VisionScribe Research

Consent and Participation Agreement

This Consent and Participation Agreement ("Agreement") describes what you are agreeing to by taking part in this project. Please read it together with the Privacy Policy, which describes in full what VisionScribe Research ("VisionScribe Research," "we," or "us") records, how we use it, who can see it, and how long we keep it.

1. Eligibility

You must be 18 or older to participate.

VisionScribe Research does not currently accept participants who reside in Illinois, Texas, or Washington state, due to those states' specific biometric privacy laws. When you enroll, you will be asked to select your state of residence, and by doing so, you represent that the state you select is accurate and that you do not reside in Illinois, Texas, or Washington state. Providing a false or misleading state of residence is a material breach of this Agreement, as described in Section 8.

2. Voluntary Participation and Withdrawal

Participation in this project is voluntary, and you may stop at any time, without providing a reason. Withdrawing halts any further recording immediately and is logged with the date.

3. Consent to Biometric and Profile Data Collection

As explained in the Privacy Policy, your face and the way it moves can identify you, and the video we record of your face, including your mouth, jaw, and chin, constitutes biometric data. By checking the box below and typing your name to sign this Agreement electronically, you give your explicit, informed consent to VisionScribe Research's collection of this biometric data, along with the accompanying audio and quality measurements, as described in the Privacy Policy.

By the same act you also give your explicit, informed consent to VisionScribe Research's collection of the profile information described in the Privacy Policy, including your race, which some laws treat as a special category of personal data. Only your first name and your state of residence are required; every other field is optional, and you may change or delete any of it at any time from your profile page.

4. What You Are Granting

You grant the VisionScribe Research project and its owner(s) permission to:

• Store your recordings;
• Use your recordings to train and evaluate lip-reading models; and
• License, sell, or transfer your recordings, or derivative datasets and models, to third parties, as described in the Privacy Policy.

This is a license to use your recordings for these purposes, not a transfer of ownership. You retain every other right in your own likeness.

5. Retention and Deletion of Your Data

Full detail on how long we keep your recordings, and how to request deletion, appears in the Privacy Policy. You may delete your own clips, or request deletion, at any time after you sign into VisionScribe Research. Deletion removes your recordings and anything derived from them that we still hold, but cannot reach inside a model already trained on your data before your deletion request.

6. Assumption of Risk and No Guarantee of Security

You understand that no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure. While we take reasonable measures to protect your recordings, we cannot guarantee that they will never be subject to unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. You assume the risks inherent in participating in a research project that involves the recording of biometric data, including the risk that a third party to whom we lawfully transfer your recordings may misuse or fail to protect them.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, VisionScribe Research and its owner(s), officers, employees, contractors, and agents (collectively, the "VisionScribe Research Parties") are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement or your participation in this project, whether based on contract, tort, statute, or any other legal theory, and even if a VisionScribe Research Party has been advised of the possibility of such damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the total liability of the VisionScribe Research Parties for any claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement will not exceed the greater of $5 or the total compensation, if any, you received for participating in this project.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some or all of the exclusions and limitations in this Section may not apply to you.

8. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the VisionScribe Research Parties from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or relating to your breach of this Agreement or your provision of false or misleading information, including a false statement regarding your age, state of residence, or other eligibility criteria.

9. Dispute Resolution: Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Privacy Policy, or your participation in this project will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court where that court has jurisdiction. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, and will take place in the county where you reside or, at your option, by video conference or based on written submissions.

You and VisionScribe Research each waive the right to a jury trial and the right to bring or participate in a class action, class arbitration, or other representative proceeding. Claims may be brought only in an individual capacity.

If any part of this arbitration provision is found unenforceable as to a particular claim or request for relief, that claim or request will proceed in court, and the remainder of this Section will still apply to arbitrate any other disputes.

10. Severability

If any provision of this Agreement is found unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

11. Changes to This Agreement

We may update this Agreement from time to time. We will notify you of material changes, and any updated terms will apply only to recordings made, or actions taken, after the effective date of the update, unless you separately agree to apply them retroactively.

12. Governing Law and Venue

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute not subject to arbitration under Section 9 will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts, except that you may bring an individual claim in small claims court in the county where you reside, as provided in Section 9.

13. Acknowledgment and Electronic Signature

By checking the acknowledgment box and typing your full legal name, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Agreement and the accompanying Privacy Policy, including the arbitration and class action waiver in Section 9; confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements in Section 1, including the state of residence representation; and voluntarily agree to participate on the terms described above.

You further agree that checking this box and typing your name constitutes your electronic signature, and that this electronic signature has the same legal force and effect as a handwritten signature, under the United States Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act) and applicable state law, including the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). You consent to transact with VisionScribe Research electronically and to receive this Agreement, the Privacy Policy, and future notices electronically.