Echo Platform Terms of Service

Effective Date: September 9, 2025
Last Updated: September 9, 2025

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Echo Platform operated by Merit Systems, Inc. ("Merit Systems," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using the Echo Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Service Description

What Echo Is

Echo is an AI and large language model (LLM) platform that provides:

  • API Access: Unified access to multiple AI providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and OpenRouter
  • Usage Management: Real-time tracking, billing, and quota management for AI model usage
  • Developer Tools: SDKs, libraries, and development tools for building AI-powered applications
  • Analytics: Usage insights and performance monitoring for your AI applications

How Echo Works

Echo acts as an intermediary between you and AI service providers. When you submit prompts or requests through Echo:

  1. Your request is authenticated and processed by our systems
  2. We forward your request to the appropriate AI provider
  3. The AI provider processes your request and returns a response
  4. We track usage and bill you according to your usage and our pricing

Related Services

For Echo developers who earn revenue through our platform, payouts are processed through our Terminal platform. Payout terms and conditions are governed by the Terminal Terms of Service available at merit.systems/terms.

2. Definitions

  • "AI Content" means any content generated by artificial intelligence models through the Echo Platform
  • "API Key" means the unique identifier that authenticates your access to Echo services
  • "Developer" means a user who creates applications using Echo and may receive revenue sharing or referral payments
  • "Prompts" means the text, questions, or instructions you submit to AI models
  • "Third-Party AI Providers" means external AI service providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and OpenRouter
  • "Usage Data" means information about your use of AI models including token consumption, costs, and performance metrics

3. Account Registration and Eligibility

Age Requirement

You must be at least 18 years old to use Echo. By using our service, you represent that you meet this age requirement.

Account Information

You must provide accurate and complete information when creating your account. You are responsible for:

  • Maintaining the security of your account credentials
  • All activities that occur under your account
  • Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use

API Keys and Security

Your API keys are sensitive credentials that provide access to your Echo account. You must:

  • Keep API keys confidential and secure
  • Not share API keys with unauthorized third parties
  • Rotate API keys regularly for security
  • Report compromised API keys immediately

4. Acceptable Use Policy

Permitted Uses

You may use Echo for lawful purposes including:

  • Building AI-powered applications and services
  • Generating content for personal or commercial use
  • Research and educational activities
  • Testing and development of AI applications

Prohibited Uses

You may NOT use Echo to:

Content Restrictions

  • Generate illegal, harmful, or abusive content
  • Create content that violates intellectual property rights
  • Produce misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent content
  • Generate content that promotes violence, hatred, or discrimination

Technical Restrictions

  • Circumvent usage limits, rate limiting, or security measures
  • Attempt to reverse engineer or extract AI model weights
  • Use automated systems to generate excessive requests beyond reasonable use
  • Share or resell your API access without proper authorization

Business Restrictions

  • Compete directly with Echo or our AI provider partners using our service
  • Use Echo to train competing AI models
  • Violate any applicable laws or regulations

Enforcement

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate this Acceptable Use Policy. We may also report illegal activities to appropriate authorities.

5. AI Services and Disclaimers

Third-Party AI Providers

Echo integrates with multiple AI providers. Your prompts and data are transmitted to these providers according to their respective privacy policies and terms of service:

AI Content Disclaimers

No Warranty on Accuracy

AI-generated content is provided for informational purposes only. We make no warranties about:

  • Accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI responses
  • Appropriateness for any particular purpose
  • Freedom from errors, bias, or harmful content

Your Responsibility

You are solely responsible for:

  • Evaluating AI-generated content before use
  • Ensuring AI content complies with applicable laws
  • Verifying factual accuracy of AI responses
  • Using AI content in accordance with your professional and ethical obligations

Limitation of Liability

MERIT SYSTEMS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY HARM ARISING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON AI-GENERATED CONTENT. AI RESPONSES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

Prompt Privacy

While we implement security measures to protect your data, you should not submit highly sensitive information (such as passwords, personal financial information, or confidential business data) through AI prompts.

6. Payment Terms

For Users (Paying for AI Usage)

Usage-Based Billing

You pay based on your actual usage of AI services, calculated by:

  • Token consumption (input and output tokens)
  • Model selection and complexity
  • Processing time and computational resources
  • Our markup over third-party provider costs

Payment Processing

  • Payments are processed via Stripe
  • You consent to automatic charging based on usage
  • Payment methods must be kept current and valid
  • All fees are in USD unless otherwise specified

Billing Disputes

If you dispute any charges, contact us within 30 days. We will investigate and resolve billing disputes in good faith.

For Developers (Receiving Payments)

If you create applications that generate revenue through Echo or participate in our referral program:

Payout Processing

  • Payouts are processed through our Terminal platform
  • You must agree to the Terminal Terms of Service at merit.systems/terms
  • Minimum payout thresholds and schedules are defined in your developer agreement

Tax Obligations

You are responsible for:

  • Reporting all income received through Echo
  • Paying applicable taxes on earnings
  • Providing required tax documentation (W-9, W-8BEN, etc.)

Revenue Sharing

Revenue sharing terms are specified in your individual developer agreement and may include:

  • Referral commissions for new users
  • Markup sharing for application usage
  • Performance bonuses based on user engagement

7. Intellectual Property Rights

Your Rights

  • Your Prompts: You retain ownership of the prompts and input you provide to AI services
  • Your Applications: You own applications and derivative works you create using Echo
  • Your Data: You retain ownership of any data you input into the system

AI-Generated Content

  • Ownership: AI-generated content may not be subject to copyright protection under current law
  • No Warranty: We make no warranty regarding the intellectual property status of AI-generated content
  • Your Responsibility: You are responsible for ensuring your use of AI content does not infringe third-party rights

Merit Systems Rights

  • Platform: We own the Echo platform, including software, APIs, and documentation
  • Service Marks: "Echo" and related marks are our trademarks
  • License: We grant you a limited, non-exclusive license to use our platform according to these Terms

License to Merit Systems

By using Echo, you grant us a limited license to:

  • Process your prompts through AI providers
  • Store usage data for billing and service improvement
  • Use aggregated, anonymized data for platform enhancement

8. Data and Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. Our collection and use of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, available at merit.systems/privacy.

Data Processing

By using Echo, you consent to:

  • Processing of your prompts by third-party AI providers
  • Collection of usage data for billing and service improvement
  • International data transfers as described in our Privacy Policy

Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect your data, but no system is completely secure. You use our service at your own risk.

9. Account Termination

Your Right to Terminate

You may terminate your Echo account at any time by:

Our Right to Terminate

We may suspend or terminate your account if you:

  • Violate these Terms or our Acceptable Use Policy
  • Engage in fraudulent or illegal activities
  • Fail to pay outstanding charges
  • Pose a security risk to our platform or other users

Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

  • Your access to Echo services will cease
  • Outstanding charges remain due and payable
  • We may retain certain data as required by law or for legitimate business purposes
  • Prepaid credits are generally non-refundable

Data Deletion

Following account termination, we will delete your personal data according to our Privacy Policy and data retention policies, except where retention is required by law.

10. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

SERVICE DISCLAIMER

THE ECHO PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL MERIT SYSTEMS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOST PROFITS, DATA, OR USE, INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT, EVEN IF MERIT SYSTEMS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

MAXIMUM LIABILITY

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE ECHO PLATFORM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) $100 OR (B) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

AI-Specific Limitations

We specifically disclaim liability for:

  • Inaccurate, biased, or harmful AI-generated content
  • Third-party AI provider service interruptions
  • Intellectual property disputes arising from AI content
  • Business decisions made based on AI recommendations

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Merit Systems, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from:

  • Your use of the Echo Platform
  • Your violation of these Terms
  • Your violation of any rights of third parties
  • AI content you generate or distribute using our platform

12. Changes to Terms

Updates

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by:

  • Email notification to your registered email address
  • Notice on our platform
  • Posting updated terms at echo.merit.systems/terms

Acceptance

Your continued use of Echo after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to changes, you must stop using our service.

13. Dispute Resolution

Informal Resolution

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to contact us at legal@merit.systems to seek an informal resolution.

Arbitration

Any disputes that cannot be resolved informally shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted in New York, New York.

Class Action Waiver

You agree that any arbitration or legal proceeding shall be limited to the dispute between you and Merit Systems individually. You waive any right to participate in class action lawsuits or class-wide arbitrations.

Exceptions

This arbitration requirement does not apply to:

  • Claims for injunctive or equitable relief
  • Small claims court actions
  • Intellectual property disputes

14. General Provisions

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Merit Systems regarding the Echo Platform.

Severability

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

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Assignment

We may assign these Terms and our rights hereunder without your consent. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent.

Force Majeure

We are not liable for delays or failures in performance resulting from circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Merit Systems, Inc.
Email: legal@merit.systems
Address: 224 West 35th Street, Ste 500 #2218, New York, NY 10001

For technical support: support@echo.merit.systems

By using the Echo Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.