1. What Aulivar Research provides

Aulivar Research provides independent research, analysis, insight and decision-support services.

Products may include:

• commissioned research reports;
• Insights & Trends research;
• Ideas & Innovation research;
• ready-made research reports;
• source and reference packs;
• follow-up research or report addenda; and
• other research products described at the point of sale.

The specific research question, subject matter, deliverable and anything expressly included in the order together form the agreed Scope.

Anything not included in the agreed Scope is not included in the price.

2. The nature of our research

Aulivar Research is designed to turn information and complexity into useful understanding, insight and better-informed judgement.

We will perform commissioned research with reasonable care and skill and will use reasonable efforts to ensure that the research materially addresses the agreed Scope.

Research may use publicly available information, published material, third-party information services, specialist databases, analytical tools and other appropriate research resources.

Research reflects the information reasonably available and relevant at the time it is undertaken.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise:

• research is not represented as exhaustive;
• no search can guarantee that every relevant fact, source, document, publication, patent, market development or other item has been identified;
• information obtained from third parties may contain errors, omissions or subsequently change;
• online sources may be changed, removed or become unavailable; and
• a report represents research at a particular point in time and is not an ongoing monitoring service.

3. Your research question and scope

You are responsible for providing a sufficiently clear research question, brief or objective.

If a particular purpose is important to you, you must tell us before the order is accepted.

Where we expressly accept that purpose as part of the Scope, we will undertake the research with that purpose in mind.

If you materially change the question or Scope after research has begun, the additional work may be treated as a separate order and may incur an additional charge.

Aulivar may seek clarification before starting where a question is materially ambiguous.

4. Orders and payment

The total price payable will be shown before you place the order, including VAT where applicable.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, payment is required in full before research begins.

An order becomes binding when we accept the order and confirm it, or when we begin performing the service at your request, whichever occurs first.

Commissioned research is work undertaken specifically in response to an accepted order. It is not supplied on an approval, trial or speculative-payment basis.

If you believe that an order has genuinely been placed by mistake, contact us immediately. If research has not yet begun, we may be able to cancel the order. Once work has started, the cancellation provisions below apply.

5. Starting research immediately

Aulivar Research is designed as a rapid research service and commissioned work may begin shortly after an order is accepted.

Where you are a Consumer and statutory cancellation rights apply, you will be asked expressly to request that we begin performing the research before the normal 14-day cancellation period has expired.

You will also be asked to acknowledge that your statutory right to cancel will end once the commissioned research service has been fully performed.

We will not rely solely upon general acceptance of these Terms for that consent where separate express consent is required by law.

6. Delivery

Unless the relevant product or order states otherwise, commissioned Aulivar Research is supplied on the next-day delivery basis stated at the point of sale.

Any applicable order cut-off time, weekend or public-holiday treatment will be shown with the product or at checkout.

The delivery period begins once:

• payment has been successfully received;
• we have accepted the order; and
• we have sufficient information to understand and undertake the agreed Scope.

If we need material clarification from you, the delivery period may be paused until that information is received.

We are not responsible for delays caused by information you have not supplied, changes to the Scope, payment problems, major third-party service failures or circumstances reasonably outside our control.

7. Cancellation — commissioned research

Consumers

Where you are purchasing wholly or mainly outside your trade, business, craft or profession, you are a Consumer.

Where statutory cancellation rights apply, you normally have a 14-day period in which to cancel an online service contract.

However, where you have:

1. expressly requested that Aulivar begins the research during that cancellation period; and
2. acknowledged that your cancellation right will end once the service has been fully performed,

your right to cancel ends when Aulivar has fully completed the commissioned research service.

Cancellation after work has started but before completion

If you validly cancel during the statutory cancellation period after requesting that research begin, but before the service has been fully performed, you may be required to pay a proportionate amount for the work already performed up to the time we receive your cancellation.

After the research has been completed

Once commissioned research has been fully performed and the applicable statutory cancellation right has ended, there is no change-of-mind cancellation or refund right.

The fact that the report is supplied within the original 14-day period does not create a new cancellation period after delivery.

8. Business Customers

If you purchase wholly or mainly for purposes connected with your trade, business, craft or profession, you are a Business Customer.

Business Customers do not receive the statutory consumer cooling-off rights described above.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, once an accepted commissioned-research order has begun:

• the order cannot be cancelled for a refund;
• work already undertaken remains payable; and
• completed research is payable in full.

9. Ready-made digital reports

A report that has already been created and is supplied as immediately accessible digital content is different from commissioned research.

Where a Consumer purchases digital content for immediate supply, we may ask the Consumer to:

• expressly consent to supply beginning immediately; and
• acknowledge that the applicable statutory cancellation right will be lost once supply begins.

Once digital content has been supplied in accordance with those requirements, there is no change-of-mind refund simply because the customer has read, downloaded or accessed the report and subsequently decides that they no longer want it.

Statutory rights relating to faulty or misdescribed digital content remain unaffected.

10. Refund policy

Research involves professional work, time and cost. Payment is therefore expected for research properly performed and supplied in accordance with the agreed Scope.

A refund is not due merely because:

• you change your mind;
• you no longer need the research;
• you disagree with a conclusion;
• the research does not support the argument, idea or commercial position you hoped it would;
• a market, investment, invention or business decision subsequently performs differently from expected;
• you decide not to use the research;
• information referred to in the report can also be found elsewhere; or
• new information becomes available after the research has been completed.

Aulivar does not sell predetermined conclusions.

The value of the service lies in researching, selecting, assessing, connecting and interpreting relevant information against the agreed question.

11. If there is a genuine problem with the research

We want the research we supply to be useful and to materially address the agreed Scope.

If you believe that a report:

• materially fails to address the agreed research question;
• contains a significant factual error;
• materially differs from what was ordered; or
• has not been performed with reasonable care and skill,

you should contact us promptly and explain the issue.

We will review genuine concerns.

Where appropriate, our first response will normally be to clarify, correct, supplement or re-perform the affected part of the research.

Where statutory law provides a Consumer with additional remedies, including repeat performance or an appropriate price reduction, those rights remain unaffected.

A difference of opinion about an honestly and reasonably reached research conclusion is not by itself evidence that the research is defective.

12. Research is decision support, not a guaranteed outcome

Aulivar Research helps customers understand subjects, evaluate information, identify possibilities and make better-informed decisions.

It does not guarantee the outcome of a decision made using the research.

A report is not defective merely because:

• circumstances subsequently change;
• a forecast or possibility does not materialise;
• an identified opportunity is unsuccessful;
• an identified risk does not occur;
• another researcher reaches a different reasonable conclusion; or
• a customer chooses to act or not act upon the research.

Final decisions remain the responsibility of the customer.

13. Legal, financial and other professional advice

Unless expressly stated otherwise, Aulivar Research does not provide formal legal, financial, investment, accounting, tax, medical or other regulated professional advice.

Research concerning legal or regulated subjects is provided as research and decision support.

Where the consequences of a decision require professional advice, you should obtain advice from an appropriately qualified professional.

14. Patents, prior art, trademarks and company names

Ideas & Innovation research may include searches concerning patents, published patent applications, prior art, trademarks, business names, company names and related market information.

Such research can substantially assist exploration and validation of an idea, but it is not a substitute for formal professional intellectual-property advice where that is required.

In particular:

• a prior-art search cannot guarantee that all relevant prior art has been identified;
• failure to find relevant prior art does not guarantee patentability;
• patent research does not constitute a freedom-to-operate opinion;
• trademark research does not constitute formal legal clearance or guarantee registration;
• company-name availability can change;
• availability of a company name does not necessarily mean that use of the name is legally unrestricted; and
• Aulivar does not register, reserve or secure intellectual-property rights unless a separate service expressly says otherwise.

Customers considering patent applications, significant investment or formal intellectual-property protection should obtain appropriate professional advice before relying upon research as a final legal determination.

15. Copyright, source use and AI-assisted research

Aulivar respects copyright, database rights, trade marks, confidential information and other third-party intellectual property rights.

Aulivar’s research outputs are prepared using publicly available sources, lawfully accessed materials, client-provided materials, licensed resources where applicable, AI-assisted processing and human-led analysis. Third-party sources may be used for factual context, comparison, criticism, review, quotation, market mapping, commentary and analytical purposes.

Aulivar does not knowingly reproduce protected third-party reports, articles, datasets, images, graphics, software, databases or other materials in full or in substantial part unless authorised, licensed, supplied by the client for that purpose, in the public domain, or otherwise permitted by law. Where third-party material is quoted, summarised or referenced, Aulivar aims to use only what is reasonably necessary and to provide attribution where required by law or applicable licence terms, and otherwise where appropriate.

Where material is subject to subscription, licence, contractual or other use restrictions, Aulivar uses that material only to the extent permitted by the applicable rights, terms and law. This includes, where relevant, restrictions relating to reproduction, automated analysis, text and data mining, machine processing and AI-assisted use.

AI tools and third-party technology providers may support Aulivar’s research and production workflow, but they do not replace Aulivar’s judgement, source assessment, editorial review or responsibility for the final deliverable.

Clients are responsible for ensuring that they have the right to provide, upload, disclose or request analysis of any third-party materials supplied to Aulivar. Aulivar may decline, limit or remove material where its use may create legal, licensing, confidentiality or intellectual property concerns.

Where an Aulivar report contains, quotes, reproduces or refers to identifiable third-party material, the relevant rights remain with the third-party rights holder. Clients are responsible for obtaining any additional permission required for their own reproduction, publication, redistribution, commercial use or other reuse of that material.

References or links to third-party sources do not constitute endorsement of the source, publisher, organisation, product or service. Access to and use of third-party sources may also be subject to the relevant provider’s own terms, licence conditions, subscription requirements or other restrictions.

Nothing in Aulivar’s reports or website transfers ownership of third-party intellectual property, grants a licence to use third-party materials beyond any rights already available to the client, or substitutes for access to any paid, proprietary, subscription-based or licensed source.

16. Internal research material

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the Deliverable does not include Aulivar's internal working material.

This includes, without limitation:

• internal research notes;
• search histories;
• intermediate drafts;
• prompts or instructions;
• internal scoring;
• working analyses;
• quality-control processes;
• proprietary methods; and
• intermediate system outputs.

The customer purchases the agreed research Deliverable, not Aulivar's internal production process.

17. Follow-up questions and addenda

Where a product includes follow-up questions, the number, permitted period and any other limits will be stated with the product or order.

Follow-up questions must relate reasonably to the original report and agreed Scope.

They are intended to clarify, test or explore the supplied research.

They do not include:

• a substantially different research question;
• a new market or subject unrelated to the original Scope;
• an unlimited extension of the original research; or
• work materially equivalent to commissioning another report.

Where appropriate, responses may be consolidated into a research addendum.

Additional research beyond the included allowance may be quoted separately.

18. Customer responsibilities

You agree:

• to provide accurate information relevant to the research;
• not knowingly to mislead us about the purpose of the research;
• not to request unlawful, fraudulent or infringing activity;
• not to submit material you have no right to provide;
• to disclose any critical requirement that may materially affect the Scope; and
• to use the research lawfully and responsibly.

We may refuse or discontinue work where we reasonably believe an order involves unlawful activity, fraud, deception, infringement, abuse or material misrepresentation.

Where work has already properly been undertaken before such an issue becomes apparent, amounts relating to that work may remain payable to the extent permitted by law.

19. Intellectual property and permitted use

Unless expressly transferred in writing, copyright and other intellectual-property rights in Aulivar reports, original analysis, presentation, research structures and proprietary material remain with Aulivar or the relevant rights holder.

Once the price has been paid in full, you receive a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use the purchased Deliverable for your own purposes or within your organisation.

You may use the findings to inform your:

• decisions;
• business plans;
• product development;
• strategy;
• presentations;
• innovation activity; and
• other legitimate internal or professional activities.

You must not, without our prior written permission:

• resell the report;
• commercially redistribute the report as a research product;
• publish substantially all of it for unrestricted public access;
• represent Aulivar research as research you independently produced;
• remove proprietary notices; or
• reproduce the Deliverable principally for onward commercial sale.

Nothing in these Terms gives Aulivar ownership of your original invention, idea, business concept, trademark or other intellectual property merely because we research or discuss it.

20. Confidentiality

We will treat non-public information supplied to us for commissioned research with reasonable confidentiality.

We may use appropriate service providers, information services and research technologies where reasonably necessary to perform, administer and protect the service.

Personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Notice.

You should not provide highly sensitive, legally privileged or unusually confidential material unless it is genuinely required for the research and its use has been agreed with us.

21. Third-party information

Research may necessarily rely upon information published or supplied by third parties.

We will use reasonable care in selecting and interpreting relevant information but cannot guarantee the underlying accuracy of every third-party source.

Where appropriate, research may distinguish between established facts, reported information, analysis, estimates, interpretations and uncertainties.

We are not responsible for a third party subsequently changing, correcting, withdrawing or removing information that was reasonably relied upon when the research was undertaken.

22. Third-party reliance

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, research is supplied to the purchasing customer for that customer's use.

Sharing a report with another person does not create a contractual relationship or duty of care between Aulivar and that person.

A third party should not treat the report as having been commissioned specifically for their circumstances unless we have expressly agreed otherwise.

23. Fraud, misuse and chargebacks

Aulivar Research is a paid professional service.

A customer must not use a payment dispute or chargeback merely to avoid paying for research that has been properly commissioned, performed and supplied.

If you genuinely believe there is a problem with an order, please contact us promptly so that we can investigate it.

Where a chargeback or payment reversal is raised without a valid contractual or legal basis after research has been properly supplied, we may:

• contest the payment dispute;
• provide relevant order, consent, delivery and correspondence evidence to the payment provider;
• suspend permission to use the affected Deliverable while payment lawfully remains outstanding; and
• pursue sums properly owed and reasonable recovery costs where permitted by law.

Nothing in this section restricts a customer's genuine right to dispute an unauthorised payment, breach of contract or other matter protected by law.

24. Liability — Business Customers

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

For Business Customers, to the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Aulivar is not liable for indirect or consequential loss;
• Aulivar is not liable for loss of profit, revenue, anticipated savings, opportunity, goodwill or business arising from a customer's decision to act or not act upon research; and
• Aulivar's total aggregate liability arising from an individual order will not exceed the amount paid to Aulivar for that order.

These limitations reflect that the research provides information and decision support and that final commercial decisions remain with the customer.

25. Liability — Consumers

Nothing in these Terms limits any liability or remedy that cannot lawfully be limited in a Consumer contract.

Where you are a Consumer, Aulivar is responsible for foreseeable loss or damage caused by our breach of contract or failure to use reasonable care and skill, subject to applicable law.

Aulivar is not responsible for business losses suffered where a Consumer purchased the service wholly or mainly for personal purposes.

Your statutory rights remain unaffected.

26. Events outside our reasonable control

We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events reasonably outside our control.

If such an event materially affects an order, we will take reasonable steps to reduce the effect and, where appropriate, discuss revised delivery or other reasonable arrangements with you.

Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.

27. Complaints

If something is wrong, we would rather have the opportunity to put it right.

Please contact: [email protected] and provide:

• your order number;
• the relevant report or research product;
• a clear description of the concern; and
• the outcome you believe would reasonably resolve it.

We will review the matter and respond within a reasonable period.

28. Changes to these Terms

The Terms applying to your purchase are the Terms in force when your order is accepted.

We may change these Terms for future orders.

Changes will not retrospectively alter an existing contract unless required by law or expressly agreed.

29. Entire agreement

For Business Customers, these Terms together with the relevant order, agreed Scope, product description and any expressly accepted written variation form the agreement between us concerning that order.

Where an expressly agreed Scope conflicts with a general provision in these Terms concerning what research is to be supplied, the expressly agreed Scope takes priority for that order.

Nothing in this section excludes liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

For Consumers, nothing in this section removes the effect of information or representations which applicable consumer law makes binding upon us.

30. Severability and enforcement

If any provision of these Terms is held to be unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

If we do not enforce a contractual right immediately, that does not mean that we have waived that right.

31. Governing law

These Terms and any contract arising from them are governed by the laws of England and Wales. For Business Customers, the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from the contract. For Consumers, this does not remove any mandatory protection or jurisdictional right available under applicable consumer law.

32. Statutory rights

Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude, restrict or replace any right or remedy which cannot lawfully be excluded.