Legal — draft
Acceptable Use Policy
The standards expected of everyone using the IPMeld platform.
Draft — requires professional legal review before launch
This document is a working draft prepared as part of the IPMeld website build. It has not been reviewed or approved by a qualified legal adviser and must not be relied upon in its current form. All bracketed placeholders require verified information before publication.
Version 1.0 draft · Last updated 2 September 2026 · Governing law: England and Wales [to be confirmed]
1. Scope
This policy applies to everyone using the IPMeld Platform, including inventors, institutional partners, corporate partners, expert reviewers and visitors. It forms part of the Terms of Use.
2. Prohibited conduct
You must not:
- submit material you are not entitled to submit, or misrepresent ownership, inventorship or institutional involvement;
- conceal a prior publication, demonstration, sale, offer for sale, agreement or encumbrance;
- upload malware, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform or another user's account;
- attempt to identify inventors behind anonymised summaries, or to obtain confidential material outside the controlled-access process;
- copy, extract, republish or resell Platform content, including automated collection of listings;
- use material received under confidentiality for any purpose other than the agreed evaluation;
- use the Platform to threaten, assert or prepare patent-assertion claims against operating businesses;
- use the Platform to send unsolicited commercial messages, or to harass, defame or discriminate against any person;
- submit unlawful content, or content that infringes the rights of a third party;
- circumvent security, rate limits, spam protection or access controls.
3. Additional standards for expert reviewers
Reviewers must complete a conflict-of-interest declaration before material is released, must not retain copies after a review, must not use material for their own or a third party's benefit, and must raise a risk flag rather than proceeding where a concern exists.
4. Additional standards for corporate partners
Controlled access is granted for a defined evaluation purpose only. Material must not be circulated beyond the named evaluation team, retained after access expires, or used to develop a competing implementation outside an agreed licence.
5. Reporting a breach
Report suspected breaches to [email protected] or +44 (0) 203 576 6565. Reports are treated confidentially so far as reasonably possible.
6. Enforcement
Where we reasonably believe this policy has been breached we may issue a warning, pause a Submission or evaluation, revoke document access, suspend or terminate an account, notify an affected institution or partner, and, where appropriate, report the matter to law enforcement or a regulator. Serious breaches may result in legal action.
Enforcement decisions are recorded in the audit log, and we aim to give written reasons to the account holder.
Contact
Questions about this document should be directed to the IPMeld team:
Big5 Network Ltd
167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor
London, England, W1W 5PF
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 203 576 6565
Email: [email protected]
Website: ipmeld.com
IPMeld is a project promoted and supported by Big5 Network Ltd. IPMeld is a working brand name subject to company-name, domain and trade mark clearance.