Terms of Service

1. Acceptance and Definitions

By accessing or using The Operator's Brief (the “Service”), operated by Public Arch LLC (“we,” “us,” “our”), you (“Subscriber,” “you,” “your”) agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

The Service provides quarterly market intelligence reports, pricing benchmarks, competitive analysis, and related data products for HVAC and trades contractors. “Documentation” means reports, PDFs, dashboards, and other outputs generated by the Service. “Subscriber Data” means information you provide to us, including your pricing, truck counts, and service mix.

2. Eligibility and Accounts

The Service is designed for business use by HVAC and trades contractors. You must be at least 18 years old and authorized to bind the business entity on whose behalf you subscribe. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity under your account.

3. Subscription, Billing, and Auto-Renewal

Subscriptions are billed quarterly via Stripe. By subscribing, you authorize recurring charges at the then-current rate. Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each quarter unless cancelled before the renewal date.

We may adjust pricing with at least 30 days' written notice before your next renewal. If you disagree with a price change, you may cancel before the renewal date; your subscription will remain active through the end of the current billing period.

All fees are quoted in U.S. dollars. You are responsible for any applicable taxes.

4. Refund and Cancellation

Please see our separate Refund and Cancellation Policy for complete details. In summary: we offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first subscription. After this period, subscriptions are non-refundable and non-prorated.

You may cancel at any time via your account settings or by emailing billing@thepricegap.com. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

5. Acceptable Use and Data Restrictions

Your use of the Service is subject to our separate Acceptable Use Policy. The following restrictions are material terms of this agreement:

• Permitted Use: You may use reports and data solely for your own internal pricing strategy, competitive analysis, and business benchmarking.
• Prohibited: You may not resell, sublicense, redistribute, repackage, or create derivative works from any reports, data, benchmarks, or other Service outputs. You may not use Service data for marketing, advertising, audience segmentation, or lead generation.
• No Third-Party Distribution: You may not provide, sell, share, or otherwise make available any portion of Service outputs to any third party without our prior written consent.

Violation of these restrictions is grounds for immediate termination without refund.

6. Intellectual Property and Ownership

You retain ownership of your Subscriber Data (your pricing, truck counts, service mix, and similar information you provide).

We retain all rights, title, and interest in the Service, including: our platform software, algorithms, data models, methodology, report design and layout, derived insights, aggregated market intelligence, and all Documentation.

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use reports generated for your account for your internal business purposes, subject to these Terms and the Acceptable Use Policy.

We may use anonymized and aggregated data derived from Subscriber Data to improve the Service and generate industry benchmarks. We will not identify your specific pricing to other subscribers.

7. Data Accuracy Disclaimer

The Service aggregates pricing data from publicly available sources, including competitor websites, reviews, and advertisements. We make reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy but do not guarantee that any data point is complete, current, or error-free.

Reports are provided for informational purposes and should not be the sole basis for business decisions. You acknowledge that market conditions change and that benchmark data reflects historical snapshots.

8. Warranty Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE FEES PAID BY YOU IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM. WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.

9. Confidentiality

Each party agrees to treat the other's confidential information with reasonable care. Your Subscriber Data is confidential. Our proprietary methodology, algorithms, and unpublished benchmarks are confidential. This obligation survives termination for two (2) years.

10. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, conducted in Ohio.

YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION. Each party bears its own costs unless the arbitrator awards otherwise.

Either party may seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for intellectual property infringement or breach of confidentiality.

11. Termination

Either party may terminate for material breach with 30 days' written notice and opportunity to cure. We may terminate immediately for non-payment (after 10 days' notice), violation of the Acceptable Use Policy, or fraud.

Upon termination: your access ceases at the end of the billing period; your Subscriber Data is deleted within 30 days; existing reports remain accessible through the billing period end; no refunds are issued except as expressly provided in our Refund Policy.

12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any action not subject to arbitration shall be in the state or federal courts located in Ohio.

13. Modifications

We may update these Terms at any time by posting the revised version on our website. Material changes will be communicated via email at least 30 days before taking effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

14. Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Public Arch LLC regarding the Service.