Terms and Conditions

The present TERMS AND CONDITIONS were created on June 11th 2024. The new version of the Terms and Conditions becomes effective from the day it is announced publicly on Our Website (https://www.adex.network) unless stated otherwise.

ADEX DOES NOT IN ANY WAY GUARANTEE SPECIFIC OR EXPECTED RESULTS RELATED TO THE SERVICES PROVIDED. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE PROVIDENCE OF THE INFORMATION BY US ON OUR WEBSITE, PLATFORM, BLOG, WHITEPAPER, SPECIFICATION IN GITHUB OR NETWORK ADVICES IN MEDIUM BE CONSIDERED PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

The present Terms and Conditions ("Terms") apply exclusively for the Website- https://www.adex.network/ and the Platform - https://web.adex.network. The use of the AdEx Platform is subject to prior introduction to these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions represent a binding agreement between you, the legal entity you represent and the legal entity that registered you (collectively "YOU") and AdEx in connection to your registration and use of the services on the Platform (https://web.adex.network).

Please, do not use the AdEx Platform, if you do not agree to the terms applied within this document. The present document and the use of the Website and Platform may require basic familiarity with computer science, blockchain and ad tech. If any of the information in the present Terms is unclear, we would appreciate your thoughts, comments and questions via email.

IMPORTANT: The AdEx Platform is developed as open-source software. This document only applies to the copies hosted and distributed by AdEx Network OÜ, for example https://web.adex.network. If you intend to use any of the components directly, you must adhere to their respective open-source licenses.

Once you agree to the Terms and Conditions, we consider this an explicit consent to the following:

1. DEFINITIONS

1.1. "AdEx", "Us", "We" or "Our" refers to AdEx Network OÜ, a company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Estonia, and having its registered address at Narva mnt 5 Central city district, Tallinn Harju county 10117, Register code: 14288387, VAT number: EE101988623, with email address: [email protected]
AdEx develops computer software that aims to be a solution for digital advertising that reduces ad fraud and protects user privacy.

1.2. "AdEx Website" is https://www.adex.network/.

1.3. "AdEx Platform" is the application hosted at https://web.adex.network, which allows Advertisers to start advertising campaigns and Publishers to earn funds from running ads on their websites/apps.

1.4. "AdEx Users" include Publishers, Advertisers, Validators, Observers and any other participant and user of the AdEx platform.

1.5. "Demand-Side Platform" or "DSP" refers to a technology platform that allows advertisers to buy digital ad inventory across multiple exchanges through a single interface. AdEx is a DSP in this setup.

1.6. "Supply-Side Platform" or "SSP" refers to a technology platform that enables publishers to manage, sell, and optimize their available advertising inventory.

1.7. "Advertisers" or "AdEx Users" refer to an individual or entity that creates and posts advertisements to reach potential customers through the AdEx platform.

1.8. "Publisher" refers to an individual or entity that displays advertisements on their digital content or platforms to earn revenue. In the case of oRTB publishers work with SSPs.

1.9 "Web users" or "users" refer to end users not of AdEx itself, but of the Publishers through the ads.

1.10. "Events" mean any action that the user undertakes in regard to a digital ad including but not limited to click, impression, closing of the web page, etc.

1.11. "Campaign" represents a coordinated series of linked advertisements intended to achieve a particular goal. Campaigns are created with a preliminary arranged budget, targeting and duration period.

1.12. "Validators" are independent physical persons or entities - not part of the AdEx Platform, who are responsible for tracking ad impressions/clicks and cryptographically signing confirmations of the impressions/clicks/earnings; please read the detailed description of validators in point 2.3. of the present Terms.

1.13. "Blockchain" is a decentralized, distributed and public digital ledger used for the purpose of recording transactions in blocks of information, which cannot be altered retroactively.

1.14. "Authentication Wallet" is a cryptocurrency wallet (cryptographic keypair or a smart contract) with a specific address. A built-in cryptocurrency wallet will be created for you using Ambire Wallet in the background when you use AdEx. The Ambire ToS do not apply because said wallet is only used to aid the service provided to you by AdEx.

1.15. "Payment channel" is an off-chain mechanism for processing payments that runs parallel to the blockchain and allows for the execution of a particular campaign.

1.16. "AdView Manager" is a software library responsible for collecting Events independently from third parties, such as SSPs in order to protect against ad fraud.

1.17. "Stablecoins" are price-stable cryptocurrency on the Ethereum network, designed to maintain a 1-1 peg to the USD. Within AdEx we operate with USDC, USDT and DAI stablecoins.

1.18. "Smart contract" is an immutable computer program running on the blockchain.

2. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

AdEx is an open source ad platform, available on https://web.adex.network. The platform functions as a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) and caters to Web3 advertisers seeking to broaden their reach and access an untapped audience of potential Web3 users across traditional publisher websites.

AdEx employs programmatic advertising via real-time bidding and establishes connections with top-tier Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) to acquire traffic. Despite the traffic being sourced from third-party platforms, the AdEx platform incorporates autonomous security mechanisms, such as the AdView Manager. These mechanisms are used to independently collect data, ensure transparency, and provide ad-fraud protection.

2.1. SSPs
As a DSP (Demand-side platform), AdEx focuses on advertisers and sources traffic from external platforms known as SSPs (Supply-Side Platforms). SSPs work directly with publishers, each managing a network of websites. These websites vary in interests, location, audience, and other factors. The connection between advertisers on the DSP (AdEx’s) side and publishers on the SSP side is made through oRTB (Open Real-Time Bidding).

2.2. oRTB
Open Real-Time Bidding (oRTB) is a protocol that facilitates the automated buying and selling of ad impressions between advertisers (on the DSP side) and publishers (on the SSP side). In the context of AdEx, oRTB enables seamless, efficient, and instant transactions, allowing advertisers to bid on ad space in real-time.

2.2. ADVERTISERS
Advertisers can create an account and launch a campaign on AdEx by setting specific targeting parameters, such as location, interests, budgets, and time periods. Here is a process walkthrough for Advertisers:

- Advertisers set up their account by providing their email address, which automatically creates a smart wallet account for them on Ambire Wallet using Ambire’s SDK for easier account creation and security.
- Advertisers deposit funds in their account either by directly sending one of the supported stablecoins (USDT, USDC, DAI) or ADX tokens. Alternatively, they can top up their account with fiat through one of the integrated exchanges.
- Advertisers can fill in their company details to receive invoices for their campaigns.
- To launch an ad campaign, advertisers click on the New Campaign button and follow the instructions, which include choosing creatives, budget, and targeting options.
- Once the campaign is launched, advertisers can see real-time statistics on their dashboard.

2.3. VALIDATORS
Validators are not part of the AdEx platform; their role is to track ad Events. They obtain data on impressions and clicks through the AdEx AdView module. Once a transaction is verified and recorded on the payment channel, it is immutable, providing clear proof of the transaction. This ensures stability and guarantees for advertisers.

Transactions on said payment channels serve to record impressions and impression data, and represent a distinct micro-payment paid in either:
1) cryptocurrency, such as a stablecoin
2) pre-deposited fiat currency that will later be paid out to a SSP

2.4 CAMPAIGN BUDGET
The campaign budget is set when opening a campaign. It is denominated in one of the supported currencies - USDT, USDC, DAI and ADX. The minimum amount for launching an ad campaign is $300.

The budget will be locked up during the duration of the campaign, which means it will not be spendable and it will not show up in the balance of the Advertiser’s wallet.

Once the campaign is finished or closed, the unspent budget will be unlocked and will show up in the balance of the Advertiser’s wallet.

Any spent budget, on impressions, clicks, fees or otherwise, will not be refundable.

2.7 ADX TOKEN
The ADX token is an Ethereum-based token compliant with the ERC20 standard and serves multiple purposes within the AdEx ecosystem, including:

- Campaign Budget: ADX can be deposited on the AdEx platform to launch campaigns. Advertisers who use ADX as a payment method benefit from a lower fee of 4%, compared to the standard 7%.
- Rewards for Validators: ADX token holders can stake their tokens to become validators within the AdEx ecosystem. Validators maintain the platform’s integrity and security and receive rewards for their services.
- Staking: The ADX token can be staked on AdEx Staking to receive additional rewards.
- Governance: Staked ADX tokens grant voting power to holders, allowing them to contribute to platform development.

3. REGISTRATION

Advertisers can register on the platform by providing their email address. Once the email is confirmed, an Ambire Wallet smart account is created to manage and secure their AdEx account. AdEx utilizes the Ambire Wallet SDK to ensure security and streamline the account creation process.
Users are solely responsible for undertaking adequate measures regarding their account credentials.

4. PRIVACY POLICY

4.1. ADS
Any internet user may encounter AdEx-powered ads on the publishers’ websites that are part of the network of the integrated SSPs. Targeting is done on the side of the SSPs and AdEx does not collect any personal information through these ads.

4.2. PLATFORM AND WEBSITE

AdEx may collect the following information from Advertisers during the use of the Platform:

Personal Data: Email
Purposes: Registration and account creation when a User chooses email registration according to art.3 of the present Terms
Legal Basis: The data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes;
Retention Period: Until withdrawal of the consent
By providing their email address during the registration process, User agree to receive promotional and marketing information regarding the AdEx Platform and services.
Campaign statistics: we are collecting data on campaign performance in order to optimize further campaigns and ensure that there is no ad fraud.

Your rights include but are not limited to: request correction of any collected information via the AdEx Website, request deletion of personal data collected via the AdEx Website, receive information from AdEx about the methods of collection, storage details, opting out of marketing emails, etc. The collection and storage of the above-mentioned personal data are fully compliant with the requirements set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Please bear in mind that AdEx is not designed to submit any personal data to the blockchain. However, if any data/information, personal or otherwise, be written to the blockchain, it cannot be amended, corrected or deleted. AdEx shall not be held liable in any way for the collection of the information on the blockchain.

In case of personal data breach, We will undertake every possible action in an appropriate and timely manner, to avoid any material or non-material damage to Advertisers. Breaches in the security may include identity theft, identity fraud, limitation of rights, unauthorized access to your account, loss of confidentiality of personal data, etc. As soon as AdEx becomes aware of the breach, Advertisers and the competent authorities will be notified immediately. Advertisers may be asked to follow certain instructions for prevention of breaches.

We may elect to transfer AdEx Advertisers’ Personal Information to third parties under special circumstances:

- to comply with a legal requirement, judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on AdEx or its affiliates,
- to investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft;
- to Public Authorities in accordance with their legal obligation for the exercise of their official mission, such as tax and customs authorities, financial investigation units, independent administrative authorities, or financial market authorities responsible for supervision of securities markets;
- in connection with the sale, purchase, business transition under any form, merger, dissolution, reorganization, liquidation of AdEx; We may have to disclose the information You have given us to the successor, who is part of the transition,
- when we believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of AdEx or other persons, or
- as otherwise required or permitted by law, including any contractual obligations of AdEx.

5. GENERAL DISCLAIMERS

5.1. MODIFICATION OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

We reserve our right to modify and update the present Terms at our sole discretion according to the policy of AdEx. AdEx will publish a notification on its Website about changes to the present Terms. The AdEx Users have the obligation to inform themselves about the modifications and have the right to immediately seize the use of the AdEx platform in case they do not accept the changes. If AdEx Users continue to use the AdEx Platform, We will consider this as acceptance of the amendments made.

5.2. TECHNICAL ISSUES

We shall not be responsible and do not have any obligation connected to cyber-attacks and/ or viruses to AdEx Users’ technical devices, failure of service providence during the use of our services, data charges, other fees and taxes associated with the access to AdEx Platform.

5.3. TERRITORIAL COMPATIBILITY

The use of Our Services shall be in compliance with all applicable legislation according to the territory AdEx Users access from. The access to Our Platform is prohibited in case the content is considered and treated as illegal by the specific governmental and legal system. AdEx Users are solely responsible for the compliance of AdEx activity with the applicable local, regional or international laws, regulations, directives, etc. We are not liable in case the access is restricted or prohibited in certain territories and countries depending on the different legal acts.

5.4. INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR

Any explicit or implicit messages in advertisements, campaigns, ad units or channels referring in any way to terrorism, discrimination, racism, or any other form of inappropriate behaviour is strictly forbidden and will lead to restriction of the use of Our Website and Platform. We have no responsibility to monitor the behaviour of AdEx Users and shall not be liable for these actions. However, in the case of signal, We shall make everything possible to prevent further inappropriate behaviour. In addition, AdEx in its own estimation decides whether inappropriate behaviour is present or not and may undertake different actions. Therefore, AdEx shall not be held liable for the decisions it takes and the following measures for restriction of the use of the Platform.

5.5. THIRD PARTIES

AdEx Platform may include hyperlinks forwarding to third-party websites. These third parties are not connected in any way to Us and We do not control or review the content presented there. AdEx Users can access the websites at their own risk and they should comply with their Terms and Conditions and other relevant to the websites rules. We are not liable for the content represented on third-party websites.

5.6. SELF-HOSTING / OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

The software that powers the AdEx Platform is open-source software and as such, it can be downloaded and ran without any restrictions. For more details, please read the license: https://github.com/AmbireTech/adex-interface

5.7. ETHEREUM SMART CONTRACTS

The underlying technology that powers the AdEx Platform is an immutable, unstoppable smart contract system called the AdEx Core. Those smart contracts are hosted on GitHub, have previously undergone professional security audits and can be publicly reviewed to ensure their correctness.

6. PAYMENT AND PAYMENT ALTERNATIVES

6.1. FEES AND TAXES

A fee is applicable for every campaign commenced on the AdEx platform. This fee stands at 7% when using USDT, USDC, or DAI, and 4% when ADX is the currency of choice.

No other fees are applied.

In addition, some taxes and fees may be payable to public authorities in different countries depending on the applicable legal regulations. AdEx Users are obliged to inform themselves for such taxes and fees. We are not responsible for paying any tax or fee connected to the access and use of Our services.

AdEx Users shall be held liable in case they provide false information or manipulate in any way data for the purposes of payment. Advertisers, representatives of legal entities, hereby guarantee they are duly authorized to effect the required advertising payments.

7. OBLIGATIONS OF ADEX USERS

AdEx Users agree to the following rules applicable on The Platform:
- They will check the compatibility between the Platform and any restrictions in countries;
- They will restrain from posting, suggesting or commenting in any way directly or indirectly offensive, racist, sexist or other inappropriate content;
- They will not upload, transmit, distribute, announce, etc. any information, which is not duly provided for the purposes of registration and usage of the AdEx Platform;
- Any information uploaded on the Platform should be an object of ownership by the corresponding AdEx User or an object of valid license agreement with the owner of the material;
- They will not provide false, manipulated, inaccurate or incomplete information which may mislead in any way other AdEx Users;
- They must not upload any unlicensed content, interfere by any electronic means in the activity of the Platform; violation of the security network or the system will lead to the corresponding civil or penal liability according to the action undertaken;
- If they represent a legal entity, they declare that are duly authorized;
- They must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into legally binding contracts to make a registration and use the services of the Platform;
- They must not access the Platform from an electronic device that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, etc.;
- They shall comply with the rules mentioned within the present document;
- They should support their accounts at all times and update the information on the Platform;
- They must maintain confidentiality and security of their account credentials;
- They must not disclose any information connected to your account credential to any third party and We have not authorized any third parties to request such information from AdEx Users. AdEx Users are solely responsible for any damages or misuse of their accounts in these cases. They should not use another person’s account.
- It is prohibited for AdEx Users to impersonate another person, to use invalid or incorrect information, to use the account of another person without explicit consent, to access without authorization the same accounts.

If the User does not comply with these obligations, AdEx reserves the right to block the user’s account and prevent access to the platform.

8. RISKS AND WARRANTIES

AdEx Users understand and accept the risks in connection with allocation, use, transfer and ownership of tokens, as exemplary set forth above and hereinafter. AdEx shall not be held liable in any way in relation to the below-mentioned risks. In particular, but not concluding, AdEx Users understand the risks listed below:

Risk of software weaknesses: AdEx Users understand and accept the decentralized public infrastructure, the Ethereum network, the Smart Contract Systems, the figures of Validators, the Platform and other involved software and technology, technical concepts and theories (including but not limited to blockchains, cryptography, etc.) are still in an early development stage and unproven, therefore there is no warranty that the process for receipt, transfer, use and ownership of tokens will be uninterrupted or error-free and there is an inherent risk that the software and related technologies and theories could contain weaknesses, vulnerabilities or bugs causing, inter alia, the complete loss of funds.

Regulatory risk: AdEx Users understand and accept that the blockchain technology allows new forms of interaction. It is highly possible that some jurisdictions apply existing regulations on the technology or they adopt new ones. Therefore, the AdEx Platform will be affected due to its blockchain based character. The measures may be contrary to the Smart Contract Systems, the figures of Validators, the AdEx Platform and other involved software and technology, technical concepts and theories. This may result in substantial modifications of the Platform, including its termination and the loss of funds for AdEx Users.

Risk of theft: AdEx Users understand and accept that the decentralized public infrastructure, the Smart Contract Systems, the figures of Validators, the AdEx Platform and other involved software and technology may be exposed to attacks by hackers or other individuals that could result in theft or loss of funds.

Risk of blockchain Validators attacks: AdEx Users understand and agree that, similar to any other public blockchain based systems that depend upon independent Validators, AdEx Platform may be susceptible to such attacks. Any undertaken attack represent a potential risk to the decentralized network, the proper execution of transactions and software computations.

Risk of incorrect integration: AdEx Users understand and agree that there is a risk of incorrect integration of the AdView Manager, which is normally integrated through including an HTML snippet on their website. Due to the nature of the web and JavaScript, the snippet may be interfered with by other parts of their website, leading to potential loss of reporting accuracy.

Risk of stablecoin instability: DAI, USDC and USDT are an ethereum-based stablecoins stabilized against the value of the US dollar. AdEx Users understand and agree that AdEx Platform is based on Ethereum but does not in any way control or affect either Ethereum or the stablecoins referred to above. Even though stablecoins are designed to be price stable, its value may vary, including a decrease in value.

Additional risks: AdEx reserves its right to terminate the functioning of the AdEx Platform due to regulatory, economic, financial, political, social and other measures. AdEx is solely competent to undertake such decisions and shall not be held liable.

Due to the ongoing development of the Platform and the implementation of technologies and software of experimental nature, the use of the Platform may contain operational, technological, financial and regulatory risks. We, at AdEx, constantly raise the level of security and accuracy. However, the improvements should not be considered any direct or indirect warranties that the Platform does not contain weaknesses, vulnerabilities or bugs which could cause the complete loss of funds.

AdEx Users must contact us immediately in the following situations:

- If they have security issues;
- If their account has been under a cyber-attack;
- If their account has been accessed without their authorization;
- If their account has been modified without their knowledge, etc.

9. LICENSES AND PERMISSIONS

Advertisers may register on behalf of legal entities. They must guarantee at all times that they are duly authorized and that the information they provide on the Platform is not confidential in any way or does not infringe any third-party rights. AdEx Users guarantee that the visual and informational material they transmit, distribute, post, upload and store on the Platform about a website does not contain sensitive company information and if it contains, they have been duly authorized to present such.

AdEx is not responsible for controlling the materials uploaded on the Platform and shall not be held liable in any way for the presence of any information which infringes the rights of third parties including but not limited to any intellectual property rights.

AdEx Users guarantee that they own or have been granted a license to use the materials - objects of intellectual property rights, on the Platform. AdEx Users who undertake any action against these provisions shall hold AdEx harmless against liability, third-party claims and actions for material and non-material damages. If the above-mentioned is not possible, they shall be responsible afterwards for any material and non-material damages arising from third-party claims directed to AdEx solely, including but not limited to fees, taxes and indemnity.

AdEx Users do not have the right to distribute, broadcast, transmit, share, copy, etc. in any way the content on the Website or Platform or modify the content to represent it as their own.

If a person believes that any of the materials or information provided by an AdEx User violates third-party intellectual property rights, please contact Us via email on [email protected]. AdEx can request additional information about the infringement, the owner of the intellectual property rights, legitimation and proof of ownership before undertaking any actions of restriction and deletion of the material.

Please bear in mind that any infringing intellectual property rights material submitted and written on the blockchain or other P2P systems cannot be controlled, amended, corrected or deleted by AdEx. Therefore, AdEx shall not be held liable in any way for the collection and availability of the information on the blockchain or other P2P systems. The uploaded content cannot be controlled by AdEx because the Platform is created solely as a medium for interaction between аdvertising пarties, therefore the former cannot be aware of facts or circumstances from which the illegal activity or information is apparent. AdEx shall undertake any possible measure to prevent the continuation of infringement, remove or disable access to the information upon obtaining such knowledge and awareness. In case the undertaking of such measures is impossible due to the above-mentioned technical reasons related to the nature of blockchain or other P2P systems, AdEx shall ensure maximum cooperation and assistance with the matter in any other aspect. AdEx shall not be held liable in any way in the above-mentioned cases.

10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ON THE WEBSITE

This site belongs to and is operated by AdEx. Each component of the Website and Platform and the layout itself, including but not limited to logos, trademarks, domain names, etc. which appear in any way on the Website or Platform, are protected by the current laws with subject intellectual property. Therefore, they belong strictly and solely to AdEx and the use of any component is subject to prior authorisation.

None of the above-mentioned components included on the Website and Platform can be reproduced, copied, edited, transmitted, downloaded or distributed in any way whatsoever partially or in whole, on any medium whatsoever, without the prior written consent of AdEx. Apart from this, the use for press requirements is allowed solely in compliance with intellectual property rights that are mentioned.

The act of copying is authorised only for private, non-commercial, personal use on the personal technical devices of the user (including telephone, laptop, computer, tablet). The authorised use must not be denatured, modified, altered or changed in any way whatsoever.

AdEx reserves its right to take every necessary legal action against any breach or infringement of its intellectual property rights.

The rules mentioned above apply to databases on the Website and Platform, which are protected under the Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases.

11. RESTRICTION OR REMOVAL OF CONTENT

Please, bear in mind that the Platform can be periodically modified, updated, maintained or technically supported. This means that some of the advertisements, ad units, campaigns, channels, etc., may be replaced or removed due to automatic technological malfunction. AdEx is not responsible for automatic removal of information.

We have the right to remove ad creatives or parts of them thereto due to provocative, misleading, racist, offensive or any other inappropriate behaviour, which in any way violates the applicable rules on the Website and Platform. We can take action without prior consent and/or knowledge of AdEx Users.

However, due to the permissionless nature of the underlying technologies, we are not always able to enforce restrictions or take such actions.

12. COMMUNICATION VIA ELECTRONIC MEANS

We may communicate with AdEx Users by different electronic means in connection to privacy problems, security breaches, technical or administrative issues, legal breaches regarding your use of our services.

13. FINAL PROVISIONS

The applicable law shall be Estonian law. All disputes arising out of this Terms shall be resolved before the competent Estonian Court.

The invalidity of one or more clauses/provisions in the Terms does not lead to the invalidity of the whole document.

The Specification of AdEx in GitHub is an inseparable part of the present Terms. In case of void in the Terms and Conditions, Our GitHub Specification shall be applicable.

This document was last updated on July 24, 2023