This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) governs your use of the Gripplatform, websites, APIs, and related services (the “Platform”), provided by The Matterworks LLC. It is incorporated by reference into, and forms part of, our Terms of Service. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms of Service. If you violate this Policy, we may suspend or terminate your access as described in the Terms.
Because Grip is a non-custodial software tool — you connect and control your own Stripe account, and Stripe (not Grip) moves funds — your use of the Platform must also comply with Stripe’s agreements and policies, including the Stripe Services Agreement, Connected Account Agreement, and Stripe’s restricted-businesses list. Conduct prohibited by Stripe is prohibited here.
1. Lawful Use
You may use the Platform only for legitimate business purposes related to production budgeting, project management, and directing payouts to crew, vendors, and other Payees you are lawfully obligated to pay. You agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including anti–money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist-financing, sanctions (including U.S. OFAC), tax, labor, and employment laws.
2. Prohibited Activities
You will not, and will not permit anyone to, use the Platform to:
- Engage in or facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, structuring, fraud, or any unlawful financial activity.
- Process payments to or from any person, entity, or jurisdiction subject to sanctions, or in violation of export controls or sanctions laws.
- Direct payouts that you are not legally obligated and authorized to make, or that misrepresent the nature, purpose, or recipient of the payment.
- Use the Platform for any business or transaction prohibited by Stripe or by the payment networks, including Stripe’s restricted-businesses list.
- Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information — including Payee identities, tax information, worker classifications, amounts, or allocation logic.
- Evade, attempt to evade, or assist others in evading taxes, withholding, or information-reporting obligations.
- Infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party.
3. Prohibited Technical Conduct
You will not, and will not permit anyone to:
- Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Platform, or breach or circumvent any security, authentication, rate-limiting, or tenant-isolation measures.
- Access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Platform, other customers’ data, or Grip’s systems or infrastructure, without authorization.
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive source code or underlying algorithms (including the waterfall and allocation logic), except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by law.
- Introduce malware, viruses, or any code of a destructive or malicious nature, or use the Platform to distribute such code.
- Use bots, scrapers, or automated means to access the Platform other than through documented APIs and within their published limits.
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Platform, including via denial-of-service or excessive load.
- Resell, sublicense, or provide the Platform on a service-bureau basis, or use it to build a competing product.
4. Data and Privacy Obligations
You are responsible for having all rights, authorizations, and a lawful basis to submit Customer Data and Payee information to the Platform and to Stripe, and for obtaining any required consents from your Payees. You will not upload sensitive personal information except as necessary for the Platform’s intended payout and tax functions, and you will handle all personal data in accordance with applicable law and our Privacy Policy. Consistent with our data-minimization design, you will not attempt to store raw bank credentials or untokenized tax identifiers within the Platform.
5. Content Standards
You will not use the Platform to transmit content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, abusive, fraudulent, or that you do not have the right to transmit. You are solely responsible for the content, accuracy, and legality of all data, instructions, and communications you submit through the Platform.
6. Enforcement, Suspension, and Reporting
Grip may investigate suspected violations and may suspend or terminate access, remove content, or take other action it deems appropriate, with or without notice, to protect the Platform, its users, Stripe, or third parties, or to comply with law. Grip may also be required to report certain activity to Stripe or to authorities. We are not obligated to monitor use of the Platform but may do so.
To report a suspected violation of this Policy, contact us at legal@thematterworks.com.
7. Changes to This Policy
Gripmay update this Policy from time to time by posting an updated version and revising the “Last updated” date, with notice of material changes as described in the Terms of Service. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
Contact: The Matterworks LLC, [Insert Business Address]. legal@thematterworks.com.