Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and Vowels Group LLC (referred to in these Terms as "eIOU", "we", "us", or "our"). The term "eIOU" is also used in these Terms to refer to the eIOU protocol, the eIOU node software, and the digital obligations ("eIOUs") that users create between themselves using the Services; the intended meaning will be clear from context. By accessing or using the eIOU protocol, the eIOU node software, hosted-node services operated by us, the eiou.org website, or any related reference clients and CLI tools (collectively, the "Services"), you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Services. These Terms incorporate by reference our Privacy Policy.

2. Description of Services

eIOU is a decentralized peer-to-peer protocol for creating and managing digital obligations (eIOUs) between trusted contacts. The Services consist of:

• The eIOU node software (including its Web GUI, REST API, command-line interface (CLI), and any plugins bundled with the eiou-docker image), together with reference clients and tools published in the eIOU GitLab repositories, whether you self-host it as a Docker container on infrastructure you control or run it on an eIOU-operated hosted node (see §6)
• The eiou.org website, which hosts documentation, marketing materials, and a contact form
• Any other services we currently provide, and any services we provide in the future

The protocol enables you to create and manage digital eIOU obligations with trusted peers, route them through networks of trust, track balances and obligation histories, and operate nodes in the eIOU network.

3. Alpha Status

The Services are currently in open alpha. By using the Services, you acknowledge and accept that:

• Software, data formats, APIs, and protocol semantics may change without notice
• Bugs, downtime, and data loss are possible, and you are responsible for maintaining your own backups
• We provide no service-level agreement, no uptime guarantee, and no migration guarantee
• We may discontinue any part of the Services at any time, including hosted nodes (see §18)
• The Services have not undergone formal third-party security audit and should not be used for amounts you cannot afford to lose

4. Open Source License

The eIOU protocol is released as open source under open alpha. You are free to use, modify, and distribute the software according to the terms of the applicable license found in our GitLab repository.

5. What eIOU Is Not

For the avoidance of doubt, regardless of how individual users describe their use of the Services:

• eIOU obligations are not legal tender of any country
• eIOU obligations are not securities, investment contracts, or investment products under the laws of any jurisdiction
• eIOU is not a money-transmission service, payment institution, or money-services business
• eIOU is not a custodial wallet provider. For self-hosted nodes we never hold your keys or balances. For hosted nodes during alpha we operate the host but do not act as a financial custodian (see §6); that hosted offering is provided solely as a web-hosting service and is categorized as web hosting, not as financial custody or any money-services activity
• eIOU obligations are not insured by any government insurance scheme (FDIC, SIPC, FSCS, or any equivalent)
• eIOU is not a bank, broker-dealer, exchange, or financial institution of any kind
• eIOU is not a cryptocurrency, blockchain, or distributed ledger

An eIOU obligation is a bilateral record between two parties, stored independently by each. It carries whatever real-world meaning the counterparties agree it carries. We encourage counterparties to agree, when adding each other as contacts, on what an eIOU between them represents and on the repayment terms that apply. eIOU provides software for recording and routing those agreements; it does not enforce them.

6. Hosted Nodes

As an onboarding convenience for users who would rather not run their own Docker container, eIOU optionally operates "hosted nodes" on infrastructure we control. If you use a hosted node:

• You agree to the Privacy Policy's disclosures regarding our administrative access to hosted nodes during the current alpha. We retain that access for internal debugging, support, incident response, and product development
• You interact with a hosted node through its Web GUI and REST API only. The container-internal CLI requires shell access to the container and is available solely on self-hosted nodes
• We make no warranty as to uptime, availability, or data retention (see §§13 and 14)
• We may discontinue hosted-node service at any time on reasonable prior notice. Where technically feasible and lawfully permissible, we will provide an export of your hosted-node data sufficient for you to migrate to a self-hosted node
• We may be compelled to disclose hosted-node contents in response to valid legal process (see the Privacy Policy's "Legal process" section)
• The strongest sovereignty guarantee comes from running your own node. If the hosted-node terms become unacceptable to you, your remedy is to migrate to self-hosting. A node's wallet is recoverable from its seed phrase, which the Web GUI presents for you to copy and save when the wallet is first created. You provide that saved seed phrase to a new node at first startup, and it rebuilds your wallet from scratch using the obligations your contacts re-share as they reconnect to it, together with any backups you hold

7. Costs and Pricing

The eIOU node software is free to download and self-host. Use of the eIOU protocol itself involves no fees payable to eIOU.

Hosted nodes: during the open alpha, hosted nodes are offered free of charge. eIOU reserves the right to introduce fees for hosted nodes in the future on reasonable prior notice. If fees are introduced, you may discontinue use of the hosted node without obligation.

Peer-to-peer routing fees: peers in the network may earn service credits or fees for relaying obligations between parties who are not directly connected. These fees are set by individual peers, paid to those peers, and are not controlled by, collected by, or remitted to eIOU.

8. User Responsibilities and Acceptable Use

You agree to:

• Use the Services in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations
• Maintain the security of your private keys and node credentials
• Be responsible for all activities under your node or account
• Not use the Services for any illegal or fraudulent purposes
• Honor the IOUs you create and accept
• Respect the peer-to-peer nature of the network

You agree NOT to:

• Attempt to disrupt or attack the network
• Create false or misleading IOUs
• Impersonate other users or nodes
• Use the Services to launder money or finance illegal activities
• Violate the privacy or rights of other users
• Reverse engineer the protocol for malicious purposes

9. Plugins

The eIOU node software supports plugins: optional add-ons that extend a node. Depending on what a plugin declares in its manifest and what the operator approves at install time, a plugin may contribute Web GUI sections, CLI subcommands, authenticated REST API endpoints, payback-method rail types, and event subscribers. A plugin may also do more than read on-node data. It may:

• expose publicly reachable endpoints that accept inbound traffic from people other than the operator (for example, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server or another supplementary protocol server)
• run additional services inside or alongside the node container, including bundled sidecar containers
• transmit data it can access to external services in order to do its work
• offer paid or commercial services to third parties, settled in eIOU obligations or otherwise

Plugins are disabled by default; the operator must explicitly enable each one. By enabling a plugin, you also agree to any separate terms of service or privacy policy its creator publishes, which govern your use of that plugin to the extent they differ from these Terms; where a plugin's creator publishes none, these Terms and the Privacy Policy continue to apply. These capabilities are available to plugins in general. Whether a given plugin is bundled or third-party (as defined below) determines who is responsible for it, not what it is technically able to do.

Bundled plugins: A plugin is bundled when it is authored by eIOU and shipped inside the official eiou-docker image. Bundled plugins are part of the node software, covered by the Apache License 2.0 (see §4), and subject to the disclaimers and limitations in §§13 and 14 on the same basis as the rest of the node software. A plugin authored by eIOU but distributed outside the official image (for example, from a separate repository before it is folded into the image) is treated as a third-party plugin until it ships in the official image.

Third-party plugins: Any plugin that is not bundled is a third-party plugin, including plugins acquired from a publisher whose signing key the operator has chosen to trust, and including eIOU-authored plugins that are not yet shipped in the official image. Signature verification within the node software is a technical control the operator uses to choose which publishers it accepts plugins from; it is not an endorsement, audit, or warranty by eIOU. eIOU does not author, audit, sign, or vouch for third-party plugins and disclaims all liability for their behavior.

Operator responsibility: The operator who installs, trusts, enables, or configures any plugin is solely responsible for its conduct on their node, including any data loss, data exfiltration, regulatory non-compliance, or harm to the operator or to third parties. An operator who uses a plugin to expose a public endpoint or to offer a service to other people is solely responsible for that endpoint or service, including its availability, its own terms and privacy practices, and its compliance with all applicable laws. eIOU is not a party to any arrangement between an operator and the users of a plugin-provided service.

10. Decentralized Nature

Important: eIOU operates as a decentralized protocol. This means:

• There is no central authority controlling the network
• Users are responsible for their own nodes and data
• IOUs are agreements between peers, not with eIOU
• Network availability depends on peer participation
• Transaction finality is determined by peer consensus

11. Privacy and Data

Your use of the Services is also governed by our Privacy Policy. By using the Services, you consent to the data practices described in our Privacy Policy.

12. Intellectual Property

The eIOU name, logo, and branding are trademarks of the eIOU organization. The protocol software is open source and licensed under applicable open source licenses. User-generated content remains the property of the users.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

14. Limitation of Liability

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless eIOU and its contributors from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses arising from your use of the Services or violation of these Terms.

16. No Tax, Legal, or Financial Advice

Nothing in the Services, or in any eIOU documentation, communication, or interface, constitutes tax, legal, accounting, or financial advice. Creating, accepting, routing, or settling eIOU obligations may carry tax, legal, or regulatory consequences that depend on your circumstances and jurisdiction. You are solely responsible for determining those consequences and should consult your own qualified advisers before using the Services.

17. Sanctions and Export Control

You represent and warrant that:

• You are not located in, ordinarily resident in, or organized under the laws of any country or region subject to comprehensive US, EU, or UK sanctions
• You are not identified on the US Treasury OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list or any equivalent restricted-party list
• You will not use the Services in violation of any sanctions or export-control law

18. Service Modification and Discontinuation

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Services at any time, including hosted nodes, with reasonable prior notice where practicable. Where we discontinue a hosted node, and where it is technically feasible and lawfully permissible, we will provide an export of your hosted-node data sufficient for you to migrate to a self-hosted node (see §6). The open-source node software remains available under its license regardless of any change to the services we operate.

19. Dispute Resolution

Where permitted by applicable law, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in English, by a single arbitrator, and may proceed virtually. The seat of arbitration is New York, New York, USA. Each party bears its own costs unless the arbitrator determines otherwise.

This clause does not apply where applicable consumer-protection or mandatory-jurisdiction law makes pre-dispute arbitration unenforceable. In those cases, the dispute may be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in the user's place of residence.

You may opt out of this arbitration clause by emailing legal@eiou.org within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms.

20. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

Where applicable consumer-protection or mandatory-jurisdiction law requires that a user's local law govern (for example, EU consumer law), this clause does not displace those mandatory rules.

21. Age Restrictions

The Services are intended for adults of legal contracting age in their jurisdiction (generally 18 or older in the US). Creating and accepting eIOU obligations is a financial act that minors may lack the legal capacity to perform. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13, consistent with our Privacy Policy. By using the Services, you represent that you meet these requirements.

22. Modifications to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date above and, for material changes, provide reasonable notice through the Services or the website. Your continued use of the Services after revised Terms take effect constitutes acceptance of those Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Services.

23. Termination

Self-hosted nodes: because the node software is yours to run under its open-source license, we cannot terminate your use of it. For material breach of these Terms our remedy is limited to revoking any eIOU brand or trademark license and discontinuing any support or hosted services we provide to you.

Hosted nodes: we may suspend or terminate your hosted-node service for material breach of these Terms, suspected abuse of the Services, or where we are legally compelled to do so. Where technically feasible we will provide an export of your hosted-node data, subject to legal restrictions.

You may stop using the Services at any time. For self-hosted nodes, docker compose down -v removes the Compose containers and eligible volumes, but not external volumes, bind-mounted files, separately stored backups, counterparty records, or upstream logs. Review the Privacy Policy’s deletion guidance before removing local data. For hosted nodes, email legal@eiou.org to request decommissioning and data export.

24. Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for failure or delay in performing under these Terms when caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, government action, network or infrastructure failures outside the party's control, or compulsory legal process.

25. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of substantially all assets, or by operation of law, on notice to you.

26. No Third-Party Beneficiaries

These Terms are between you and eIOU. They create no rights in favor of any third party, other than the eIOU affiliates, contributors, and agents named in §§14 and 15, who are intended beneficiaries of those clauses.

27. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to be enforceable, or, if that is not possible, severed. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

28. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and eIOU regarding the Services and supersede any prior agreements on that subject. The open-source license governing the node software is separate and continues to apply on its own terms.

29. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms of Service: