Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the LiPy platform (the “Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

These Terms apply to all visitors, users, contributors, and administrators of the LiPy platform. We may update these Terms periodically. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this requirement. If you are under 13, you may not use the Service.

If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

3. Description of the Service

LiPy is an academic open-source project that provides:

• OCR Workspace — a tool for recognizing handwritten Odia characters by drawing on a canvas, uploading images, or using a device camera.
• LiPyD Dataset Contributor — a module for contributing handwritten Odia character samples to an open research dataset used to train machine learning models.
• Admin Dashboard — a restricted-access area for pre-authorized administrators to manage authentication settings, review contributed dataset samples, and monitor security events.

The Service is provided free of charge as an academic and research tool.

4. User Accounts

4.1 Administrator Accounts

Access to the admin dashboard is restricted to pre-authorized administrators only. Users cannot self-register as administrators. Administrator accounts are created and managed by the LiPy team.

Administrators are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their login credentials and for all activities that occur under their account.

4.2 LiPyD Contributors

LiPyD contributors do not require an account. Participation is anonymous and voluntary. A contributor identifier is generated automatically in your browser and a name of your choice (which may be a pseudonym) is stored locally.

You may reset your contributor profile at any time using the “Reset profile” feature in the LiPyD panel, which clears all locally stored contributor data.

5. Administrator Access

Access to the admin dashboard is granted only to individuals listed in the admins table. The following rules apply:

• Authentication is separate from authorization. Being authenticated does not grant access to the admin dashboard.
• Only accounts manually added to the admins table by the LiPy team are authorized.
• Administrator sessions expire after 24 hours and require re-authentication.
• Administrators with sufficient permissions can manage authentication settings, including linked OAuth providers and passkeys.
• Administrators can revoke other active sessions after a password change.
• Security events are logged for all authentication attempts and administrative actions.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any illegal purpose or in violation of any applicable laws or regulations.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the admin dashboard or any other restricted area.
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Service, including by introducing malware or conducting denial-of-service attacks.
• Submit harmful, offensive, or inappropriate content through the Service.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service, except as permitted by applicable open-source licenses.
• Use automated scripts or bots to interact with the Service in a manner that imposes an unreasonable load on infrastructure.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 LiPy Platform

The LiPy platform, including its source code, design, and branding, is released under an open-source license. The source code is available on GitHub at github.com/biranchikulesika/lipy. You may use, modify, and distribute the code in accordance with the terms of the applicable open-source license.

7.2 Contributed Data

Handwritten character samples contributed through LiPyD are collected for academic research and machine learning purposes. By contributing samples, you grant LiPy a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, store, reproduce, and distribute the contributed samples as part of the research dataset. This license is necessary to build and share the open dataset used to train character recognition models.

This license applies to samples that have been synchronized to the remote dataset. You may delete locally stored samples at any time using the “Reset profile” feature. You retain ownership of the original content you contribute, and you represent that your contributions do not infringe upon the rights of any third party.

7.3 Machine Learning Model Outputs

Predictions generated by the machine learning model are provided for informational and research purposes. The model may produce incorrect or unexpected results, particularly for handwritten inputs that differ significantly from the training data.

8. Availability

We strive to keep the Service available and reliable, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable for maintenance, updates, or due to factors beyond our control.

The LiPyD contributor module may operate in a degraded mode (offline) when Supabase is not configured. In this mode, samples are stored locally in IndexedDB and will be synchronized when the connection is restored.

9. Disclaimer

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THE MACHINE LEARNING MODEL MAY PRODUCE INCORRECT PREDICTIONS. THE SERVICE IS A RESEARCH PROTOTYPE AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS THE SOLE BASIS FOR ANY DECISION REQUIRING ACCURATE CHARACTER RECOGNITION.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE LIPY TEAM AND ITS CONTRIBUTORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

THIS LIMITATION APPLIES WHETHER THE CLAIM IS BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

11. Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to the Service, or any portion thereof, at any time and for any reason, including violation of these Terms.

Administrator accounts may be suspended or terminated at the discretion of the LiPy team. LiPyD contributor access is self-managed and can be reset at any time by the contributor.

12. Changes to the Service

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service (or any part thereof) at any time with or without notice. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

13. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India (to the extent applicable). Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the applicable courts.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

14. Contact Information

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding these Terms, please contact us at: