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1. What you are buying 2. Ownership 3. License grant: one person 4. Restrictions 5. Confidentiality 6. Custom city layouts 7. Third-party services and software 8. Not investment advice; no fiduciary relationship 9. No warranty 10. Limitation of liability; assumption of risk 11. Indemnity 12. Enforcement 13. Updates and support 14. Termination 15. General 16. Dispute resolution: binding arbitration and class action waiver

Product: Ascent Trading Systems, version 1.x and any later version we deliver under this Agreement (the "Software")
Licensor: Ascent Trading Systems LLC ("we", "us", "our")
License ID: the order number in your order email
Last updated: November 4, 2026

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. SECTION 16 CONTAINS A BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, A CLASS ACTION WAIVER AND A JURY TRIAL WAIVER THAT AFFECT HOW DISPUTES ARE RESOLVED. YOU MAY OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 16.11.

By purchasing, downloading, installing, copying or using the Software, by clicking or ticking to accept these terms, or by typing "I AGREE" when the Software asks you to before it activates, you ("you", the "Licensee") agree to be bound by this Agreement, including the Risk Disclaimer and the Refund Policy, which are incorporated into it by reference. If you do not agree, do not buy, install or use the Software. The Refund Policy explains when refunds are available.

You acknowledge that: (a) you have read and understood this Agreement and had the opportunity to review it, and to consult a lawyer of your choice, before accepting; (b) you accept it voluntarily, and your electronic acceptance is your signature and has the same force as a handwritten one under the U.S. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act and similar laws; and (c) the Software keeps a record of when you accepted and which version of this Agreement you accepted.

1. What you are buying

1.1 The Software is a self-hosted trading research framework for US-listed stocks and ETFs. It includes source code, a dashboard, a 3D city view, backtesting tools, simulated ("paper") trading through your own broker account, an optional live-trading mode, and documentation.

1.2 The Software is not a profit-making system and comes with no trading results. Any strategies, parameters, backtests or research notes included are examples for education and research. You must configure, test and validate the Software yourself.

1.3 Live trading. The Software can place real-money orders through your own Alpaca live account, but only after its built-in checks pass (including a paper-trading Scorecard PASS), you accept the written Live Trading Risk Acknowledgement by typing "I ACCEPT ALL RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY", and you type a confirmation phrase. These checks are engineering safeguards, not a prediction, promise or recommendation. Turning on live trading is entirely your decision and your risk (see sections 1.5, 7-11 and the Risk Disclaimer).

1.4 Eligibility. You represent and warrant that you are at least eighteen (18) years old (or the age of majority where you live, if higher), that you have the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement, and that you are not barred from receiving the Software, or from trading securities, under the laws of the United States or of the place where you live. The Software is not intended for anyone under 18. The Software is offered for sale only to residents of the United States, and you represent that you are one. If someone outside the United States buys it anyway, this Agreement still applies to that purchase, together with any consumer protection law of the place where they live that cannot be excluded by contract.

1.5 Research model only; sole responsibility of the Licensee. The Software is a research, simulation and educational model. It is not a trading service, a trading signal, a managed account, an investment product or a recommendation, and we do not trade on your behalf: we never see, hold or operate your accounts, and any order the Software places is placed by your own copy, on your own computer, with your own broker keys, under settings you chose and can change or stop at any time. WE DO NOT PROMISE, GUARANTEE OR IMPLY THAT THE SOFTWARE, OR ANY STRATEGY, SETTING, BACKTEST OR SCORECARD IN IT, WILL PRODUCE PROFITS, WINS OR ANY PARTICULAR RESULT, OR THAT IT WILL AVOID LOSSES. From the moment you purchase the Software, you alone are solely and exclusively responsible for: (a) whether, when and how you install, configure, modify and run it; (b) whether to use the optional live-trading mode, which you alone choose to switch on, operate and monitor; (c) every order, position and trade placed with your accounts, whether placed by you or by the Software; and (d) all resulting gains, losses, fees, taxes and other consequences. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Protected Parties (defined in section 10.1) bear no responsibility or liability for any of them, and you agree not to seek to recover trading losses from them, except for the claims that section 10.4 leaves open (gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, and liability the law does not allow to be excluded).

1.6 Online license check. The Software checks your license key with our server over an encrypted connection when it starts and from time to time while it runs. If it cannot reach the server it keeps running for up to 14 days, then pauses until a check succeeds (sections 13.4 and 13.5 explain what happens if the service is down or shut down). If the Software stops or pauses for any reason, including a license check, it does not close your open positions or cancel your open orders: you must manage them yourself at your broker.

2. Ownership

2.1 The Software is licensed, not sold. We own and keep all right, title and interest in the Software, including its source code, design, structure, documentation, dashboard, 3D city, artwork and every version, update and custom layout we deliver, and all copyrights and other intellectual property in them. Buying a license gives you the right to use the Software under this Agreement. It does not transfer ownership of the Software or any part of it to you. All rights not expressly granted to you are reserved by us.

2.2 Any copy of the Software, including one changed in breach of section 3.3, remains subject to this Agreement. You may not claim ownership of the Software or present it, or a modified version of it, as your own work.

2.3 Feedback. If you send us suggestions, ideas, bug reports or other feedback ("Feedback"), you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up license to use, copy, modify, publish and otherwise exploit that Feedback for any purpose, without notice, attribution or compensation to you. Feedback is given voluntarily and is not confidential.

3. License grant: one person

3.1 Subject to your compliance with this Agreement and payment of the applicable fees, we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, perpetual license for one individual person (the "Authorized User") to install and use the Software for that person's own trading research and trading, on up to two (2) computers or servers that the Authorized User owns or controls (for example one PC and one cloud server). Your license does not expire. It ends only as section 14 describes (a breach of this Agreement, or a refund, or a payment reversal or chargeback that is finally decided against you).

3.2 The license is not for teams, companies, clubs, classes, trading groups or communities. Each additional person who uses the Software needs their own license. Companies wanting to use the Software must contact us for a separate written agreement.

3.3 Settings only. You may change the Software's settings (the commented settings files and the options in the dashboard) and make backup copies for your own use, as long as they stay on systems you control and are covered by this Agreement. The source code is included so you can see exactly how the Software works, not so it can be changed: you may not modify, adapt, translate or add to the source code, or create derivative works from it. Updates replace the program files, so code changes would be overwritten, and a changed copy cannot be supported. If a copy's code has been changed, we have no obligation to provide support, updates or the installation guarantee for it.

4. Restrictions

You may not, and may not help or allow anyone else to:

a) sell, resell, sublicense, rent, lease, lend, give away, share, publish or otherwise distribute the Software, any copy, or any modified version or part of it, whether free or paid;
b) post or upload the Software or its source code anywhere others can get it, including public or private code repositories (for example GitHub), file-sharing or torrent sites, forums, Discord or other chat servers, social media groups, or course materials;
c) give anyone else access to the Software, its source code or a running copy of it (other than letting someone watch your own screen);
d) use the Software, its source code, design or documentation to build, sell or offer a competing product or service, including a trading agent, trading platform, course, template or hosted service that copies or is substantially based on the Software;
e) offer the Software, or a service built on it, to other people (for example as a hosted service, signal service, managed account or copy-trading product), or use it to manage other people's money or to give investment advice;
f) remove, hide or change any copyright, license, License ID or disclaimer notice;
g) get around, disable or interfere with any license check, activation limit or identifying mark in the Software;
h) use the Software, or any trading it performs, for market manipulation, spoofing, layering, wash trading or any other unlawful or abusive trading practice; or
i) use the Software in violation of any law or regulation, or of the terms of any broker or data provider you connect it to.

5. Confidentiality

The source code and internal design of the Software are our confidential information and trade secrets. You must keep them confidential, protect them with at least reasonable care, and use them only as this Agreement allows. This duty continues after the Agreement ends.

6. Custom city layouts

Custom city layouts are offered only as part of the Founders Edition, which includes one; they are not sold separately. We create it for you under this Agreement. It is part of the Software: we own it, and it is licensed to you only, under the same terms. Until it is delivered you may use the standard city included with the Software. We aim to deliver it within thirty (30) days of receiving your request, with one (1) revision included. Order of work: we build custom cities one after another, in the order we receive complete requests; an earlier request is never put behind a later one. Busy periods: if we receive an unusually high number of custom city requests (for example at launch, or when many Founders Edition seats sell in a short time), we may extend that time to up to ninety (90) days from receiving your request. If we do, we will email you your expected delivery date when we confirm your request, or as soon as we know of the delay. While your city is overdue under the time that applies to you, or if we extend it and you don't want to wait, you may ask for the refund described below instead, at any time before we deliver it; your license and the rest of the Founders Edition are not affected. If you change your mind before you have sent us your request, we also refund that part on request. A delay in delivery is not a breach of this Agreement; if we cannot deliver at all, your remedy is a refund of one hundred US dollars (US$100), the part of the Founders Edition price we assign to the custom city layout.

7. Third-party services and software

7.1 The Software connects to services you choose and sign up for yourself (for example Alpaca for trading and market data, Discord or ntfy for alerts, Anthropic for the optional "Ask the Agents" page). You are responsible for your own accounts, API keys, fees and compliance with those providers' terms. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them, and we are not responsible for their services, availability, data, acts or omissions.

7.2 The Software installs open-source packages (for example pandas, Streamlit, Plotly, alpaca-py) from public package repositories. Those packages are licensed to you by their authors under their own licenses, not by us, and nothing in this Agreement limits your rights under those licenses. The same applies to the open-source libraries and fonts the Software loads from public content delivery networks while it runs (for example three.js for the 3D city and Google Fonts).

7.3 The Software reads or downloads market and reference data from public sources on its own (for example the VIX from Cboe, weather for the 3D city, and historical prices when you ask for them), and includes scripts to download historical data. These are provided for convenience: we do not license that data to you, and it may be late, wrong or unavailable. You are responsible for checking that your use of any data source complies with its terms.

7.4 Merchant of record. Orders are processed by Lemon Squeezy (or another reseller we name at checkout), which acts as the merchant of record and handles payment, taxes, invoices, refunds and payment disputes under its own buyer terms. The license to the Software is granted by us under this Agreement.

8. Not investment advice; no fiduciary relationship

8.1 We are not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, commodity trading advisor or financial planner. Nothing in the Software, its documentation, our website, emails or support is investment, financial, legal or tax advice, or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any security or to trade live.

8.2 The Software is a general-purpose tool that is not tailored to your personal circumstances. No adviser-client, fiduciary or agency relationship is created between you and us by this Agreement, by your use of the Software or by any communication with us. We do not see, monitor or control your accounts or your trades.

8.3 Read the Risk Disclaimer, which is part of this Agreement.

8.4 AI-assisted development. Portions of the Software and its documentation were developed with the help of artificial-intelligence tools. We review and test the Software, but it may contain errors; section 9 applies to all of it.

8.5 Where the Software uses AI, and where it does not. Most of the Software is rule-based code: fixed indicators, schedules, thresholds and risk limits, the same in every copy. Two parts use artificial intelligence: (a) The ML Breakout Filter is a statistical machine-learning model (logistic regression plus a LightGBM gradient-boosted model) that we trained before release on historical market data. It ships as a fixed file, is not trained on your data and does not change after you install it. It casts one ordinary vote (approve, reject or abstain) in the council that reviews new entries, has no veto, never places or sizes an order, and abstains if its model file or library is missing. Like any model fitted to the past, it can be wrong, and it may work worse as markets change. (b) The optional "Ask the Agents" page is off until you add your own Anthropic API key. Then each question you ask is sent from your computer to Anthropic's Claude service together with a snapshot of the Software's own state and logs, which can include your positions, orders, results and settings. Its answers are generated by an AI model: they may be wrong, incomplete or made up, they only describe what the Software recorded, they cannot change settings or place orders, and they are not our statements, advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or trade live. Other words we use, such as "agents", "council", "learning", "Scorecard" and "models", describe rule-based parts of the Software unless this section says otherwise. "Learning" means bounded, logged adjustments: the Software can lower (never raise) a ticker's ranking after repeated losing trades, and can move the weight of some opinion voters within fixed limits based on their recorded accuracy; it never changes position size, risk limits, exits, the kill switch or any veto. Sections 9 and 10 apply to every AI and rule-based part alike.

9. No warranty

9.1 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", "AS AVAILABLE" AND "WITH ALL FAULTS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE, ALL OF WHICH WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE IS FREE OF ERRORS, BUGS OR VIRUSES, THAT IT WILL RUN WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, THAT ANY DATA IS ACCURATE OR TIMELY, THAT ANY ORDER WILL BE PLACED, FILLED OR CANCELLED AS INTENDED, OR THAT ANY STRATEGY, BACKTEST, SCORECARD, GATE OR SAFETY FEATURE WILL WORK AS EXPECTED OR PREVENT LOSSES. IF THE INSTALLATION GUARANTEE IN OUR REFUND POLICY IS TREATED AS A WRITTEN WARRANTY UNDER ANY LAW, THEN INSTEAD OF BEING EXCLUDED, IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO FOURTEEN (14) DAYS FROM PURCHASE.

9.2 No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from us or through the Software creates any warranty not expressly stated in this Agreement. The installation guarantee in our Refund Policy is a refund commitment, not a warranty of performance.

10. Limitation of liability; assumption of risk

10.1 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OR OUR OWNERS, MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, LICENSORS, SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS (THE "PROTECTED PARTIES"), BE LIABLE FOR ANY TRADING LOSSES (PAPER OR LIVE), LOST PROFITS OR REVENUE, LOST OR CORRUPTED DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, COST OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY (CONTRACT, TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE), ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

10.2 THE PROTECTED PARTIES' TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SOFTWARE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE PRICE PAID FOR YOUR LICENSE AND ANY UPDATE PLAN (WHETHER PAID TO US OR TO OUR MERCHANT OF RECORD) IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (US$100).

10.3 These limitations are an essential basis of the bargain between us, are reflected in the price of the Software, and apply even if any limited remedy fails of its essential purpose. You agree that they are reasonable given the low price of the Software compared with the amounts you may choose to trade, and that we would not offer the Software at this price without them.

10.4 Assumption of risk and release. You understand that trading securities, including with automated software, involves substantial risk of loss. You knowingly and voluntarily assume all risks arising from your trading, your settings and any modifications you make. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you release the Protected Parties from all claims for trading losses and other losses arising from your trading decisions, your settings and modifications, and the ordinary operation of the Software as designed. This release does not cover gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud by us, or any liability that the law does not allow to be excluded. You acknowledge that it may cover claims you do not yet know about, and to the extent the law allows you waive any statute that would otherwise limit a release to known claims, including California Civil Code section 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."

10.5 Live Trading Risk Acknowledgement. Before the Software switches to live trading, it shows a written Live Trading Risk Acknowledgement and requires you to type "I ACCEPT ALL RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY", and it saves a record of your acceptance on your computer. That acknowledgement is part of this Agreement. By accepting it you confirm, again and separately, that live trading is your own independent decision, that you may lose all of the money in your account, and that sections 1.5 and 9 to 11 apply to every live trade.

10.6 Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limitations of warranties or liability. In those places the exclusions and limitations above apply only to the fullest extent the law allows, and nothing in this Agreement limits liability that cannot be limited by law (for example for fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct).

11. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Protected Parties from third-party claims, and the resulting losses, damages, settlements, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, to the extent they arise from: (a) your breach of this Agreement; (b) your violation of any law or third party's rights or terms; (c) your unauthorized copying, distribution or modification of the Software; or (d) your use of the Software to manage other people's money, provide trading or investment services, or engage in unlawful trading. We will notify you of any such claim and may participate in its defense with our own counsel. You may not settle a claim that affects us without our prior written consent, which we won't unreasonably withhold.

12. Enforcement

12.1 Unauthorized copying, sharing or distribution of the Software infringes our copyright and breaches this Agreement. Each copy is licensed to a specific purchase and may carry identifying information (such as the License ID) that links it to that purchase.

12.2 If you breach sections 2, 4 or 5, we may end your license immediately, request removal of copies from any website or platform, and seek every remedy available by law or in equity, including damages, statutory damages where available, attorneys' fees and costs where the law allows them, and a court order (injunction) to stop the breach, and you agree we need not post a bond unless the court requires one. You agree that money alone may not be enough to make up for such a breach.

13. Updates and support

13.1 Updates. We release two kinds of new versions. (a) Fix releases change only the last part of the version number (for example 1.0.0 to 1.0.1) and contain bug fixes and minor improvements. Fix releases for the feature version you are entitled to are included with your license at no extra cost, for as long as we release them, with no update plan needed. (b) Feature releases change the first or middle part of the version number (for example 1.1.0 or 2.0.0) and add new systems, newly tested strategies or other significant updates. Feature releases are available only while you have update access, which comes in three ways: (i) every purchase of the Software includes update access for one (1) year from the purchase date; (ii) after that, an optional yearly renewal plan at the price shown at checkout (currently US$79 per year). It renews automatically every year, and the payment method on file with our merchant of record is charged on each renewal date, until you cancel. You can cancel at any time online from your Lemon Squeezy orders page or by emailing us; cancelling stops future charges, and the plan stays active to the end of the year you paid for. We (or our merchant of record) email you at least thirty (30) days before each yearly charge with the date, the amount and how to cancel. A renewal charged by mistake is refunded if you ask within fourteen (14) days of the charge; or (iii) the Founders Edition (a one-time payment that includes the Software and every feature release we make for it, for as long as we offer updates for it). A yearly renewal plan must be bought with the same email address as your license, or linked to it by us. Your copy keeps working whether or not you have update access. Without it, you may download the newest fix release of the newest feature version released on or before the end of your included year, or while a yearly plan of yours was active. We decide in good faith whether a new version is a fix release or a feature release. Updates are delivered only to an active license (through the built-in updater or our download page) and are covered by this Agreement. We may, but do not have to, release updates of either kind, and we may stop releasing them.

13.1A Founders Edition and Early Access. The Founders Edition is offered in limited quantity: to 1,000 buyers, or until version 2.0 is released, whichever comes first, and after that it won't be offered again. Ending sales of it doesn't affect the rights of people who already bought it. When our website shows the number of Founders Edition seats left, it is counted automatically from paid, unrefunded Founders Edition orders and may lag behind by a short time; a refunded order frees its seat. If more paid orders arrive at the same moment than seats remain, we honor every one of them. The Founders Edition includes: (a) a license to the Software under this Agreement; (b) the lifetime update access described in 13.1(b)(iii); (c) one custom city layout under section 6, delivered within thirty (30) days of your request, or up to ninety (90) days in a busy period as section 6 describes (custom cities are built in the order we receive requests); (d) early access, meaning we may make a new feature release available to Founders Edition owners before other buyers (we expect up to 30 days); and (e) once we release them, Founder recognition features in the Software, such as a Founder number and a Founders city theme. It gives no other right. It is a product benefit only: it is not an investment or a security, and gives no share in, or right to, our business, revenue or profits. You understand that the Software is offered as "Early Access", is still being developed and may contain more bugs than later versions; section 9 (No warranty) applies.

13.1B Prices. Our prices are designed to rise as the Software improves, and we may change the price of the Software and of update plans for new purchases at any time. A price change never affects what you have already paid for. A yearly plan renews at the price you signed up at for as long as it stays active without a break; if it ends and you start a new one, the price at that time applies. Statements about future prices or features describe our current plans, not promises, except a price commitment: where our roadmap page states that a price will change when a named version is released (for example "Standard rises to $249 when version 1.1 ships"), we will make that change on the day that version is released, and not before. Release dates on the roadmap are targets: if a release is late, its price change waits for it. A price commitment covers prices for new purchases only and never promises any feature, result or release date.

13.2 Each copy you download from us carries an order mark that links it to your purchase (see sections 4(f), 4(g) and 12.1).

13.3 Support is limited to installation help by email at support@ascenttradingsystems.com for 30 days after purchase, plus the Help & Feedback channel in the Software for bug reports and suggestions. We decide in our discretion whether and when to act on a report.

13.4 If we stop the license service. If we permanently stop selling the Software or shut down its license check, we will give every licensee whose license is active at that time a final version that runs without the online license check, so the copy you paid for keeps working. This Agreement continues to apply to it.

13.5 Temporary outages. If the license service or our download server is temporarily unavailable, an already activated copy keeps running for up to 14 days from its last successful check. A busy or unavailable license service never counts as an invalid license.

13.6 Refund window. Refunds are available only as described in the Refund Policy. After fourteen (14) days from the date of purchase, you have no right to a refund, return, credit or price reduction for the Software or any update plan, except in the cases the Refund Policy allows after that time (a duplicate purchase, a yearly renewal refunded within fourteen (14) days of that renewal, and the Custom City cases in section 6), and except where a law that cannot be waived requires one.

14. Termination

This license ends if you breach it (automatically for a breach of sections 2, 4 or 5, or when we notify you of another breach), if your payment is refunded, or if your payment is reversed or charged back and the dispute is finally decided against you. While a payment dispute is open, we may suspend your license key; if the dispute is resolved in our favor, we restore it. On termination you must stop using and delete every copy of the Software, including modified versions and backups. Sections 2, 4, 5 and 8 through 16 survive termination.

15. General

15.1 Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, and by the Federal Arbitration Act for section 16. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply. Subject to section 16, the state and federal courts located in Hennepin County, Minnesota have exclusive jurisdiction, except as section 16.4 allows, and you consent to their personal jurisdiction and venue.

15.2 Assignment. You may not assign or transfer this license or this Agreement, by operation of law or otherwise; any attempt to do so is void. We may assign it, for example if we sell or reorganize the business.

15.3 Entire agreement; no reliance. This Agreement, the Risk Disclaimer and the Refund Policy are the entire agreement between us about the Software and supersede all prior or contemporaneous statements, proposals and understandings, oral or written. Our descriptions of what the Software includes (the "What you get" list, the pricing and the system requirements on our website when you bought) are meant to be accurate and are not disclaimed. The roadmap price steps that section 13.1B makes binding are likewise not disclaimed. Beyond those, you have not relied on any statement about trading results, performance or future features that is not written in this Agreement. If any part is found unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the rest stays in effect. If we don't enforce a term right away, we can still enforce it later; a waiver is effective only in writing. If anything in our website or other materials conflicts with this Agreement, this Agreement controls, except the descriptions and price commitments this section and section 13.1B say are not disclaimed. Nothing in this section limits claims for fraud or any right you have under consumer protection laws that cannot be waived.

15.4 Changes to these terms. We may update this Agreement for future purchases and for updates. The version in effect when you bought your license governs that purchase. When an update comes with a newer version of this Agreement, its release notes say so; by installing that update you accept the newer version for it. If you don't want the newer terms, don't install that update: your current version keeps working under the terms you already accepted. We do not attach new terms to fix releases; only a feature release can come with a newer version of this Agreement. Material changes will be shown on our website with a new "Last updated" date. Changes to section 16 follow section 16.10.

15.5 Force majeure. We are not responsible for any delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including outages of brokers, data providers, hosting, payment or internet services, market disruptions, trading halts, natural disasters, war, labor disputes or acts of government.

15.6 Electronic communications and notices. You agree to receive this Agreement, receipts and notices electronically. Notices to you may be sent to the email address on your order; notices to us must be sent to support@ascenttradingsystems.com. Email notices are effective when sent, unless the sender gets a delivery failure; we resend a bounced notice to any other address you have given us.

15.7 Export and sanctions. You may not use, export or re-export the Software in violation of US export control or sanctions laws, or if you are located in, or a resident of, a country or region under comprehensive US sanctions, or listed on a US government restricted-party list.

15.8 Relationship and interpretation. The parties are independent; nothing here creates a partnership, joint venture, employment or agency relationship. There are no third-party beneficiaries, except the Protected Parties under sections 10 and 11. Headings are for convenience only, and "including" means "including without limitation". If this Agreement is translated, the English version controls.

16. Dispute resolution: binding arbitration and class action waiver

16.1 Talk to us first. Before starting any arbitration or court case, you agree to send us a written notice of your dispute by email to support@ascenttradingsystems.com, and we agree to do the same to the email address on your order. The notice must be personal to you: it must include your name, your order number and the email address you bought with, describe the dispute and the relief you want, and be personally signed (a typed name is fine) by you, even if you have a lawyer. Both of us will then try in good faith to resolve the dispute for sixty (60) days. Following this section is a condition before any arbitration or court case can be started, and any time limit for bringing the claim is paused while we talk.

16.2 Binding individual arbitration. If we can't resolve it, any dispute, claim or controversy between you and us arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Software, its purchase, its use, our website or our communications with you, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, and whether it arose before or after you accepted this Agreement (a "Dispute"), will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules in effect when the arbitration is filed (available at adr.org), as modified by this section 16, before a single arbitrator. If the AAA is unavailable, unable or unwilling to administer the arbitration (for any reason, including a registration, notice or fee requirement of its rules not being met), the arbitration will instead be administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules & Procedures and its Consumer Arbitration Minimum Standards in effect when the arbitration is filed (available at jamsadr.com), as modified by this section 16. If neither the AAA nor JAMS can administer it, you and we will agree on an arbitrator, or a court with jurisdiction will appoint one under 9 U.S.C. section 5, and the arbitration will follow the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules as modified by this section 16. In that case, references in this section 16 to the AAA or its rules mean the administrator and rules that apply. This agreement to arbitrate is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. sections 1-16). The arbitration may be held by video, by telephone or on written submissions; any in-person hearing will be held in Hennepin County, Minnesota or in the county where you live, as you choose. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction.

16.3 Who decides. The arbitrator decides all questions about the interpretation, scope, validity and enforceability of this section 16, except that a court with jurisdiction under section 15.1, not an arbitrator, decides: (a) whether section 16.5 (class action waiver) is valid and enforceable and what follows if it is not; and (b) any question about how section 16.6 (mass arbitration) applies.

16.4 Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual claim in the small claims court of the county where you live, or of Hennepin County, Minnesota, if it qualifies and stays there. Either party may seek an injunction or other equitable relief in court to protect its intellectual property or confidential information, or to stop unauthorized use, copying or distribution of the Software.

16.5 Class action waiver. YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any class or representative proceeding, except as section 16.6 allows for administration only. If a court decides that this class action waiver is unenforceable for a particular claim or form of relief, then that claim or relief (and only that one) will be decided in court under section 15.1, after all other claims have been arbitrated, and section 16.2 does not apply to it. Nothing in this section 16 waives your right to seek public injunctive relief in court where the law does not allow that right to be waived; such a request will be decided in court under section 15.1 after your individual claims have been arbitrated.

16.6 Mass arbitration. If twenty-five (25) or more similar demands for arbitration are filed against us by or with the help of the same or coordinated lawyers or organizations, the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules apply together with the Consumer Arbitration Rules. To resolve the claims fairly and efficiently, the demands will be administered in batches of up to fifty (50), one batch at a time, with one arbitrator per batch, and each claim still decided individually. The filing of a demand that is not in the current batch is paused, and any time limit for it is paused, until its batch is reached. Nothing in this section allows class arbitration. If a court finds this batching procedure unenforceable, the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules (or the JAMS equivalent) apply on their own, and the rest of this section 16 stays in effect.

16.7 Arbitrator's powers and confidentiality. The arbitrator may award any individual relief a court could award under this Agreement, but only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent needed to provide relief for that party's individual claim. An award decides only the case it was made in and is not binding in any other case, except as to the parties to it. The arbitration, any award and all documents exchanged in it are confidential, except as needed to enforce or challenge the award or as the law requires.

16.8 Jury trial waiver. IF ANY DISPUTE PROCEEDS IN COURT RATHER THAN IN ARBITRATION, YOU AND WE EACH KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND IRREVOCABLY WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY, TO THE EXTENT THE LAW OF THE PLACE WHERE THE CASE IS HEARD ALLOWS.

16.9 Legal fees. Each party pays its own attorneys' fees and costs, except (a) where a statute that applies to the claim allows the winning party to recover fees, in which case the arbitrator or court may award them as that statute provides; and (b) if an arbitrator or court finds a claim by either party frivolous, brought in bad faith or for an improper purpose, the other party may recover its reasonable fees and costs of defending it. Arbitration filing and arbitrator fees are paid as the AAA rules provide.

16.10 Changes to this section. If we change this section 16 after you accept it, the change will not apply to any Dispute we already know about, or that you have already notified us of, before the change takes effect. You may reject a change to this section by emailing support@ascenttradingsystems.com within thirty (30) days after the change is posted; the version you last accepted then continues to apply to you.

16.11 Opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration (sections 16.2, 16.3, 16.5, 16.6 and 16.7) by emailing support@ascenttradingsystems.com within thirty (30) days after your first purchase, from the email address you bought with, with your name, order number and a clear statement that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect any other part of this Agreement, including sections 16.1, 16.8 and 16.9 and the choice of courts in section 15.1.

16.12 Survival and severability. This section 16 survives the end of this Agreement, the termination of your license and any refund. If any part of this section 16, other than section 16.5, is found unenforceable, the rest of it remains in effect.