole. We do not apply different conditions of access, price or payment to users of some Member States and not others.

2. What we check and what we do not

2.1 Your representation

By creating an account, publishing a template or buying, you represent that none of the situations in section 1 applies to you and that you are not acting on behalf of anyone to whom it does. That representation is the basis on which we do business with you.

2.2 Controls we may apply

Today we do not block access by country and we do not require identity verification in order to use the Service. We use your approximate country only to choose the initial language and the payment options we show you.

We may apply geolocation controls, identity verification and wallet address screening, and we may block transactions, hold open transactions or close accounts where those controls return a result that prevents us from doing business with you. The fact that we do not apply them today does not make the Service available where section 1 says it is not: the restriction exists even if we do not check it when you register.

2.3 Circumvention

You may not use virtual private networks, proxy servers or any other means to circumvent these restrictions or to misrepresent your location. Doing so is grounds for immediate suspension under the Terms and for holding open transactions while we verify the situation.

Using a VPN out of habit or for privacy, while in a country where the Service is available, breaches nothing. What is prohibited is using one in order to gain access from somewhere you cannot.

3. Changes to this page

We update this page as rules and our authorisations change. The date of the last update is shown at the top of this page.

Where a change removes access for people who already have an account, we announce it with the notice period set out in the Terms and apply the orderly wind-down in section 4.

4. Orderly wind-down on a new restriction

If your country becomes restricted after you have already transacted with us, we do not freeze your balance. We apply a close-only mode in which:

• new purchases and new listings are blocked;
• deposits already held run their course to release or refund, with the same time limits and the same dispute rights;
• downloads of what you already purchased remain available on the conditions set out in the Terms;
• you can withdraw your balance without restriction, absent a legal impediment.

We give you as much notice as the circumstances allow. Where the restriction comes from layer 1, the wind-down may be immediate and the balance may become unavailable, because in that case we have no choice.

5. Technical availability

This section forms part of the Terms of Use and is about something other than geographical availability: whether the Service is running at all.

5.1 No committed service level

We offer no committed service level, no uptime percentage, and no credits or compensation for interruptions. The Service is provided "as is" and "as available", on the terms of clause 27 of the Terms.

5.2 Maintenance and incidents

We may interrupt the Service, in whole or in part, for maintenance: with notice where the interruption is foreseeable and without notice where it is urgent, for security reasons or because of a failure. The Service also depends on third parties (the Polygon network, the USDC issuer, our hosting, our wallet provider, our email provider and our chain-query providers) whose failures we do not control.

5.3 We may change or withdraw features

We do not undertake to keep the Service, or any of its features, running indefinitely. We may add, change, limit or withdraw features, and we announce changes with the notice period set out in the Terms.

5.4 If we were to close the Service

We would give as much notice as possible so that you can withdraw your balance and download what you have bought. What is already deposited is governed by the Deposit Contract: it works without us, anyone can send the release on expiry, and the buyer can close an unresolved dispute on expiry under clause 15.5 of the Terms.

5.5 What this does not touch

Nothing in this section limits the rights the law gives you as a consumer or the statutory guarantees in clause 27.2 of the Terms.

6. If you believe we have restricted you in error

Write to us through the contact form choosing the complaint category. We will tell you which layer your case falls under and, if the error is ours, we will correct it.