Terms of Service

2. For Everyone

This section applies to all MudBuddy users.

What MudBuddy Does

MudBuddy is a platform that:

• Helps potters track ceramic pieces through each stage of creation
• Provides AI-powered guidance on pottery techniques, glaze chemistry, and troubleshooting
• Connects potters with pottery studios for firing services
• Helps studios manage members, firings, and payments

MudBuddy is available on:

• Web app at app.mudbuddypottery.com
• iOS app (App Store) and Android app (Google Play)

Mobile apps are wrappers around the web app. Functionality and terms are identical across platforms. Camera permission is required for QR tile scanning and photo uploads.

Guidance, Not Guarantees

MudBuddy is designed for learning, workflow management, and guidance. AI suggestions and recommendations are for educational purposes, not guaranteed solutions.

We are not responsible for any outcomes in your ceramics practice, including lost pieces, kiln damage, glaze results, or other results from following recommendations or using the service.

Your Responsibility

• You are responsible for how you use information, tracking data, and recommendations provided by MudBuddy
• Always test new techniques, glaze recipes, or firing schedules on test pieces before applying to important work
• Use your own judgement and consult other resources, experienced potters, or professional technicians where needed
• Verify that reminders and notifications about your pieces are accurate before taking action

Your Account

• You must provide accurate information when creating an account
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and password
• You must be at least 16 years old to use MudBuddy
• One person or business per account (no shared accounts)
• You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Upload harmful, offensive, illegal, or unrelated content
• Use MudBuddy to harass, abuse, or harm others
• Attempt to access other users' accounts or data
• Reverse-engineer, copy, or modify any part of MudBuddy
• Use automated tools to scrape or access the service
• Resell or redistribute MudBuddy services without permission
• Use the service in any way that violates applicable laws

Termination

Service Availability

We work hard to keep MudBuddy running smoothly and reliably. However:

• We do not guarantee uninterrupted access
• Features may occasionally change or become temporarily unavailable
• We may modify, suspend, or discontinue features with reasonable notice
• Scheduled maintenance will be communicated in advance where possible

3. For Potters

This section applies to individual potter accounts.

Account Types

MudBuddy offers free and premium account tiers with different features. Premium features include personal home kiln tracking in addition to studio firing services. See our Pricing page for current features and pricing. Features may change over time.

Joining Studios

When you join a studio on MudBuddy:

• You consent to sharing certain information with that studio (see Privacy Policy for details)
• The studio can see your name, email, profile photo, and pieces you submit for firing
• You agree to the studio's pricing and policies as displayed in the app
• You can leave a studio at any time

Pottery Classes

When you participate in pottery classes:

• You may join classes created by studios
• Teachers can see your work and contact information as part of the class
• You own the pieces you create, while the studio manages firing services
• Class cancellation and refund policies are set by the studio

Studio Credit Purchases

When you purchase studio credit:

• Credit is issued by and belongs to the specific studio. It cannot be transferred to other studios
• Credit does not expire
• Your credit balance consists of "paid credit" (purchased by you) and "promotional credit" (gifted by the studio). Promotional credit is used first when you spend
• Credit is redeemed at the fee rate in effect when you purchase services (firing, clay, etc.)
• If you leave the studio, unspent credit remains with the studio; the studio's own policy governs what happens next
• If the studio ceases operating, MudBuddy is not liable for unspent balances. Treat your balance as you would any prepaid account with a business
• Purchase price includes GST where applicable; GST is remitted by the studio, not MudBuddy
• Refunds and disputes are handled by the studio directly. MudBuddy does not process refunds for credit purchases

Your Content

• You retain ownership of photos, notes, and data you upload
• By uploading content, you confirm you have the rights to share it
• You grant MudBuddy a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, process, store, and display your content to provide the service
• Your content may be sent to our AI service provider (Anthropic) when you use the MudBuddy AI chat feature, solely for the purpose of generating responses to your questions. Your content is not used to train AI models
• You can delete your content at any time

4. For Studios

This section applies to studio business accounts.

Studio Account Requirements

To create a studio account, you must:

• Be a registered business or authorised representative
• Provide accurate business information
• Have authority to bind your business to these terms
• Complete Stripe Connect onboarding for payment processing

Your Responsibilities

As a studio, you are responsible for:

• Accuracy of your studio profile, pricing, and policies
• Managing your members fairly and professionally
• Handling member pieces with reasonable care
• Processing firings in a timely manner
• Responding to member enquiries
• Complying with all applicable laws and regulations
• Your handling of member data (see Section 5)
• Ensuring teachers handle student data appropriately and in accordance with these terms

Studio Pricing and Policies

• You set your own firing prices and policies
• Prices displayed in MudBuddy must be accurate and up-to-date
• You must honour prices shown at the time a potter submits a firing
• Any price changes only apply to future submissions

Pottery Classes

Studios may create pottery classes with designated teachers and enrolled students. When offering classes:

• Teachers act under your authority and direction
• You remain responsible for how teachers handle student data
• You set class cancellation and refund policies
• Teacher-student relationships are managed through the studio

Studio Credit Sales

When you offer studio credit purchases:

• You are solely responsible for honoring the credit you sell
• You handle all refunds, disputes, and consumer law compliance
• You are responsible for chargeback costs and tax reporting
• MudBuddy takes a platform fee at the time of purchase; this fee is non-refundable in the event of refunds or disputes

Commission

MudBuddy charges a commission on all transactions processed through the platform, including firing payments and credit purchases:

• Commission rates are agreed in your Studio Partnership Agreement
• Commission is deducted before payout to your Stripe account
• Commission covers payment processing, platform access, and support

Payouts

• Payouts are processed via Stripe Connect
• Payout timing follows Stripe's standard schedule
• You are responsible for providing accurate bank details
• MudBuddy is not responsible for delays caused by Stripe or your bank

Member Management

• You may accept or decline membership requests
• You may remove members for legitimate business reasons
• You must not discriminate against members unlawfully
• You must process credit refunds fairly when members leave

Studio Termination

If you close your studio account:

• Active members are removed from your studio
• You must process any outstanding credit refunds
• Historical records are retained as required by law
• You must delete any exported member data

5. Studio Data Processing Obligations

This section applies to studios using MudBuddy to manage members and firing services. By using MudBuddy as a studio, you agree to these data processing obligations.

Definitions

Your Role as Data Controller

When potters join your studio, you become a data controller for their Member Data within the context of your studio operations. MudBuddy acts as a data processor, providing the platform through which you access and manage this data.

As a data controller, you have legal obligations under applicable privacy laws (including the Australian Privacy Act and GDPR where applicable).

Your Obligations

1. Use Data Only for Studio Services

You must only use Member Data for:

• Providing pottery firing services
• Communicating with members about their pieces and firings
• Managing payments and credits
• Maintaining business records required by law

You must NOT:

• Sell Member Data to any third party
• Share Member Data with other businesses
• Use Member Data for unrelated marketing without explicit consent
• Contact former members for marketing after they leave your studio

2. Keep Data Secure

You must:

• Keep your MudBuddy login credentials secure
• Not share account access with unauthorised persons
• Log out of shared devices
• Report any suspected unauthorised access immediately to security@mudbuddypottery.com

3. Respect Member Rights

You must:

• Respond to member questions about how you use their data
• Correct inaccurate data when requested
• Not obstruct members who wish to leave your studio
• Process credit refunds fairly when members leave

If a member contacts you directly with a data request (access, correction, deletion), you must:

• Respond within 30 days
• Provide the information you hold about them
• Direct them to MudBuddy for data held by the platform

4. Retain Data Appropriately

You may retain Member Data for:

• Active members: As long as they remain members
• Former members: Historical firing and payment records for up to 7 years for tax/legal compliance
• After 7 years: Permanently delete or anonymise

You must NOT:

• Keep Member Data longer than necessary
• Export and store Member Data outside MudBuddy without a lawful basis
• Create backups of Member Data on personal devices

5. Report Data Breaches

If you become aware of any actual or suspected data breach involving Member Data, you must:

• Notify MudBuddy within 24 hours at security@mudbuddypottery.com
• Cooperate with any investigation
• Notify affected members if required by law
• Take steps to prevent further breaches

MudBuddy's Obligations to Studios

As your data processor, MudBuddy will:

• Process Member Data only to provide the MudBuddy service
• Not use Member Data for our own marketing
• Not sell Member Data
• Encrypt data in transit and at rest
• Restrict access to authorised personnel
• Notify you of data breaches affecting your members

Liability and Indemnification

Your liability: You are responsible for your compliance with data protection laws, your employees' handling of Member Data, and breaches caused by your actions or negligence.

MudBuddy's liability: MudBuddy is responsible for security of the platform, our compliance with our Privacy Policy, and breaches caused by our systems or personnel.

Indemnification: You agree to indemnify MudBuddy against claims arising from your misuse of Member Data and fines resulting from your non-compliance with data protection laws.

Audit Rights

MudBuddy may audit your compliance with these terms with reasonable notice, no more than once per year (unless breach suspected). If an audit finds non-compliance, you must remediate within 30 days or we may suspend or terminate your account.

6. Payments and Billing

Payment Processing

• All payments are processed by Stripe
• MudBuddy never sees or stores your full card number
• By making a payment, you agree to Stripe's terms of service
• You are responsible for any fees charged by your bank or card issuer

Potter Subscriptions

• Premium subscriptions are billed monthly or annually
• Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled
• You can cancel anytime in Account Settings
• Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period
• No refunds for partial billing periods

Studio Subscriptions

• Studio subscriptions are billed monthly
• Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled
• Commission is charged on transactions in addition to subscription fees
• You can cancel anytime, effective at end of billing period
• No refunds for partial billing periods

Firing Payments

When a potter pays for firing through MudBuddy:

• Payment is processed by Stripe and held in the studio's Stripe Connect account
• Stripe automatically splits the payment, distributing the agreed commission to MudBuddy
• The studio receives their portion directly in their Stripe Connect account
• MudBuddy does not hold studio funds at any point
• Payout timing from Stripe Connect to the studio's bank follows Stripe's standard schedule

Studio Credit Purchases

When a potter purchases studio credit:

• Payment is processed by Stripe to the studio's Stripe Connect account
• MudBuddy takes a platform fee as specified in your Studio Partnership Agreement
• The studio receives the net amount after fees
• Studios are solely responsible for honoring the credit sold, including refunds, disputes, and chargeback costs

Refunds

Potter subscription refunds: Contact hello@mudbuddypottery.com within 7 days of charge for subscription issues.

Firing payment refunds: Disputes about firing payments are between potters and studios. Studios are responsible for their own refund policies. MudBuddy may facilitate refunds at studio's request.

Studio credit refunds: Handled by the studio directly according to their policies. MudBuddy does not process refunds for credit purchases.

Failed Payments

• If a payment fails, we'll notify you and retry
• After repeated failures, we may suspend access to paid features
• You remain responsible for any unpaid amounts

Price Changes

• We may change subscription prices with 30 days notice
• Price changes take effect at your next billing period
• Commission rate changes require mutual agreement with studios

7. Intellectual Property

MudBuddy's IP

MudBuddy's service, including its code, design, branding, AI models, and features, is owned by MudBuddy Pottery Pty Ltd and protected by intellectual property laws.

You may not:

• Copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer any part of MudBuddy
• Use MudBuddy's branding without permission
• Create derivative works based on MudBuddy

Your IP

• You retain ownership of content you create (photos, notes, data)
• MudBuddy retains ownership of all AI-generated suggestions and insights
• The licence you grant us is limited to operating and improving the service

Feedback

If you provide feedback or suggestions, we may use them without obligation to you.

8. Limitation of Liability

Disclaimer of Warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by law, MudBuddy is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to:

• Merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose
• Accuracy or reliability of AI suggestions
• Uninterrupted or error-free service
• Results from using the service

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages
• We are not liable for loss of pieces, materials, kiln damage, business opportunities, or profits
• We are not liable for actions or omissions of studios or potters
• Our total liability to you for any claim shall not exceed the amount you paid to MudBuddy in the 12 months prior to the claim

Exceptions

Some jurisdictions do not allow limitation of liability for certain damages. In those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Australian Consumer Law: Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee, right, or remedy conferred by the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded, restricted, or modified by agreement.

9. Legal

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. If we make significant changes:

• We'll notify you by email (if you have an account) at least 30 days before changes take effect
• We'll post a notice on our website
• Changes take effect on the date stated in the updated terms

Continued use of MudBuddy after changes take effect means you accept the new terms. If you don't agree to changes, you may close your account before they take effect.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Disputes

Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of MudBuddy shall be resolved in the courts of New South Wales, Australia.

Before initiating legal proceedings, you agree to attempt to resolve disputes informally by contacting us at hello@mudbuddypottery.com.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any Studio Partnership Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and MudBuddy.

No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

Assignment

You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our consent. We may assign our rights to any successor or affiliate.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service: