Terms of Service

Accurate Information: When you create a Knowtepad account, you agree to provide accurate, complete, and current information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

Two Roles: Knowtepad supports two account types:

• Client: A company or individual posting projects or engagements and seeking expert input.
• Expert: An individual with specialized knowledge offering their expertise to Clients.

You may only register one account per email address. You may not create multiple accounts to circumvent any platform rules or to gain unfair advantage.

Posting and Projects: Clients can post projects or describe their needs on the platform. Knowtepad will use its matching algorithm to identify relevant Experts. Clients may review applications, request additional information from applicants, and accept Experts into Knowtes.

Payment Card Required: To initiate an engagement, Clients must provide a valid payment card. This card will be used for automatic charging when a Knowte is closed. Knowtepad uses Stripe to process and secure all payments. Clients are responsible for ensuring their card details are accurate and current.

No Platform Fee: Knowtepad does not charge Clients a platform fee. Clients pay only for Expert time, as agreed in the Knowte. When a Knowte closes, the Client's saved card is charged automatically for the total engagement amount (Expert rate × hours/services delivered).

Accuracy of Project Briefs: Clients are responsible for the accuracy and legality of project briefs posted. Projects must not contain illegal content, hate speech, or requests to circumvent laws or regulations.

Profile and Applications: Experts create profiles showcasing their expertise, experience, and rates. Experts apply to projects posted by Clients and can propose custom rates. All applications are subject to Client approval.

Setting Rates: Experts set their own hourly or project-based rates. Knowtepad does not set Expert pricing. Rates are disclosed transparently to Clients before acceptance into a Knowte.

Independent Contractor Status: Experts are independent contractors, not employees of Knowtepad or any Client. Experts are responsible for all taxes, insurance, and compliance obligations arising from their work. Knowtepad does not provide benefits, employment protections, or worker classification to Experts.

Platform Commission: Knowtepad retains a percentage of Expert payments as a platform commission. The exact commission rate is disclosed in Expert onboarding and varies by tier. Expert payouts are calculated as: (Expert Rate × Hours/Services) minus Knowtepad Commission. Payouts are made via Wise or bank transfer.

Confidentiality Obligation: Experts must not disclose any confidential, proprietary, or sensitive information from current or prior employers or clients without express written permission. This obligation is binding regardless of whether an engagement occurs. Experts acknowledge and accept the Trilateral NDA at signup, which formalizes these confidentiality obligations.

Quality and Accuracy: Experts are responsible for the accuracy, quality, and legality of all work delivered. Experts warrant that they have the right to perform the work they offer and that their work does not infringe third-party intellectual property rights.

Consultation-First Model: Every engagement on Knowtepad begins as a consultation. Client and Expert communicate via chat, share files, and hold video calls within the Knowte. If the engagement evolves into a full project, the scope and terms may be refined within the Knowte or through supplementary agreements.

Knowte as Central Hub: All work, communication, files, payment, and agreement terms live within the Knowte — one continuous thread. This ensures that context is preserved and all parties have a clear record of the engagement.

Trilateral NDA: Every engagement is automatically bound by a Trilateral NDA that covers Client, Expert, and Knowtepad. This NDA applies from the moment the Expert is accepted into the Knowte and protects sensitive business information shared during the engagement. The Trilateral NDA is a binding agreement and is accepted by all parties at signup. Engagements may also have supplementary NDA terms or enhanced confidentiality agreements proposed and accepted within the Knowte.

Term Proposals and Acceptance: Specific engagement terms (scope, deliverables, timeline, rate, payment schedule) may be proposed and accepted within the Knowte. Both parties must explicitly accept any proposed terms before work begins. Continued work within the Knowte constitutes acceptance of the proposed terms.

Client Charging: When a Knowte is closed, the Client's saved card is automatically charged for the agreed engagement amount. Clients authorize Knowtepad to charge their card without further explicit authorization for each individual Knowte closure. Knowtepad processes all Client payments through Stripe.

Platform Commission Deduction: Knowtepad deducts its platform commission from Expert payments before calculating Expert payout. Experts acknowledge this commission at signup and are notified of their payout amount before funds are released.

Expert Payouts: Experts receive payouts via Wise or direct bank transfer on a regular schedule (typically weekly or bi-weekly). Payout timing depends on banking partners and is not guaranteed to be instantaneous.

Third-Party Provider Delays: Knowtepad is not responsible for delays, failures, or issues arising from Wise, bank transfers, or other third-party payment processors. If a payout fails due to incorrect banking information, invalid account details, or provider issues, Knowtepad will notify the Expert but is not liable for the delay.

Refunds and Disputes: Refund and chargeback requests must be raised within 30 days of payment. Knowtepad reserves the right to investigate disputes and may require documented evidence of non-delivery or breach before processing refunds.

Users agree not to:

• Use the platform for illegal purposes, including fraud, money laundering, or circumventing sanctions.
• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users through messages, files, or other communications.
• Circumvent the platform to avoid paying platform fees (e.g., arranging side payments or direct exchanges with Experts or Clients).
• Create fake, misleading, or impersonated profiles or accounts.
• Scrape, crawl, or extract data from the platform without explicit written permission.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive the platform's source code or algorithms.
• Share login credentials or allow another person to use your account.
• Post, upload, or share harmful, illegal, or defamatory content (including malware, hate speech, or graphic violence).
• Spam other users or repeatedly send unsolicited messages.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to platform systems or other user accounts.

Knowtepad reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms. Violations may also be reported to law enforcement.

Work Product Ownership: Intellectual property created during an engagement (including work product, deliverables, and outputs) belongs to the parties as agreed in the Knowte engagement terms. Knowtepad retains no ownership claim to work product unless expressly stated in the engagement agreement. Client and Expert must agree in writing on IP ownership before work commences.

Platform IP: Knowtepad retains all intellectual property rights in the platform itself, including the matching algorithm, user interface, design, and underlying technology. Users grant Knowtepad a non-exclusive license to use the platform and its services.

User-Generated Content: User-generated content (including messages, files, and media uploaded to Knowtes) remains the property of the user who uploaded it. However, by uploading content to Knowtepad, you grant Knowtepad a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to store, display, and manage that content within the platform for the purpose of delivering the service.

Trilateral NDA Framework: All engagements are automatically bound by the Knowtepad Trilateral NDA, which covers Client, Expert, and Knowtepad. This NDA is accepted by all users at signup and is binding from the moment an Expert is accepted into a Knowte.

Scope: The Trilateral NDA protects confidential information exchanged during engagements, including business plans, financial data, customer lists, technical specifications, and proprietary insights. The NDA survives engagement closure and remains in effect for two years after the engagement ends.

Enhanced NDAs: Clients and Experts may propose and execute enhanced or custom confidentiality agreements within the Knowte for higher-sensitivity engagements. These supplementary agreements take precedence over the standard Trilateral NDA.

Knowtepad's Role: Knowtepad itself is bound by the Trilateral NDA and agrees not to disclose confidential information shared on the platform. Knowtepad may disclose information if required by law, court order, or regulatory authority. Knowtepad will provide notice to affected parties before disclosing unless legally prohibited.

As-Is Service: Knowtepad is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. Knowtepad does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from malware or security vulnerabilities.

Expert Quality: Knowtepad does not guarantee the quality, timeliness, or accuracy of Expert work or deliverables. Knowtepad does not vet, credential, or verify Expert qualifications beyond what is disclosed in their profile. Disputes over work quality are the responsibility of Client and Expert to resolve.

Liability Cap: Except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, Knowtepad's total liability to any user is limited to the lesser of: (a) the fees paid by that user to Knowtepad in the last 12 months, or (b) $1,000 USD. This cap applies to all claims, including breach of contract, negligence, and product liability.

No Liability for Disputes: Knowtepad is not liable for any disputes, misunderstandings, or breaches between Clients and Experts. Clients and Experts are responsible for resolving disagreements directly or through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Exclusion of Consequential Damages: Knowtepad is not liable for lost profits, lost data, lost business opportunities, reputational harm, or other indirect or consequential damages, even if Knowtepad has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

User-Initiated Account Closure: Users may close their Knowtepad account at any time by submitting a request through account settings. Upon account closure, the user's profile is deactivated, but archived Knowtes and historical data may be retained in accordance with data retention and NDA obligations.

Active Engagement Requirement: Users with active Knowtes must close or archive those Knowtes before deleting their account. Active Knowtes cannot be deleted; they must be formally closed by the Client (and paid) or mutually abandoned and archived.

Knowtepad-Initiated Suspension: Knowtepad may suspend or terminate a user's account immediately if the user violates these Terms of Service, engages in illegal activity, harasses other users, or circumvents platform rules. Knowtepad will provide notice of suspension when possible, but emergency removals may occur without notice.

Effect of Termination: Upon account termination, the user's access to the platform ends immediately. Archived Knowtes and data may be retained per legal and contractual obligations. Termination does not relieve users of obligations arising from past engagements, including payment, confidentiality, and intellectual property.

Governing Law: These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of Singapore, without regard to conflicts of law principles.

Arbitration: Any dispute arising from or related to these Terms or Knowtepad use shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). Arbitration shall be conducted in English, and the arbitration award shall be enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Notice Period: Any legal claim must be filed within 30 days of the incident giving rise to the claim. After 30 days, the claim is waived and may not be pursued.

Client and Expert Disputes: Disputes between Clients and Experts are not disputes with Knowtepad and should be resolved between the parties directly. Knowtepad will not arbitrate Client-Expert disagreements but may provide mediation or facilitation at its discretion.

Knowtepad may update these Terms of Service at any time. When material changes are made, Knowtepad will notify users via email to their registered account address. Users are advised to review the updated Terms regularly. Continued use of the platform after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

For questions about these Terms of Service, requests for legal inquiries, or to report violations, please contact:

Last updated: April 15, 2026