LEGAL

Terms of Service

Last Updated: 17 March 2026

1. Introduction and Acceptance

Welcome to Lorm. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Lorm web application and services (the "Service"), accessible at lorm.co.uk and app.lorm.co.uk.

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Lorm is a sole trader operation based in the United Kingdom ("we", "us", "our").

2. Service Description

Lorm is a web-based tool that analyzes architectural competition briefs using artificial intelligence. The Service:

• Accepts uploaded competition brief documents (PDF, Word, text, images, spreadsheets, presentations)
• Uses large language models (Google Gemini API) to extract key information
• Generates project schedules, area programmes, evaluation criteria (KPIs), deliverables lists, drawing lists, jury research dossiers, and precedent research reports
• Provides interactive visualizations (Gantt charts, network graphs, treemaps)
• Allows downloading generated outputs in Excel, HTML, and Word formats

The Service is designed to assist architects at the beginning of the competition process. It automates repetitive analysis tasks and provides a starting point for project planning.

3. Service Tiers

3.1 Free Tier — Overview Dashboard

The Overview Dashboard runs automatically on every upload and is always free. It includes:

• Uploading competition briefs (up to 5 files, 200MB per file)
• AI-powered extraction of core brief data — Project Profile, Area Programme, Deliverables & Drawing List, Milestones
• Results displayed in your browser immediately after upload, with no time limit
• No account or payment required for the Overview Dashboard

3.2 Paid Analysis — Token Packs

Deeper analysis modules (Project Background Research and Schedule & KPI Generation) are unlocked using prepaid tokens. Tokens are purchased in packs via Stripe and consumed when you run an analysis module:

Token costs per analysis module:

• Group 2 — Project Background Research (25 tokens): Jury identification, jury dossier, research reports (precedents, context, technology, moodboard), client/site background
• Group 3 — Schedule & KPI Analysis (6 tokens): Competition schedule, evaluation criteria (KPIs)
• Full run (Groups 2 + 3): 31 tokens total
• Downloads: Free once an analysis has been run — no additional tokens required

Tokens expire 12 months from the date of purchase. Unused tokens roll over and the expiry date resets when you purchase a new pack. Prices are in British Pounds (GBP) and exclude VAT (if applicable).

4. User Accounts and Registration

During the beta period, the Service uses a simple password-based access system with no individual user accounts.

When individual accounts are introduced, you will need to provide a valid email address, verify it, and agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials, all activities under your account, and notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access.

5. Acceptable Use

5.1 Permitted Use

You may use the Service to analyze architectural competition briefs for legitimate project planning purposes, generate project outputs, and download them for your competition entries.

5.2 Prohibited Use

You may not:

• Reverse engineer the Service, attempt to extract prompts, or replicate the analysis methodology
• Resell or redistribute outputs generated by the Service as your own product
• Share accounts or access credentials with others
• Upload content you do not have rights to (e.g., briefs from competitions you are not participating in)
• Use the Service for illegal purposes or in violation of competition rules
• Attempt to overload or disrupt the Service (e.g., automated scraping, DDoS attacks)
• Upload malicious files (viruses, malware, executable code)
• Abuse the free tier by creating multiple accounts to bypass usage limits

Violation of these terms may result in immediate account suspension or termination without refund.

6. Uploads and Content Ownership

6.1 Your Content

You retain all ownership rights to the competition briefs and documents you upload. By uploading, you grant us a limited license to process your content using the Google Gemini API, store it temporarily (24 hours), and generate outputs for you.

We will not share your content with other users, use it for training AI models (unless you explicitly opt in), or retain it longer than necessary (24-hour auto-deletion policy).

6.2 Generated Outputs

The outputs generated by the Service are created specifically for you. You may use them freely in your competition entries and professional work. We retain the right to use anonymized, aggregated data for service improvement.

7. AI and Output Disclaimers

7.1 No Professional Advice

The outputs generated by Lorm are not professional advice. Specifically:

• Schedules may not account for your specific project constraints, team capacity, or local conditions
• Area programmes may misinterpret brief requirements or miss spatial relationships
• KPIs are extracted quotes with page references, but the AI may misidentify evaluation criteria
• Jury research is based on web search results and may contain outdated or incorrect information
• Research reports may include inaccurate, irrelevant, or improperly attributed information

7.2 Your Responsibility to Verify

You are solely responsible for verifying all generated outputs against the original brief, checking dates, area calculations, and deliverables for accuracy, confirming jury member information from official sources, ensuring compliance with competition rules, and making independent professional judgments.

The Service provides a starting point to accelerate your analysis. It does not replace your professional expertise, judgment, or responsibility to read and understand the competition brief.

7.3 Non-Deterministic Outputs

Running the same analysis multiple times may produce different results. This is inherent to large language models and does not indicate a malfunction.

8. Payment and Refund Policy

8.1 Payment Processing

Payments are processed securely via Stripe. We do not store your credit card details. Tokens are credited to your account immediately upon payment confirmation. Downloads are free once analysis modules have been run against your token balance.

8.2 VAT

If we are VAT-registered, VAT will be added at checkout (20% for UK customers). For EU customers, VAT may be charged at your local rate under the One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme.

8.3 Refund Policy

Refunds are provided in the following cases:

1. Service failure: If the Service fails to generate outputs due to a technical error on our end, we will offer a full refund or a free re-analysis
2. Duplicate charges: If you were charged twice for the same analysis, we will refund the duplicate
3. Significant quality issues: If outputs are demonstrably unusable due to a bug or system failure (not due to brief quality or AI limitations), we may offer a partial refund at our discretion

Refunds will not be provided for:

• Dissatisfaction with AI-generated output quality (outputs are inherently non-deterministic)
• User error (e.g., uploading the wrong file)
• Change of mind after purchase
• Outputs that do not meet competition requirements (you are responsible for verifying outputs)

To request a refund, contact support@lorm.co.uk within 7 days of purchase with your transaction ID and a clear explanation of the issue.

9. Service Availability and Limitations

9.1 No Uptime Guarantee

The Service is provided "as is" with no guaranteed uptime. We aim for high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or universally compatible operation.

9.2 Usage Limits

9.3 Service Modifications

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service at any time, change pricing with 30 days' notice, and update these Terms (continued use constitutes acceptance).

10. Data Retention and Deletion

• Uploaded briefs: Stored temporarily, automatically deleted after 24 hours
• Analysis results: Cached for 7 days; downloads remain available at no additional token cost during this window. Once accounts are introduced, results will be retained for 90 days and deletable by you at any time.
• Token purchase records: Retained for 6 years (UK tax law / HMRC requirement)

See our Privacy Policy for full details on data retention and your rights under GDPR.

11. Intellectual Property

11.1 Service Ownership

The Service, including all code, design, branding, and functionality, is owned by us and protected by copyright and intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, decompile, reverse engineer, or use the Lorm name, logo, or branding without written permission.

11.2 Your Outputs

You own the outputs generated for you (schedules, reports, Excel files, etc.) and may use them freely in your competition entries and professional work. You may not resell the outputs as a standalone product.

12. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on third-party providers: Google Gemini API (AI analysis), Render.com (hosting), Stripe (payments), Firebase (authentication, planned), and Resend (email, planned). These providers have their own terms of service. We are not responsible for third-party outages, data handling, or policy changes.

Uploaded files are temporarily sent to the Google Gemini API for processing. See our Privacy Policy for details.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• Errors, omissions, or hallucinations in AI-generated outputs
• Missed competition deadlines due to incorrect generated dates
• Financial loss resulting from use of the Service (entry fees, consultant costs, etc.)
• Loss of uploaded briefs or generated outputs due to system failure
• Service downtime, slow performance, or unavailability
• Third-party failures (Google Gemini API, Stripe, hosting provider)

We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost revenue, lost competition opportunities, or reputational damage.

Maximum liability: Our total liability for any claims is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim (or £50, whichever is greater).

Exceptions: These limitations do not apply to death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot be excluded by UK law.

14. Disclaimers and Warranties

We do not warrant that the Service will meet your specific competition requirements, that outputs are accurate or error-free, that the Service will be uninterrupted or secure, or that use of the Service will help you win competitions.

Large language models can hallucinate, misinterpret requirements, miss critical details, and produce inconsistent outputs. You acknowledge and accept these limitations by using the Service.

15. Beta Users and Grandfathered Pricing

Users who participate in the beta programme before public launch may receive special pricing on token packs:

• First 10 users: Lifetime free token packs (all pack sizes, forever)
• Users 11–30: 50% discount on all token packs forever (e.g., Standard pack £100 instead of £200)
• Users 31–50: 20% discount on all token packs forever (e.g., Standard pack £160 instead of £200)

Benefits are granted at our discretion, are non-transferable, and may be revoked if you violate these Terms. Grandfathered pricing is locked for the lifetime of your account while in good standing.

16. Account Termination

By You

You may stop using the Service at any time. Deleting your account permanently removes uploaded briefs, analysis results, and cancels any active benefits (no refunds). Payment records are retained for 6 years.

By Us

We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, engage in fraud, abuse the Service, or as required by law. We will provide notice where reasonably possible. Upon termination, you lose access to all outputs and unused benefits. No refunds will be provided.

17. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, damages, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms or any law, any content you upload, or any use you make of generated outputs.

18. Privacy and Data Protection

Your privacy is important to us. Our Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use and protect it, your rights under GDPR, and data retention periods. By using the Service, you consent to data processing as described in the Privacy Policy.

19. Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, contact dmca@lorm.co.uk with identification of the copyrighted work, the infringing material and its location, your contact information, and a good-faith statement. We will investigate and remove infringing content where appropriate.

You represent and warrant that you have the right to upload all files you provide and that your uploads do not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights.

20. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. If you are a consumer in the EU, you also have the right to bring proceedings in your local courts under EU consumer protection laws.

21. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Terms with a new "Last Updated" date and, where appropriate, sending an email notification. Continued use after changes become effective constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service.

22. General Provisions

Severability: If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service.

23. Acknowledgment

By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms, that you accept them in full, that the Service uses AI and outputs may contain errors, that you are responsible for verifying all generated outputs, and that you will not rely on the Service as a substitute for professional judgment.

24. Contact Information

Email: legal@lorm.co.uk
Support: support@lorm.co.uk
Website: lorm.co.uk

Based in: United Kingdom