Terms of Service
Last updated: July 6, 2026 · Draft pending legal review
Research Bounties is operated by Snizyx Software LLC("we", "us"). By using researchbounties.com (the "Service") you agree to these terms. You must be 18 or older to use the Service.
1. What the Service is
Research Bounties is a marketplace connecting people who want art-history research ("Requesters") with people who perform it ("Researchers"). Requesters pledge money toward research on a specific artist; Researchers submit findings; approved findings are paid and published. We are not a party to the research itself and do not guarantee its accuracy, though we provide review, dispute, and moderation mechanisms.
2. Pledges, holds, and charges
- Pledging saves your payment method but charges nothing.
- When a Researcher submits findings on an artist you have pledged to, a temporary authorization hold is placed on your card for your pledge amount.
- You then have 5 days to approve, request one revision, or dispute. If you do not respond within 5 days, your pledge is automatically captured (charged) and the research is deemed accepted. We send reminders on days 2 and 4.
- A charge captured without your explicit approval may be contested within 7 days via a post-capture grievance; moderators may refund at their discretion.
- If a dispute is still unresolved when a card hold nears expiry, we capture the charge and hold the funds in escrow pending resolution; if the dispute resolves in your favor, the charge is refunded in full.
- The minimum pledge is $10; all amounts are in US dollars.
3. Fees and payouts
The Service is free to use. When research is accepted and captured, Researchers receive 80% of captured pledges allocated to their submission; Snizyx Software LLC retains a 20% success fee (inclusive of payment-processing costs). Researcher payouts are made via Stripe Connect and require completing Stripe's identity verification. Payouts typically arrive within 2–4 business days of settlement.
4. Publication license
Upon capture of any payment for a submission, the submitting Researcher(s) grant Snizyx Software LLC a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to publish, display, and adapt the submitted research on the Service, with attribution. Researchers retain authorship credit and copyright. Unpaid submissions remain the Researcher's property and are never shown beyond the teaser the Researcher provides.
5. Living-subjects policy
Research requests about living or possibly-living people are prohibited. See the Living-Subjects Policy, which is part of these terms.
6. Conduct
No harassment, doxxing, spam, plagiarism, or fraudulent research. Reading escrow-gated research and disputing in bad faith to avoid payment is a violation; accounts that lose repeated disputes as pledgers may lose pledging privileges. We may remove content, suspend accounts, and reverse payouts obtained through fraud or plagiarism.
7. Disputes with us
Internal research disputes are adjudicated by Service moderators as described above. These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the state of Snizyx Software LLC's organization. The Service is provided "as is" without warranties; our aggregate liability is limited to the fees we retained from you in the 12 months preceding a claim.
8. Changes
We may update these terms; material changes will be announced on the Service. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
Questions: dabh@snizyx.com