Terms of Service

Welcome to El Gato Negro Coffee. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the website located at elgatonegro.coffee ("Site") and all related services, including our online shop, customer accounts, booking inquiries, and mobile espresso bar services (collectively, the "Services"), operated by El Gato Negro Coffee ("we," "us," or "our").

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using our Site and Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use our Site or Services. We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. Account Responsibilities

When you create an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration.
• Keep your account credentials secure and confidential. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• Notify us immediately at hello@elgatonegro.coffee if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
• Maintain only one account per person. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or abuse promotions is prohibited.

3. Purchases, Pricing, and Refunds

Pricing

All prices are listed in US dollars. We reserve the right to change prices at any time without prior notice. Prices in effect at the time of your order will be honored for that transaction. Applicable taxes and shipping costs are calculated and displayed at checkout.

Payment Processing

Online payments are processed securely through Shopify Payments. We do not store your full payment card details on our servers. In-person purchases at events are processed through Helcim.

Refund Policy — Physical Products

If you are unsatisfied with a physical product (merchandise, coffee beans, etc.), you may request a return within 30 days of delivery. Items must be unused and in their original condition. Once we receive and inspect the returned item, we will issue a refund to your original payment method. Shipping costs for returns are the responsibility of the buyer unless the item arrived damaged or defective.

Refund Policy — Digital Products

Digital products (3D models, downloadable resources, and other digital goods) are non-refundable. Due to the nature of digital delivery, all sales of digital products are final. If you experience a technical issue accessing a digital product, contact us and we will work to resolve it.

Event and Catering Services

Booking terms, deposits, cancellation policies, and refund conditions for event and catering services are provided in your individual service agreement at the time of booking. Those terms take precedence over general refund policies stated here.

4. Intellectual Property

All content on this Site — including text, graphics, logos, images, photography, videos, product designs, 3D models, blog posts, build guides, and software — is the property of El Gato Negro Coffee or its content licensors and is protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, and intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display, or commercially exploit any content without our prior written permission.

5. User-Generated Content

If you submit content to our Site (such as product reviews, inquiry messages, or other communications), you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and worldwide license to use, display, reproduce, and distribute that content in connection with our Services. You represent that:

• You own or have the necessary rights to the content.
• The content does not infringe any third party's rights.
• The content is not unlawful, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.

We reserve the right to remove any user-generated content at our sole discretion.

6. Prohibited Uses

You agree not to:

• Use the Site or Services for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Site, other accounts, or any systems or networks connected to the Site.
• Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access or collect data from the Site without our express written permission.
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Site or the servers and networks that host it.
• Submit false or misleading information in accounts, orders, or inquiries.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely represent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Use the Site to transmit spam, chain letters, or unsolicited communications.
• Circumvent, disable, or interfere with any security features of the Site.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, El Gato Negro Coffee, its owners, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of (or inability to use) the Site or Services, including but not limited to:

• Loss of profits, revenue, or data.
• Errors, interruptions, or delays in the operation of the Site.
• Unauthorized access to or alteration of your data or transmissions.
• Any third-party conduct on or related to the Site.

Our total liability for any claim arising from these Terms or your use of the Services shall not exceed the amount you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Site and Services are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components.

9. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the Site and Services shall be resolved as follows:

• Informal resolution first: Before filing any formal claim, you agree to contact us at hello@elgatonegro.coffee and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.
• Binding arbitration: If informal resolution fails, any remaining dispute shall be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Arbitration shall take place in the State of Tennessee.
• Class action waiver: You agree to resolve disputes with us on an individual basis and waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

10. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any legal action or proceeding not subject to arbitration shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Tennessee.

11. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Site at our sole discretion, without prior notice, for any reason, including but not limited to violation of these Terms. You may also close your account at any time by contacting us at hello@elgatonegro.coffee. Upon termination, your right to use the Site ceases immediately. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, limitation of liability, dispute resolution, and governing law) shall survive.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless El Gato Negro Coffee, its owners, employees, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from your use of the Site or Services, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party rights.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time by updating this page. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page reflects when the most recent changes were made. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically. Your continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at: