Terms of Service — Photographer IP Ownership & Platform Rules

1. Acceptance of Terms & Operating Identity

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "Photographer", "Studio", or "Client") and PicXL Visuals (operating the brand and domain picy.in, registered under GSTIN: 33ATIPV1710H1ZT, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India).

By accessing or utilizing picy.in, creating an account, uploading visual assets, or accessing private proofing galleries, you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Refund & Subscription Policy.

2. 100% Photographer Intellectual Property (IP) OwnershipPhotographer Protected

You retain 100% full copyright, title, moral rights, and commercial ownership of all photographs, raw visual files, videos, presets, LUTs, and branding assets you upload to picy.in.

Zero Exploitation Commitment: Picy.in claims absolutely no ownership, sub-licensing, distribution rights, or commercial re-use rights over your photography. We will NEVER sell, license, publish, or use your or your clients' private photos to train AI/machine learning models without explicit written permission.

You grant Picy.in strictly a limited, revocable, worldwide, royalty-free operational license solely to transmit, compress, generate web-optimized thumbnails, and display your assets to your authorized clients via private gallery URLs.

3. Storage Lifecycle, Cloudflare R2 Transit & Data Retention

Visual media uploaded to picy.in is stored and distributed globally through high-performance, encrypted Cloudflare R2 Object Storage infrastructure.

Active Galleries: Galleries published by users with an active subscription (including the introductory 60-day free trial with ₹2 AutoPay setup and 1 GB storage quota, Pro Studio 30 GB plan at ₹399/month, Studio Plus 50 GB plan at ₹499/month, and Studio Max 100 GB plan at ₹999/month) remain fully accessible online with uninterrupted thumbnail caching and full-resolution client downloads.
Subscription Expiry & 30-Day Grace Period: If a subscription lapses or is cancelled, galleries enter an archived state for thirty (30) calendar days, during which you can renew and reactivate galleries with zero data loss.
Permanent Asset Purge: Following the 30-day grace period on expired unpaid accounts, cached originals and high-resolution visual assets may be permanently deleted from Cloudflare R2 storage to optimize infrastructure costs. Proofing selection records and metadata remain archived in your dashboard.

4. Acceptable Use Policy & Content Moderation

Picy.in is exclusively designed for professional wedding studios, event photographers, commercial creators, and visual artists. You agree not to upload, transmit, or store:

Any sexually explicit material, non-consensual imagery, or child sexual abuse material (CSAM) — instances of which will trigger immediate account termination and reporting to Indian law enforcement authorities.
Media infringing on third-party trademarks, copyrights, or publicity rights.
Malicious payloads, automated scraping bots, or code designed to disrupt platform integrity.

5. Client Proofing & Selection Features

Client selection and proofing tools (including PIN gates, heart favorites, selection limits, and automated WhatsApp submission) are provided as workflow acceleration tools. Photographers are responsible for configuring gallery access passwords and sharing links strictly with authorized event clients.

6. Marketplace Escrow, Digital Asset Marketplace & Studio Subscriptions

For users engaging in the Picy creative ecosystem across client bookings, digital asset sales, studio software, and photobook printing:

Subscription Plans Exclusively for Studios: Software subscriptions (including the 60-day free trial with ₹2 AutoPay setup and 1 GB storage quota, recurring ₹399/month Pro Studio for 30 GB, ₹499/month Studio Plus for 50 GB, and ₹999/month Studio Max for 100 GB) are strictly and exclusively for professional photographers and studio owners managing client proofing galleries, cloud storage, 1-Click Lightroom sync (.lrsmcol), and studio CRM tools. Studios crossing their 1 GB trial storage must upgrade to continue uploading. When upgrading, the free trial ends immediately, and the new 30-day billing cycle begins from that date with automated prorated balance adjustments. Both Upgrade and Downgrade options are available anytime with 1-click. For all other platform users (wedding clients, couples, print labs, and freelance creators), Picy platform access is 100% Free with zero monthly fees.
Digital Creator Marketplace (10% Platform Commission): Freelance creators selling digital assets (Lightroom presets, cinema LUTs, wedding album PSD templates, and retouching actions) pay zero listing fees and zero monthly subscription fees. Picy retains only a 10% platform commission per successful sale, and the creator receives 90% direct payout via weekly UPI/bank settlements.
100% Escrow Protection: Client payments for photographer crew bookings and custom shoot assignments are held securely in escrow until milestones are completed and verified by the booking party.
Photobook Manufacturing & Printing Labs: Commercial print labs receive print-ready spread albums across square, landscape, and panoramic formats with verified paper selections under transparent wholesale fulfillment terms.
Digital Downloads License: Presets (.xmp, .dng), LUTs (.cube), and PSD album templates are granted on a non-exclusive license for personal and commercial creative work. Re-bundling, unauthorized distribution, or reselling raw asset files is strictly prohibited under the Indian Copyright Act 1957.

7. Limitation of Liability & Indian Jurisdiction

Picy.in provides its services "as is" and "as available". While we maintain 99.9% uptime and redundant Cloudflare edge nodes, we strongly advise all photographers to maintain independent offline backups of all original raw camera files.

Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be governed by the laws of India and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in Pudukkottai / Chennai, Tamil Nadu.