Terms and conditions

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using the linguafonica.com website, mobile app, and language learning platform operated by Lingua Fonica, LLC (hereafter “Company”). Your access to and use of these services is conditioned upon your acceptance of and compliance with these terms. These terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use these services (hereafter “User”). Users are further divided into “Tutors” (who teach the lessons) and “students” (who learn the lessons). It is possible for a User to be both a Tutor and a Student. By accessing or using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the Terms, then you may not access the Service.

The Company hereby reserves the right to amend the Terms and Conditions without User’s consent for any reason including compliance with legal requirements, notices, regulations, or other guidance of general application. Updated Terms will be posted on our Website with indication of the modification date at the top of the page. By continuing to use the Services following amendment of these Terms, you consent to be bound by the Terms as amended.

While using the Services, you agree that you will comply with all applicable laws, including, without limitation, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, anti-spam laws, tax laws, etc. You also agree that you will provide accurate information to us and keep it updated. Any use of the Website that Lingua Fonica, in its sole discretion, finds inappropriate and/or offensive may result in suspension and/or termination of the User’s access with or without notice. While using the Services, you agree that you shall not disrupt or otherwise interfere in any way with any other User's use of the Services. You agree to abide by the following standards of conduct. You will not and will not authorize or facilitate any attempt by another person to use our Website to: a. Transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, offensive, obscene, pornographic, lewd, lascivious, or otherwise objectionable, as determined by the Company; b. Circumvent or manipulate our fee structure or billing process; c. Use a name or language that the Company, in its sole discretion, deems offensive; d. Post false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, or libelous content (including personal data); e. Post hateful or racially or ethnically objectionable content; f. Post Content which infringes another's copyright, trademark or trade secret; g. Advertise or offer to sell any goods or services for any commercial purpose through the Service; h. Post unsolicited advertising or unlawfully promote products or services; i. Take any action that may undermine the feedback or ratings system when it becomes available or using it for purposes unrelated to the Company; j. Harass, threaten or intentionally embarrass or cause distress to another user, person or entity. k. Impersonate another person; l. Promote, solicit, or participate in any multi-level marketing or pyramid schemes; m. Exploit children under 18 years of age; n. Engage in disruptive activity such as sending multiple messages; o. Adapt, alter, license, sublicense or translate the Service for your own personal or commercial use; p. Introduce viruses, worms, Trojan horses and/or harmful code to the Website; q. Obtain unauthorized access to any computer system through the Website; r. Transfer your Lingua Fonica account (including feedback) and Login Credentials to another party without our consent; s. Harvest or otherwise collect information about Users, including email addresses, without their consent; t. Invade the privacy of any person, including but not limited to posting personally identifying or otherwise private information about a person without their consent (or their parent’s consent in the case of a child under 18 years of age); u. Solicit personal data from children under 18 years of age; v. Violate any federal, state, local, or international law or regulation; w. Encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal or civil offense; x. Work with other users (students or tutors) outside of the Company’s Service for at least 1 year after termination of the relationship of both parties with the Company; You will be punctual and professional in your dress and interactions with Company and Users, including Staff, Tutors, and Students; Users must be 18 years and older to be able to form a legally binding contracts under applicable law. Individuals under the age of 18 can use our Services only in conjunction with and under the supervision of a Parent. In this case, the Parent is responsible for any and all activities of the Student; You acknowledge and agree that, from time to time, the Company may record audio and video of your lessons for any reason, including quality and training purposes. By using the Company’s services, you agree and give consent for such recordings that is gratuitous, unsolicited, and without restriction. You agree that the Company may use these recordings without fiduciary, or other obligation, and without any additional compensation. Students and tutors may NOT record any lessons or share any copyrighted material.

The term “copyright” shall have the meaning assigned to that term in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 101. “Intellectual Property” means any and all tangible and intangible and now known or hereafter existing (i) rights associated with works of authorship throughout the world, including copyrights, moral rights (to the extent permitted by applicable law), and mask-works; (ii) registered and unregistered trademark, service mark, trade dress, and trade name rights and similar rights; (iii) trade secret rights; (iv) patents, designs, algorithms and other industrial property rights; (v) personality rights and rights of publicity; and (vi) all other intellectual and proprietary rights (of every kind and nature throughout the world and however designated) (including logos, character rights, moral rights (to the extent permitted by applicable law), and “rental” rights), whether arising by operation of law, contract, license or otherwise; (vii) all registrations, applications, renewals, extensions, continuations, divisions or reissues thereof (including rights in any of the foregoing); and (viii) any business and technical information including computer source code, program codes, patent applications, inventions, improvements, developments, discoveries, know-how, confidential and proprietary information and trade secrets, computer hardware or software products, processes, techniques, writings, drawings, visual or other graphic material, and trademark and service mark applications and any and all rights thereto, including, without limitation, the right to sue for infringement, the right to registration, and the right to legal protection of the foregoing. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS All intellectual property in the design and layout of this Website, Software and the material and information published on its pages belongs to and is vested in Lingua Fonica, LLC or its licensors. You may not copy any part of this Website or otherwise do anything in relation to any part of the Website. You may not otherwise use or reproduce any of this Website or the material contained within it in any manner other than those listed above without first obtaining the prior written permission of the Company. Unless otherwise noted, all Content contained on this Website is the property of the Company and/or its affiliates or licensors, and is protected from unauthorized copying and dissemination by United States copyright law, trademark law, international conventions and other intellectual property laws. The service marks and trademarks of the Company, including without limitation Lingua Fonica logos are service marks owned by Lingua Fonica. Any other trademarks, service marks, logos and/or trade names appearing via the Service are the property of their respective owners. You may not copy or use any of these marks, logos or trade names without the express prior written consent of the owner. The Company grants you permission (which may be revoked at any time for any reason or no reason) to use the Website and the Software for the Services as provided herein and in accordance with these Terms and solely for your own personal, non-commercial use (except as provided herein), provided you do not remove any trademark, copyright or other notice contained on such pages. No other use is permitted. The Company reserves all of its statutory and common law rights against any person or entity who violates this paragraph. You may not link or frame to any pages of the Website or any content contained therein, whether in whole or in part, without prior written consent from the Company. You may like or follow the Company or share links to the Website via social networking technology referenced on the Website. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Except as expressly authorized by the Company or by Content providers, you agree not to reproduce, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, mirror, frame, republish, download, transmit, or create derivative works of the Content of others, in whole or in part, by any means. You must not remove or modify any copyright or trademark notice, or other notice of ownership. Tutors retain ownership of their own copyrightable works unless the work is a “work-for-hire,” as that term is defined under federal law, or is subject to a separate written agreement that requires assignment to the Company or to a third party. In the case of assignment to the Company, the Tutor shall retain the right to use the material for noncommercial purposes. Payment Terms Student credit cards will be charged when they purchase lessons. Their account will be credited with the number of hours they have paid in advance. The Student’s account will be debited 24 hours before the scheduled lesson. Alternatively, Students can elect to be charged on a recurring basis 24 hours before each lesson. Tutors will be paid bi-weekly for lessons completed during the time period that ended two weeks before or in the next time period after they reach the $100 minimum payment threshold.

United States, Ohio

Tutors are independent contractors and not employees of the Company. Tutor agrees and represents, and Company agrees, as follows: a) Tutor has the right to perform services for others during the term of this Agreement; b) There is no obligation for the Company to provide hours; c) there is no obligation for the Tutor to accept any lesson contract; d) The Tutor confirms that they have the equipment and connectivity necessary to teach effectively in a remote format; e) The Tutor shall not be required to wear any uniforms provided by the Company; f) The services required by this Agreement shall be performed by the Tutor; g) The Tutor shall not receive any training from the Company in the professional skills necessary to perform the services required by this Agreement; h) The Tutor shall not be required by Company to devote full time to the performance of the services required by this Agreement; i) Tutor shall be responsible for all expenses, equipment, tools, and materials incurred while performing services under this Agreement. This includes any expenses including travel expenses; license fees and permits; insurance premiums; taxes; fines; computer, Internet, or phone expenses; meals; and any other expenses necessary to complete the work under this Agreement; j) In consideration for the services to be performed by Tutor, the Company agrees to pay Tutor at the rates agreed upon and updated on the Tutor’s profile page on the website; k) Tutor represents and warrants that they will comply with all federal, state, and local laws required to carry out the services to be performed under this Agreement; l) Company will not withhold FICA (Social Security and Medicare taxes) from Contractor's payments or make FICA payments on Tutor's behalf; m) Company will not make state or federal unemployment compensation contributions on Tutor's behalf and Tutor will not be entitled to these benefits in connection with work performed under this Agreement.; n) Company will not withhold state or federal income tax from Tutor's payments; o) Tutor shall pay all taxes incurred while performing services under this Agreement—including all applicable income taxes and, if Tutor is not a corporation, self-employment (Social Security) taxes. Upon demand, Tutor shall provide the Company with proof that such payments have been made; p) Tutor understands that they are not eligible to participate in any employee pension, health, vacation pay, sick pay, or other fringe benefit plan of Company.

The Company may terminate any User’s access to our Website in our sole discretion, for any reason and at any time, with or without prior notice. It is our policy to terminate Users who violate these Terms, as deemed appropriate in our sole discretion. We may terminate a Tutor’s use of the Services (a) immediately for failure to comply with the Terms; (b) for other cause, including, but not limited to, sexual or other unwelcome harassment, threats or intimidation, fraud, falsification of documents or qualifications; or (c) upon 14 days’ advance written notice for any reason. If a student complains about a tutor, that tutor will be given feedback and the opportunity to improve. If the improvement is deemed unsatisfactory by the Company, that tutor will be removed from the list of available tutors effective immediately. Students who are disrespectful or uncooperative will be given feedback and the opportunity to improve. If the student’s attitude and commitment to these terms and conditions does not improve to the satisfaction of the Company, their contract will be terminated and they will forfeit any credit on their account. They will not be permitted to take lessons with the Company again for a minimum of six months. If issues between a Tutor and a Student proves unresolvable, the student may switch to a new tutor. The original tutor will be paid for the lessons taught, but their contract with that student will be ended and they will receive no further compensation from that contract. If the student decides to discontinue due to dissatisfaction with the second tutor, they will be refunded the remaining balance on their account minus a $25 non-refundable fee.

If a Tutor cancels or reschedules a lesson with less than 24 hours-notice, without uncontrollable circumstances, that tutor will not be able to claim payment the next time a student cancels within 24 hours and may be subject to additional penalties such as an additional fifteen minutes added on to a future lesson. If a Student cancels or reschedules a lesson with less than 24 hours-notice, the student will be charged for that lesson and the tutor will be paid their usual rate. If a student shows up late for a lesson, they forfeit that time and the class will end as scheduled. If a tutor shows up late for a lesson, they must make up that time, either by ending the lesson later if convenient for the student or by scheduling a block of time that is convenient for the student. If a student is unhappy after the first lesson, they can get a refund for any remaining prepaid lessons. If a tutor is unable to continue a contract and a suitable replacement cannot be found, Lingua Fonica will issue a refund for remaining credits. Credits do not expire, but if a student fails to use their credits for a period of one-year after payment, the credits are non-refundable.

To the full extent permissible by law, Lingua Fonica disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Lingua Fonica does not warrant that the Lingua Fonica services, information, content, materials, products (including software) or other services included on or otherwise made available to you through the Lingua Fonica services, Lingua Fonica's servers or electronic communications sent from Lingua Fonica are free of viruses or other harmful components. To the full extent permissible by law, Lingua Fonica will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of any Lingua Fonica service, or from any information, content, materials, products (including software) or other services included on or otherwise made available to you through any Lingua Fonica service, including, but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages, unless otherwise specified in writing.

Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of any Lingua Fonica Service will be adjudicated in the state or Federal courts in Wood County, Ohio, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in these courts. All users waive any right to a jury trial.

Students or Tutors shall reimburse, indemnify, defend and hold harmless Lingua Fonica, its officers, employees and independent contractors from and against any loss, expense, damage or injury suffered or sustained by Lingua Fonica, its officers, employees or independent contractors by reason of any acts or omissions arising out of such person's usage of the Services and/or website of Lingua Fonica, including, without limitation, any judgment, award, settlement, reasonable attorneys' fees and other costs and expenses incurred in connection with the defense of any actual or threatened action, proceeding or claim.

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