Our Mission.

Our mission is to enable regenerative, high-performance buildings by providing access to unbiased, comprehensive and accurate material information. Matter helps project teams build collective material intelligence to inform better sourcing decisions. Powerful search tools enable digital material libraries to be curated according to specific project and/or firm goals and requirements. Collaborative project tools enable project teams to build project specifications within the same office or across the globe. Cloud-based communication tools organically collect firm expertise helping to reduce redundant work and costly errors. Matter is designed to dovetail with existing project team workflows and create material management efficiencies - freeing up time for practitioners to raise the bar on sustainability initiatives. This document establishes the Guiding Principles, upon which Matter is built, and the Terms & Conditions for use of Matter services.

A Connected Solution.

Matter was built from need: good material information is hard to find. Construction industry data sources are generally fragmented and inconsistent. Material information requirements vary per project type, building code, green building standard, and personal preference. The diversity of requirements exponentially multiplies the number of requests which Manufacturers and Reporting Bodies receive, where they provide their information, and how it is provided. It is difficult (and unrealistic) for Manufacturers and Reporting Bodies to respond to all industry requests and continually send updates to those who request information. Matter enables the diversity of these requests to be answered without fragmenting material information. Matter directly connects to the Origin Material Data Hub - the world’s largest hub of connected material data. Updates are received automatically from Origin and its connected material libraries (including the mindful MATERIALS Library) to reduce and eliminate material management required of project teams.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The development and evolution of Matter are continually guided by the following principles:

Manufacturers and Reporting Bodies must be able to provide their data without paying fees. Paying to provide data reduces participation and skews data integrity.
Paywalls restrict data use, reducing market feedback - the driver which keeps market information relevant and up-to-date. Matter Basic accounts provide access to search for all connected materials.
Data Chains of Custody must be built and maintained. Matter users must have visibility of the sources that provide data, and data providers must be recognized for the data they provide.
User privacy is paramount. Feedback loops between Matter users and manufacturers must comply with Privacy Policies. Collective, aggregate usage data drives manufacturer engagement.

TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR USE OF STANDARD MATTER SERVICES

Matter is a cloud-based application for the construction industry. Matter can only be used by Registered Users. This document sets forth the general principles upon which we make available Matter Services to Registered Users. We reserve the right to amend this document from time to time, at our discretion, without notice.

Products and Services provided under the name “GIGA”, “GIGABASE”, “Matter” or are provided by GIGABASE Inc., a company incorporated under the applicable laws of Canada and its provinces (all references herein to “We”, “Matter”, “GIGA” or “GIGABASE” shall mean GIGABASE Inc.). These Terms and Conditions for use of Matter’s Standard Services (“Terms and Conditions”) constitute a contract between You, as a user, and GIGA when You use Matter’s standard provided sites, Services, and Products (“Services”). If You are a paid subscriber to Matter Products and/or Services please refer to the Terms and Conditions of Use of Your service Agreement.

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully and contact us (legal@giga.build) if You have any questions or feedback. By accessing or using the Services, You agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and related Privacy Policies, accessible at: https://help.matterbuild.com/#privacy-policy

1. Services

Access to certain Services are only available for use by users who enter into a binding contract with GIGA, and only in compliance with these Terms and Conditions and all applicable laws.

When You create an account, You must provide accurate information to use the Services, in particular, your email address. Failure to do so may result in suspension or termination of Your account.

We recommend that You use strong passwords to access Your account. You are responsible for safeguarding the password that You use to access the Services and for any activities or actions that occur when Your account is accessed with Your password. GIGA will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the misuse of Your password.

The Services are optimized for use with the following browser configurations:
Windows 8 or later: last 2 versions of Chrome, Firefox and Edge;
Max OS X 10.11 or later: last 2 versions of Chrome and Firefox;
Linux: last 2 versions of Chrome and Firefox.

The Services may also work with other browser configurations, however; We recommend that You use one of the above configurations when accessing the Services.

If You create an account on behalf of a company, organization, or other legal entity, then (a) ”You”, the user, includes yourself and that legal entity; jointly, and (b) You represent and warrant that You are authorized to bind the legal entity so it agrees to these Terms and Conditions as well.

Some of the Services may be software that is downloaded to your computer, phone, tablet, or other device. You agree that We may automatically upgrade those Services, and these Terms and Conditions will apply to such upgrades.

We may, without prior notice, change the Services, cease supply of the Services or features of the Services to You or other users generally, or create usage limits for the Services.

Subject to these Terms and Conditions and related Privacy Policies, We grant You a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the Services.

2. Your Content

2.1 Creating and Uploading Your Content.

GIGA allows You to create content within the Services and upload content to the Services. Content can include, text, images, and documents. Anything that You upload or otherwise make available while using the Services is considered “Your Content”. You retain all rights to Your Content, and are solely liable for the accuracy of Your Content that You upload to the Services. You agree, to the best of Your abilities, to keep Your Content accurate and current.

By uploading Your Content, You represent and warrant that You are the owner of such content, including any intellectual property rights in such content, or that You are authorized by the owner to use it, and that such content is accurate, not misleading, not illegal and does not contain subjective views that may be considered defamatory or disparaging of another person, product or service. If You are in doubt that any content You propose to upload complies with this Section, You shall not upload it.

You agree that GIGA shall have the right to edit, remove or block access to Your Content without notice for any reason, including content that GIGA believes, in its sole discretion, to breach these Terms and Conditions, related Privacy Policies or any applicable laws or regulations.

When You Publish Your Content on Matter, you agree that it may be viewed by authenticated Matter Users who have the appropriate user permissions within Your Company’s Matter account.

You further agree to indemnify and hold harmless GIGA against any claims arising from Your Content uploaded by You in breach of these Terms and Conditions and/or applicable laws or regulations.

You further agree to indemnify and hold harmless GIGA against any claims arising from Your Content uploaded by You in breach of these Terms and Conditions and/or applicable laws or regulations.

2.2 How GIGA and other entities can access and use Your Content.

At Your sole discretion, You may publish Your Content to the Services. By publishing Your Content, You grant GIGA and other entities an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to access use, store, display, Your Content solely for the purposes of operating, developing, providing and using the Services.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, GIGA shall have the right collect and analyze data and other information relating to the provision, use and performance of various aspects of the Services and related systems and technologies (including, without limitation, information concerning Your Content and data derived therefrom), and GIGA will be free to (i) use such information and data to improve and enhance the Services and for other development, diagnostic and corrective purposes in connection with the Services and other GIGA offerings, and (ii) disclose such data solely in aggregate or other de-identified form in connection with its business. No rights or licenses are granted except as expressly set forth herein.

2.3 Your Feedback.

We value Your feedback. Your feedback helps us to optimize the Services for Your use. If You provide comments, ideas or other feedback, You agree that GIGA is free to use them without any restriction or compensation to You.

2.4 Termination and Deletion.

Where Your account is terminated, deactivated, blocked or You delete in whole or in part Your Content from the Services, We may nevertheless retain Your Content for a commercially reasonable period of time for backup, archival or audit purposes. Furthermore, GIGA, its users and Data Exchange Partners may retain copies of and continue to use, store, display, and/or re-post, any of Your Content that has been shared with Your consent, through the Services.

3. Security
The security of Your Content is a priority. While We work towards this goal, GIGA cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will not be able to breach the Services’ security measures. Please notify GIGA immediately if You become aware of any suspicious activity or any incident that compromises or constitutes unauthorized access to or use of your account.

4. Copyright Policy

GIGA respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of the Services to do the same. We will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable laws and are properly provided to GIGA. If You believe that Your Content has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us at: legal@giga.build

5. Third-Party Links

The Services may contain links to third-party websites, advertisers, services, special offers, or other events or activities that are not owned or controlled by GIGA. We do not endorse or assume any responsibility for any such websites, information, content, materials, products, or services. If You access any third party website, service, or content through the Services, You do so at your own risk and You agree that GIGA will have no liability arising from your use of or access to any third-party website, service, or content.

6. Transparency and Choice

6.1 Matter uses cookies.

The Services use cookies to give you the best, most relevant experience. Using The Services means you agree with the use of cookies. You may set Your browser to block all cookies, including cookies associated with The Services, or to indicate when a cookie is being set by us. You may also delete cookies which are already stored on your computer. However, remember that many of The Services may not work properly if You block or delete cookies.

6.2 About Cookies.

Cookies are files which contain a string of letters and numbers (“Identifier”) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the receiving browser. The Identifier is provided to the server whenever the browser requests a page from the server. Web servers may use cookies to identify and track users as they use various website pages. Cookies may also identify users who return to a given website or website page.

Personal information that can identify an individual user are usually not contained in cookies, however; personal information that We store about You may be linked to the information obtained from and stored within cookies.

7. Disclaimers, Indemnity

The Services are provided from services located in Japan and We give no representations or warranties that they are appropriate for use in other locations.

If You use the Services, You agree to indemnify and hold harmless GIGA and its officers, directors, employees, partners and agents, from and against any claims, suits, proceedings, disputes, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees (including costs of defense of claims, suits or proceedings brought by third parties), in any way related to (a) Your access to or use of the Services, (b) Your Content, or (c) Your breach of any of these Terms and Conditions, including without limitation liability for Your Content.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, GIGA and its officers, directors, employees, partners and agents disclaim any warranties, express or implied, of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We make no warranty and disclaim all responsibility and liability for the completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, security or reliability of the Service or any content thereon. GIGA will have no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, Your Content hosted by the Services. We make no warranty that the Services will meet your requirements or be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from GIGA, its officers, employees or agents, or through our products, will create any warranty not expressly made herein.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, GIGA and its officers, directors, employees, partners and agents will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Services; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Services, including without limitation, any defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of other users or third parties; (iii) any content obtained from the Services; and (iv) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not GIGA has been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.

8. Governing Law, Language and Legal Disputes

These Terms and Conditions and the use of the Services shall be governed by the applicable laws of Canada and its province of Ontario without regard to principles of the conflicts of laws.

These Terms and Conditions are in the English language and where they are translated into other languages, the translation shall be for reference only. If there is any inconsistency between the English version and translated versions, the English version shall prevail and no reference shall be made to any translated versions to interpret the English.

You and GIGA agree that any claim or dispute arising out of the use of the Services and the application of these Terms and Conditions shall be resolved in accordance with this section unless You and GIGA otherwise agree in writing. Any claim or dispute shall first be discussed between You and GIGA in good faith to achieve an amicable resolution.

If an amicable resolution cannot be reached within sixty (60) days of the date either You or GIGA first raised the claim or dispute in writing, either party may submit its claim or dispute to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario, Canada.

9. General Terms

GIGA reserves the right to determine the form and means of providing notifications to You, and You agree to receive legal notices electronically if We so choose. We may revise these Terms and Conditions from time to time and the most current version will be deemed the one published on GIGA’s commercial website at any relevant time. If a revision, in GIGA’s sole discretion, is material We will notify You. By continuing to access or use the Services after revisions become effective, You agree to be bound by the revised Terms and Conditions. If You do not agree to the published Terms and Conditions at any relevant time, please stop using the Services.

10. Term & Termination
This Agreement is effective from the date that You first access the Services or submit any information to GIGA, whichever is earlier, and shall remain effective until terminated in accordance with its terms. Certain violations of this Agreement, as determined by GIGA, may result in immediate termination of this Agreement, and/or Your access to and use of the Services, without prior notice. This Agreement will also terminate automatically if You fail to comply with any term or provision of this Agreement, with no cure period. Upon termination of this Agreement by either Party, Your right to use the Services shall immediately cease, and You shall destroy all copies of information that You have obtained from the Services, whether made under the terms of this Agreement or otherwise. All disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnities, GIGA rights of ownership, and licenses to GIGA shall survive any termination, indefinitely.

We reserve the right at any time and from time to time to modify, discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Services, or any part or portion thereof, with or without notice to You. You agree that We shall not be liable to You or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Services, or any part or portion thereof. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to obligate GIGA to maintain and support the Services, or any part or portion thereof, during the term of this Agreement.

Last modified on September 19th, 2019

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