Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

1.1 Binding Agreement

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and TeKanAid. By accessing or using the Services, you:

• Acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms
• Agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations
• Affirm that all information you provide is accurate and current

1.2 Additional Policies

Your use of the Services is also governed by:

• Our Privacy Policy
• Subscription and payment terms (for Academy premium users)
• Community guidelines and code of conduct (for Academy users)
• Specific terms for enterprise/corporate accounts (if applicable)

1.3 Modifications

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will provide notice of material changes by posting updated Terms, sending email notification to your registered address, and displaying a prominent notice on the Services.

Your continued use after modifications constitutes acceptance. If you disagree with changes, you must discontinue use and may close your account.

2. Description of Services

2.1 Marketing Site (tekanaid.com)

The Marketing Site provides:

• Information about our company, services, and consulting offerings
• Blog posts, articles, and educational resources
• Contact forms for inquiries and newsletter subscriptions
• Marketing information about the Academy

2.2 Academy (academy.tekanaid.com)

The Academy provides:

• Online courses covering Platform Engineering technologies, Cloud, DevOps, and infrastructure
• Interactive hands-on labs with cloud resource provisioning
• Bootcamps and structured learning paths
• Quizzes, assessments, and progress tracking
• Community features (forums, study groups, gamification)
• Certificates of completion

2.3 Consulting Services

We offer professional consulting services for:

• Cloud architecture and infrastructure design
• DevOps implementation and best practices
• Training and knowledge transfer for teams
• Project-specific technical guidance

3. Account Registration and Security (Academy)

3.1 Account Creation

To access the Academy, you must create an account by providing:

• Valid email address
• Display name
• Authentication credentials (password or third-party OAuth provider such as Google)

3.2 Email Verification

Academy access requires email verification. You must verify your email address before accessing courses, labs, and premium content. You may request up to 3 verification emails per hour.

3.3 Account Security

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access
• Using strong, unique passwords

3.4 Account Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activities, abuse platform resources, create multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions, or harass other users.

You may delete your Academy account at any time through account settings. Upon deletion, your personal data will be removed within 30 days, active subscriptions will be canceled, and access to courses and labs will be immediately revoked.

4. Subscription Plans and Payments (Academy)

4.1 Free and Premium Tiers

The Academy offers a Free Tier with select free courses and basic community features, and a Premium Tier with unlimited access to all courses, labs, and bootcamps, plus priority support and certificates.

4.2 Subscription Plans

Premium subscriptions are available as a Monthly Plan (billed monthly, cancel anytime) or a Quarterly Plan (billed every 3 months at a discounted rate).

4.3 Payment Processing

• All payments are processed securely through Stripe
• We do not store your payment card information
• Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled
• Prices are in USD unless otherwise stated
• You authorize recurring charges to your payment method

4.4 Billing and Renewal

• Subscriptions renew automatically on the same day each period
• If payment fails, we will retry and may suspend access
• We will notify you at least 30 days before price increases
• You can cancel anytime; access continues until the end of the current billing period

4.5 Promotional Codes and Discounts

• Promotional codes may have specific terms and expiration dates
• Discounts apply only to the specified subscription period
• We reserve the right to modify or cancel promotions at any time
• Only one promotional code may be used per transaction

4.6 Refund Policy

• 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: New subscribers may request a full refund within 30 days of their first subscription payment
• No Partial Refunds: No refunds for partial subscription periods after the 30-day period
• Technical Issues: We may provide pro-rated refunds at our discretion for significant technical issues
• Refund Process: Contact [email protected]. Refunds processed within 10 business days to your original payment method.

4.7 Enterprise and Corporate Accounts

Organizations may purchase bulk access through email permission systems and corporate contracts with custom pricing and access levels. Corporate access is governed by separate enterprise agreements.

4.8 Referral Program

TeKanAid operates a referral program that allows existing subscribers to share unique referral codes with others.

• How It Works: Active subscribers may receive a unique referral code to share with prospective users
• Rewards: When a new user subscribes using your referral code, both parties may receive a discount or account credit as specified in applicable promotional terms
• Eligibility: Rewards are only issued for new, qualifying first-time subscriptions
• Abuse: Self-referrals or gaming the referral system is prohibited and may result in account suspension and forfeiture of accrued rewards
• Modification: We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the referral program at any time with reasonable notice

4.9 Creator Program

TeKanAid offers a Creator Program that allows approved individuals to publish courses and labs on the Academy platform and earn revenue from subscriber access.

Eligibility & Enrollment: Creators must apply and be accepted by TeKanAid and agree to a separate Creator Program agreement.

Revenue Sharing: Approved creators earn approximately 50% of net revenue attributed to their published content, paid monthly through Stripe Connect. Rates are subject to change with 30 days’ notice. Creators are responsible for applicable taxes.

Creator Content Obligations: Creators retain ownership of their original content. By publishing on the Academy, creators grant TeKanAid a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, distribute, host, and promote the content. Creators are solely responsible for ensuring their content is accurate, original, and does not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights.

Termination: Either party may terminate creator participation with 30 days’ written notice. Earned but unpaid revenue will be disbursed after any applicable hold period. Upon termination, TeKanAid may remove the creator’s content from the platform; creators retain the right to use their own content elsewhere.

5. Platform Use and Restrictions

5.1 Permitted Use

You may use the Services to access educational courses and labs, read blog posts and educational content, contact us for consulting services, complete hands-on labs, and participate in community forums and study groups.

5.2 Prohibited Activities

Content Misuse:

• Copy, reproduce, or redistribute course content without permission
• Share your Academy account credentials with others
• Circumvent access controls or subscription requirements
• Use our content for commercial training without written permission

System Abuse:

• Use Academy labs for cryptocurrency mining, hacking, or malicious activities
• Attempt unauthorized access to systems or data
• Use automation tools to scrape or harvest data

Community Violations:

• Post spam, advertisements, or solicitations
• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users
• Impersonate others or provide false information
• Vote manipulation or gaming the reputation system

Cloud Resource Abuse:

• Use AWS accounts or VMs for purposes other than lab exercises
• Store personal or production data in lab environments
• Share lab credentials or cloud resources with others
• Perform port scanning, penetration testing, or attacks on third parties

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Our Intellectual Property

All content and materials on the Services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. Our IP includes course content, blog posts, platform software, APIs, user interfaces, the TeKanAid brand and logos, and all design elements and visual assets.

6.2 Your License to Content

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and view content for personal educational purposes and complete Academy labs using provided resources. This license does not permit redistribution, resale, commercial use, or creating derivative works.

6.3 User-Generated Content (Academy)

You retain ownership of content you create in labs and community posts. By posting in the Academy community, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, distribute, and promote your content.

6.4 Third-Party Content

Some content may include embedded YouTube videos (subject to YouTube’s Terms of Service), open-source software and tools, and links to external resources (we are not responsible for external content).

6.5 Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on our Services infringes your copyright, contact us at [email protected] with a description of the copyrighted work, location of the infringing material, your contact information, and a statement of good faith belief.

7. Interactive Labs and Cloud Resources (Academy)

7.1 Lab Functionality

The Academy provides hands-on labs using Hetzner Cloud virtual machines provisioned per lab session, temporary AWS IAM users with limited permissions, and S3 buckets, EC2 instances, and other AWS services as needed for labs.

7.2 Lab Sessions

• Labs automatically provision required infrastructure when you start a session
• Sessions have time limits; resources are automatically cleaned up after session ends
• You are responsible for all actions taken within lab environments
• Lab data is not persistent; always save your work externally

7.3 Acceptable Lab Use

Labs must only be used for completing assigned lab tasks and exercises, learning and practicing cloud technologies, and experimenting within defined lab objectives.

7.4 Prohibited Lab Activities

You may NOT use labs for production workloads or hosting live services, cryptocurrency mining, port scanning or attacks on third parties, storing sensitive or confidential data, or any activity violating AWS or cloud provider acceptable use policies.

7.5 AWS Account Usage

Temporary AWS accounts are created specifically for lab exercises with restricted IAM policies. You must not attempt to escalate privileges, create resources outside lab scope, expose or share credentials, or access AWS services not specified in lab instructions.

7.6 Data Loss Disclaimer

WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DATA LOSS IN LAB ENVIRONMENTS. Labs are temporary learning environments. Do not store important data in labs. Always save your work to your local machine before ending a session.

7.7 AI Features (Academy)

The Academy includes an AI-powered lab assistant powered by Anthropic’s Claude AI.

• Functionality: The AI assistant helps users navigate lab exercises, answer technical questions, and provide guidance during hands-on sessions
• Data Processing: Prompts and context you submit are sent to and processed by Anthropic in accordance with Anthropic’s terms of service and privacy policy. We do not retain AI conversation history beyond your active session
• No Sensitive Data: You must not submit passwords, cloud credentials, personally identifiable information, proprietary business data, or confidential information in AI prompts
• No Guarantees: AI outputs are not guaranteed to be accurate, complete, or technically correct. You are solely responsible for reviewing and verifying any AI-generated guidance before acting on it
• Educational Use Only: The AI assistant is provided as an educational aid and does not constitute professional technical or legal advice
• Third-Party Dependency: Powered by Anthropic. We are not responsible for service interruptions, inaccuracies, or policy changes on Anthropic’s part

8. Community Features (Academy)

8.1 Community Platform

The Academy includes discussion forums for Q&A and technical discussions, study groups for collaborative learning, gamification with points, badges, streaks, and leaderboards, and public profiles showing achievements and contributions.

8.2 Community Conduct

You agree to be respectful and professional, provide accurate and helpful information, respect intellectual property in posts and responses, and report inappropriate content or behavior to moderators.

8.3 Moderation

We reserve the right to remove content that violates our Terms, suspend users who violate community standards, and use automated spam detection and content moderation.

8.4 Gamification Rules

Points and badges are awarded based on legitimate platform activity. Gaming the system or artificial inflation of reputation is prohibited. We may reset points or revoke badges for violations.

9. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability

9.1 “AS-IS” Service

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

9.2 No Professional Certification

The Academy provides educational content, not professional certifications. Certificates of completion do not guarantee job placement or professional credentials. You are responsible for verifying whether our courses meet your professional or regulatory requirements.

9.3 Consulting Services

Consulting services are provided based on our professional judgment and industry best practices. We do not guarantee specific results from consulting engagements.

9.4 Technical Limitations

We do not guarantee compatibility with all devices, continuous access during maintenance, prevention of data loss in lab environments, or security against all cyber threats.

9.5 Third-Party Services

We are not responsible for Stripe payment processing errors, AWS or cloud provider service interruptions, YouTube content availability changes, or third-party integration failures.

9.6 Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless TeKanAid, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms, misuse of the Services or Academy cloud resources, violation of third-party rights, fraudulent or illegal activities, content you post in Academy community areas, or your consulting engagements or implementation of recommendations.

11. Termination

11.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time using the account deletion feature in Academy settings or by contacting [email protected]. Upon termination, your access ends immediately, active subscriptions are canceled, and personal data is deleted within 30 days per our Privacy Policy.

11.2 Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms or our policies, engage in fraudulent activity or payment disputes, abuse cloud resources or platform systems, create security risks or legal liabilities, or as required by law or legal process.

11.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, all licenses granted to you are revoked. You must cease all use of content from the Services. Provisions regarding IP, indemnification, and liability survive termination.

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict of law principles.

12.2 Informal Resolution

Before initiating any legal proceedings, you agree to contact us at [email protected] describing the dispute and negotiate in good faith for 30 days.

12.3 Jurisdiction

Any legal action or proceeding arising from these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the courts located in Ontario, Canada. You consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.

12.4 Class Action Waiver

You agree that disputes will be resolved on an individual basis only. You waive the right to participate in class actions, class arbitrations, or representative proceedings.

13. General Provisions

• 13.1 Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and TeKanAid regarding the Services.
• 13.2 Severability: If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
• 13.3 No Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver.
• 13.4 Assignment: You may not assign these Terms. We may assign our rights to affiliates or successors without restriction.
• 13.5 Force Majeure: We are not liable for delays due to events beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, strikes, pandemics, or government actions.
• 13.6 Notices: Send legal notices to us at [email protected].
• 13.7 Relationship: These Terms do not create a partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship.
• 13.8 Survival: Sections regarding intellectual property, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution survive termination.

14. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms:

General Inquiries / Legal Matters:

[email protected]

Technical Support:

[email protected]

Business Location:

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

15. Accessibility

We strive to make our Services accessible to users with disabilities. If you experience accessibility barriers, please contact [email protected].

16. Acknowledgment

BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THESE TERMS, UNDERSTAND THEM, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, DO NOT USE THE SERVICES.