Introduction
Welcome to LandScope!
These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of LandScope's terrain analysis platform, including our Python-based automation tools, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) processing services, KMZ generation capabilities, and related features and services (collectively, the "Services").
LandScope provides sophisticated terrain analysis automation that transforms high-resolution Digital Elevation Models into interactive Google Earth Pro overlays, making powerful geospatial data accessible to regenerative designers, environmental consultants, real estate developers, land investors, and other professionals.
By accessing or using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, please do not use our Services.
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help clarify anything.
Summary of Key Points
This summary highlights key provisions of our Terms of Use, but please read the full document below for complete details.
What Services do we provide?
LandScope offers terrain analysis automation tools that process Digital Elevation Models to generate interactive KMZ map overlays with elevation, slope, contour, hillshade, and hydrology data for Google Earth Pro.
Who can use our Services?
Our Services are designed for professional use by individuals and organizations aged 18 and over, including environmental consultants, designers, developers, researchers, and land management professionals.
What are your responsibilities?
You must provide accurate information, use our Services lawfully, respect intellectual property rights, and maintain the security of your account credentials.
What about your data?
You retain ownership of the data you upload, and we process it according to our Privacy Policy. We may retain anonymized insights to improve our Services.
What are our limitations?
While we strive for accuracy, terrain analysis involves inherent uncertainties. Our Services are tools to assist decision-making but should not be the sole basis for critical decisions.
How can these Terms change?
We may update these Terms periodically. We'll notify you of material changes and give you an opportunity to review them before they take effect.
1. Service Description
1.1 Core Services
LandScope provides automated terrain analysis services that process Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to generate interactive map overlays and analytical outputs for professional use.
1.2 Fundamental Limitation: "The Map is Not the Territory"
Critical Understanding
"The map is not the territory" is a phrase coined by Alfred Korzybski, a Polish-American scientist and philosopher. It means that a representation of something (the map) is not the same as the actual thing it represents (the territory).
Our Services provide analytical representations and visualizations of terrain data, but these outputs are not substitutes for actual field conditions, direct observation, or on-site investigation. Our analysis serves as a means to supplement, not replace, direct observation and professional field work.
Users must understand that:
- All terrain analysis outputs are representations and interpretations of source data
- These representations may not accurately reflect actual field conditions
- Direct site investigation and professional verification remain essential
- Our Services are tools to assist decision-making, not definitive statements about terrain conditions
1.3 Service Limitations
Legal and Technical Constraints:
- Analysis accuracy is fundamentally limited by source data quality, currency, and resolution
- Processing capabilities depend on data complexity and system availability
- Results are analytical interpretations that require professional validation
- Services are designed to supplement, not replace, professional field investigation and direct observation
- Not intended for real-time applications, emergency response, or life-safety decisions
2. Account Registration and Eligibility
2.1 Account Creation
To access certain features of our Services, you must create an account by providing:
- Valid email address
- Secure password meeting our requirements
- Organization information (if applicable)
- Professional context and intended use cases
- Billing information for paid plans
2.2 Eligibility Requirements
Age and Capacity:
- You must be at least 18 years old to create an account
- You must have the legal capacity to enter into binding agreements
- If registering on behalf of an organization, you must have authority to bind that entity
Professional Use:
- Our Services are designed for professional, business, research, or educational use
- Personal hobby use is permitted but with understanding of professional-grade tool complexity
- Commercial use requires appropriate subscription plans
2.3 Account Security
Your Responsibilities:
- Maintain confidentiality of your account credentials
- Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication when available
- Promptly notify us of any unauthorized access or security breaches
- Ensure all account information remains current and accurate
3. Acceptable Use Policy
3.1 Permitted Uses
You may use our Services for:
- Professional terrain analysis for legitimate business, research, or educational purposes
- Environmental consulting and site assessment projects
- Land development planning and feasibility studies
- Academic research and educational projects
- Conservation planning and environmental protection initiatives
- Risk assessment for natural hazards and land use planning
- Design and engineering support for site development
- Investment analysis for real estate and land acquisition
3.2 Prohibited Uses
You may not use our Services for:
Illegal or Harmful Activities:
- Any unlawful purpose or activity that violates local, state, national, or international laws
- Military applications, weapons development, or surveillance activities without proper authorization
- Activities that could harm the environment or public safety
- Unauthorized surveillance or privacy violations
System Abuse:
- Attempts to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract our algorithms
- Automated scraping, crawling, or systematic downloading of content
- Overloading our systems with excessive requests or resource consumption
- Attempting to gain unauthorized access to our systems or other users' accounts
Misuse of Data:
- Processing stolen, misappropriated, or illegally obtained geographic data
- Sharing or redistributing proprietary terrain analysis results without authorization
- Using our Services to create competing terrain analysis products
- Violating intellectual property rights of data providers or third parties
4. Your Data and Content
4.1 Data Ownership and Rights
Your Rights:
- You retain all ownership rights to the Digital Elevation Models and geographic data you upload
- You maintain ownership of analysis results generated from your data
- You may download, export, or delete your data subject to technical limitations
Our Rights:
- We require sufficient rights to process your data to provide the requested Services
- We may retain anonymized, aggregated insights for service improvement
- We may retain statistical patterns and trends (without identifying information) for research and development
4.2 Data Responsibilities and Privacy
Your use of our Services is subject to our Privacy Policy, which provides detailed information about:
- How we collect, use, and protect your data
- Your privacy rights and choices
- Data retention and deletion procedures
- International data transfer protections
- Contact information for privacy-related inquiries
Please review our Privacy Policy for complete details about our data handling practices.
4.3 User Responsibilities
Your Obligations:
- Ensure you have legal rights to upload and process all data
- Comply with any third-party licensing terms applicable to your data
- Respect privacy rights and obtain necessary consents for location data processing
- Provide accurate information about data sources and any processing restrictions
5. Intellectual Property Rights
5.1 LandScope Intellectual Property
Our Ownership:
- Synoptic Solutions Inc. (DBA LandScope) owns all rights to our software, algorithms, analysis methods, and technological processes
- Our trademarks, service marks, logos, and brand elements are our exclusive property
- The user interface, design elements, and overall platform architecture are protected by copyright
- Our terrain analysis methodologies and computational approaches are proprietary
Your License to Use:
- We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our Services
- Your license is subject to these Terms and payment of applicable fees
- You may not sublicense, distribute, or create derivative works based on our technology
- Commercial use requires appropriate subscription plans and licensing
5.2 User-Generated Content
Analysis Results:
- You own the analysis results and visualizations generated from your data
- We do not claim copyright in the specific outputs created for your projects
- You may use, modify, and distribute your results subject to any underlying data restrictions
- Professional and commercial use of results is permitted within your license terms
6. Payment Terms and Billing
6.1 Pricing Structure
Cost-Per-Map Model:
- Services are billed on a per-analysis basis for each terrain analysis request
- Pricing varies based on the size, complexity, and processing requirements of the submitted DEM
- Final pricing is determined after initial data assessment and confirmed before processing begins
- No recurring subscription fees or monthly charges
6.2 Payment Process
Order and Payment Flow:
- Pricing quote provided after data submission and initial assessment
- Payment required before processing begins
- Processing commences only after successful payment confirmation
- Completed analysis delivered upon successful processing
6.3 Refund Policy
- Full refunds available if processing cannot be completed due to technical issues on our end
- Partial refunds may be considered if delivered results do not meet specified technical requirements
- No refunds for completed analyses that meet technical specifications
- Quality issues must be reported within 30 days of delivery
7. Service Availability and Performance
7.1 Service Level Expectations
Uptime Commitment:
- We strive to maintain 99% uptime for our core processing services
- Planned maintenance will be scheduled during low-usage periods when possible
- Emergency maintenance may be performed without advance notice
- Service status and incident reports are available on our status page
7.2 Technical Support
Support Channels:
- Email support available at [email protected] for all users
- Documentation, tutorials, and FAQ resources available online
- Priority support for professional and enterprise subscribers
- Community forums for user discussions and knowledge sharing
8. Disclaimers and Limitations
8.1 Nature of Terrain Analysis
Inherent Limitations: Terrain analysis involves inherent uncertainties and limitations that users must understand:
- Data Quality Dependency: Analysis accuracy is fundamentally limited by the quality, resolution, and currency of input DEM data
- Interpolation Effects: All terrain models involve interpolation and mathematical approximations that may not perfectly represent actual conditions
- Scale Sensitivity: Analysis results may vary significantly depending on the scale and resolution of analysis
- Temporal Limitations: DEMs represent terrain conditions at a specific point in time and may not reflect current conditions
8.2 Dynamic Nature of Terrain
Terrain is dynamic and constantly changing:
- Earthworks and Development: Any earthworks, construction, excavation, grading, or development activities that have occurred since the original data acquisition date will not be reflected in our analysis
- Natural Changes: Erosion, landslides, flooding, vegetation growth, and other natural processes may have altered terrain since data collection
- Currency of Source Data: We process the latest available LiDAR data through open data sources, but this does not guarantee that it captures present-day topography
- Field verification is essential to confirm current conditions
8.3 Service Availability Disclaimers
Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, including:
- Continuous, uninterrupted, or error-free operation
- Compatibility with all hardware, software, or data formats
- Meeting specific performance requirements or deadlines
- Freedom from viruses, security vulnerabilities, or other harmful components
9. Limitation of Liability
9.1 Types of Damages Excluded
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, LANDSCOPE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:
Indirect and Consequential Damages:
- Lost profits, business opportunities, or revenue
- Business interruption or operational delays
- Loss of data, information, or work product
- Cost of substitute services or replacement analysis
- Damage to professional reputation or client relationships
9.2 Damage Caps
Maximum Liability Limit:
- Our total liability for any claims arising from or related to these Terms or our Services shall not exceed the amount you paid to LandScope in the 12 months preceding the claim
- For free tier users, our maximum liability shall not exceed $100 USD
- These limitations apply regardless of the legal theory of the claim (contract, tort, strict liability, etc.)
10. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless LandScope, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, or debt, and expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from:
- Your use of unauthorized, infringing, or illegal data or content
- Violations of third-party intellectual property rights in connection with data you upload
- Your violation of these Terms of Use or our Acceptable Use Policy
- Your use of our Services for illegal, harmful, or unauthorized purposes
- Claims by your clients, customers, or business partners related to analysis results
11. Privacy and Data Protection
These Terms incorporate our Privacy Policy by reference. Privacy and data protection obligations are detailed in our separate Privacy Policy document.
Key Privacy Commitments:
- We do not sell or rent your personal information or proprietary data
- Data processing is limited to providing Services and improving our platform
- Security measures protect data during processing, storage, and transmission
- User rights regarding data access, correction, and deletion are respected
12. Termination
12.1 Termination by User
You may cancel your account at any time through your account dashboard. Data export capabilities will remain available for 30 days after cancellation.
12.2 Termination by LandScope
We may terminate your account immediately for:
- Material breach of these Terms that remains uncured after 30 days' notice
- Violation of our Acceptable Use Policy
- Non-payment of fees after appropriate notice and opportunity to cure
- Fraudulent activity or misuse of our Services
- Legal requirements or court orders
13. Dispute Resolution
13.1 Informal Resolution
Before pursuing formal dispute resolution, parties agree to:
- Communicate directly about the nature of the dispute and potential solutions
- Allow 30 days for good faith negotiations to resolve the matter
- Consider mediation or other alternative dispute resolution methods
13.2 Binding Arbitration
Disputes that cannot be resolved informally will be settled through binding arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association.
13.3 Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of Alberta, Canada without regard to conflict of law principles. Court proceedings for non-arbitrable claims will be held in Alberta, Canada.
14. Geographic Restrictions
14.1 Service Availability Based on Data Sources
LiDAR Data Availability:
- Our Services are primarily available in regions where LiDAR data is accessible through open data sources
- LiDAR coverage varies significantly by country and region
- We cannot provide terrain analysis services in areas where suitable elevation data is not available
Alternative Data Sources:
- In regions where LiDAR data is not available, we may be able to process drone-derived Digital Elevation Models
- Drone-derived DEMs require users to provide their own data collected through appropriate UAV surveys
- Users are responsible for ensuring drone data collection complies with local aviation regulations and airspace restrictions
15. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms periodically to reflect changes in our Services, legal requirements, or business practices. Material changes will be communicated with at least 30 days' advance notice through:
- Email notification to registered users
- Account dashboard notifications
- Website postings
Continued use of our Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of updated Terms.
16. Contact Information
For questions about these Terms of Use, our Services, or your account:
Email: [email protected]
By using LandScope, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.