Terms of Service

Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of PlayCodeArena ("Service," "we," "our," or "us"), including our website, applications, and related services. By accessing or using the service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the service.

Eligibility

To use the service, you must:

• Be at least 13 years of age
• Have the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts
• Not be prohibited from using the service under applicable laws
• Comply with all local, state, national, and international laws

Use of Service

Acceptable Use

You agree to use PlayCodeArena only for lawful purposes. You agree NOT to:

• Use cheating, hacking, bots, or automated tools to gain unfair advantages
• Submit malicious code, viruses, or attempt to exploit system vulnerabilities
• Harass, threaten, abuse, or harm other users
• Impersonate others or provide false, inaccurate, or misleading information
• Interfere with, disrupt, or impose unreasonable burdens on the service
• Violate intellectual property rights
• Use the service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract source code
• Scrape, data mine, or use automated systems to collect data

License to Use

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the service for personal, non-commercial purposes.

User Accounts

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account
• You must provide accurate, current, and complete information
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized account access
• We reserve the right to suspend, disable, or terminate accounts that violate these Terms
• You may not transfer or share your account with others

Fair Play Policy

PlayCodeArena is built on fair competition and integrity. We have zero tolerance for:

• Using external AI tools (ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, etc.) during live battles
• Copying solutions from the internet or external sources during battles
• Running automated scripts, bots, or multiple accounts
• Colluding with opponents or sharing solutions in real-time
• Exploiting bugs, glitches, or vulnerabilities for competitive advantage
• Any form of cheating, fraud, or manipulation

Intellectual Property

Our Content

The service, including its original content, features, functionality, design, and branding, is owned by PlayCodeArena and is protected by international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our service without express written permission.

Your Content

You retain ownership of code and content you submit ("User Content"). By submitting user content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to:

• Store, display, reproduce, and distribute your submissions
• Use your code to provide, maintain, and improve the service
• Analyze submissions for fair play enforcement and service improvement

You represent that you have all necessary rights to grant this license and that your user content does not violate any third-party rights.

Prohibited Content

You may not submit user content that:

• Is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or hateful
• Infringes intellectual property or privacy rights
• Contains viruses, malware, or malicious code
• Is spam, advertising, or promotional material
• Impersonates others or misrepresents your affiliation

Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING:

• Merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement
• That the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
• That defects will be corrected
• That the service is free of viruses or harmful components
• The accuracy, reliability, or completeness of content or results

Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PLAYCODEARENA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
• Loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses
• Damages resulting from unauthorized access, use, or alteration of your content
• User conduct or content
• Service interruptions, errors, or downtime

Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the past 12 months, or $100, whichever is greater.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PlayCodeArena and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your User Content; or (d) your violation of any third-party rights.

Service Modifications and Termination

We reserve the right to:

• Modify, suspend, or discontinue the service at any time without notice
• Change these Terms at any time (we will notify you of material changes)
• Refuse, restrict, or terminate service to anyone for any reason
• Remove or refuse to display any User Content

We are not liable for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the service.

Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising from these terms or the service shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. You waive the right to participate in class actions.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Miscellaneous

• Entire Agreement: These terms constitute the entire agreement between you and PlayCodeArena
• Severability: If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder shall remain in effect
• No Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right does not waive that right
• Assignment: You may not assign these terms without our consent
• Force Majeure: We are not liable for delays or failures due to circumstances beyond our control