Terms of Service
Effective date: July 1, 2026
Travel Bause is operated by Copernicus AI (“we,” “us”). 3540 N Desert Dr., Atlanta, GA 30344. By creating an account or using Travel Bause (the “Service”), you agree to these Terms.
1. Eligibility & account
You must be at least 18 and able to form a binding contract. You are responsible for your account and for keeping your credentials secure.
2. What the Service is
Travel Bause is an AI-assisted travel concierge and editorial guide: Copernicus (your concierge) helps you plan; the Sterling Standard provides editorial coverage of properties. Copernicus and the Sterling editorial voices are AI, disclosed as AI by design.
3. Not professional advice; editorial opinion
The Service provides informational and editorial content, not professional (legal, financial, medical, or safety) advice. Sterling ratings are editorial opinion derived from a published methodology; they are not guarantees about any property. Any network-safety information is a scoped, point-in-time disclosure — never a warranty or assurance about a property’s safety. You are responsible for your own travel decisions; verify time-sensitive and safety-critical details yourself.
4. No booking or payments to third parties
In this phase, Travel Bause does not book travel, transact with properties, or move your money. It helps you plan and points you to coverage; any reservation or purchase happens directly between you and the provider under their terms.
5. Plans, billing & cancellation
Paid plans are subscriptions billed through Stripe; prices are shown at purchase. Card data is managed solely by Stripe’s hosted checkout — we never store it.
Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. You can cancel anytime via the Stripe customer portal; access continues to the end of the paid period.
On account deletion we cancel your subscription and purge our records; we are legally required to retain basic transaction records (at Stripe) for up to 7 years for tax/accounting (see the Privacy Policy).
Refunds. Payments are non-refundable, including partial subscription periods, except where a refund is required by applicable law.
6. Acceptable use
No unlawful use; no scraping or bulk extraction of the Sterling content; no attempts to breach security or access other users’ data; no reselling or republishing our editorial content without permission; no reverse engineering. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.
7. Intellectual property
The Service, the Sterling Standard methodology, the editorial content, and the Travel Bause / Copernicus marks are owned by us (or our licensors). We grant you a limited, personal, non-transferable right to use the Service. Content you submit (e.g., Diary entries, nominations) remains yours; you grant us the rights needed to operate the Service for you (see the Privacy Policy).
8. Third-party services
The Service relies on third parties (e.g., Stripe for payments, map/geocoding, our AI model provider). Your use of those features may be subject to their terms; we are not responsible for third-party services.
9. Disclaimers & limitation of liability
The Service is provided “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE,” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, and any warranty that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that ratings, editorial content, or network-safety information will be accurate, complete, or current. This is consistent with Section 3: the Service provides editorial opinion and informational content, not advice, guarantees, or assurances about any property.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to the Service. Our total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.
10. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Copernicus AI and its officers, members, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, the content you submit, or your violation of these Terms or of any applicable law or third-party rights.
11. Changes, governing law, disputes
We may update these Terms; we will post changes here and update the effective date. Continued use means acceptance.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.
Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its applicable rules, seated in Fulton County, Georgia. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Where arbitration does not apply, the state and federal courts located in Fulton County, Georgia will have exclusive jurisdiction and venue.
Class-action waiver. You and we agree that disputes will be brought only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims or otherwise preside over any form of a class or representative proceeding.
12. Contact
Questions about these Terms can be sent to legal@travelbause.com.