Intensity Lab

Legal

Terms of Service

Effective date: August 26, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of intensitylab.com and its API (the "Service"), operated by Research Software Systems LLC ("we," "us"). By using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. What the Service is, and is not

The Service publishes seismic intensity estimates, event reports, and physics-based animations derived from publicly available earthquake data. It is a prototype platform for science communication.

The Service is not an emergency notification system, an early warning system, or an official source of earthquake information. It issues no warnings, alerts, advisories, or predictions. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Geological Survey, FEMA, or any government agency. See the Disclaimer for the full statement of what the Service does and does not do, and for the limitations of the data.

2. Accounts

  • You must be at least 13 years old to register an account.
  • You must provide a working email address and verify it. Notifications and API access are unavailable until you do.
  • Your API key authenticates requests as you. Keep it secret, do not embed it in client-side code or public repositories, and tell us promptly if it is exposed.
  • You are responsible for all activity under your account and your API key.
  • One person or organization per account. Do not create multiple accounts to work around usage limits.

3. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Service, or anything derived from it, in a life-safety, emergency response, structural safety, or automated control system.
  • Present output from the Service as official, authoritative, or government-issued information, or in a way likely to be mistaken for an official warning.
  • Exceed, evade, or attempt to circumvent published rate limits, or place automated load on the Service beyond what its rate limits allow.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data, or probe or test the security of the Service without our written permission.
  • Interfere with the Service's operation or availability for other users.
  • Use the Service for anything unlawful, or in violation of the terms of any upstream data provider.

4. API terms

  • API access is provided to registered accounts subject to rate limits and usage limits that we may change at any time.
  • We log API usage per account for rate limiting, capacity planning, and abuse prevention.
  • We may suspend or revoke an API key that is causing disruption, exceeding limits, or being used in breach of these Terms, and may do so without prior notice where the disruption is ongoing.
  • The API is versioned and may change. We will avoid breaking changes where practical, but this is a prototype service and no stability guarantee is offered.
  • If you are building something that depends on this API, tell us at info@intensitylab.com so we can warn you before a change affects you.

5. Data, attribution, and content

Upstream data. Earthquake catalog data, ShakeMap products, and seismic waveforms originate with the U.S. Geological Survey and other institutions and remain subject to their own terms. USGS data is generally in the public domain and should be credited to USGS. When you reuse anything you got from us that came from them, credit the original source, not only this site.

Our content. The animations, reports, page text, and design of this site are © Research Software Systems LLC. You may share and embed our animations and screenshots for non-commercial, educational, journalistic, and personal use, with attribution to Intensity Lab and a link to intensitylab.com. For commercial or broadcast use, contact us first.

What you send us. Feedback, bug reports, and suggestions you send us may be used to improve the Service without obligation or compensation to you. Do not send us anything confidential.

6. Fees

The Service is currently provided at no charge and processes no payments. Organizations that depend on it for operational purposes are encouraged to arrange commercial support; any such arrangement is made under a separate written agreement, which controls over these Terms to the extent the two conflict. If we introduce paid tiers, we will publish terms for them before charging anyone.

7. No warranty

THE SERVICE AND ALL DATA, ESTIMATES, ANIMATIONS, AND OTHER CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the Service will be available, uninterrupted, timely, or error-free, or that any estimate, simulation, or animation is accurate or suitable for any purpose. Estimates are derived from third-party data that is preliminary, subject to revision, and may be wrong.

8. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, RESEARCH SOFTWARE SYSTEMS LLC AND ITS OWNERS AND CONTRACTORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, PROPERTY, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Research Software Systems LLC from any claim, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Service, your breach of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

10. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service at any time and may request account deletion as described in the Privacy Policy. We may suspend or terminate an account or API key that breaches these Terms, threatens the Service's availability, or that we are required to act on by law. We may also discontinue the Service, in whole or in part, at any time; this is a prototype and is not offered with any continuity commitment.

11. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be reflected by updating the effective date above and, where the change is significant, noted in the update log. Continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the revised Terms.

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be brought exclusively in a state or federal court located in the State of California, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms: info@intensitylab.com.