Academy Course Creator & Marketplace Terms

1. About these Terms

1.1 These Academy Course Creator & Marketplace Terms ("Academy Terms") apply where a person or organisation uses CompCheck.IO Academy to create, publish, distribute, assign, promote or sell training courses or related learning content.

1.2 CompCheck.IO is a product of Waris International Consulting Ltd ("WICL").

1.3 These Academy Terms supplement and form part of the CompCheck.IO Terms of Service and SaaS Agreement.

1.4 Use of Course Creator or Marketplace functionality constitutes acceptance of these Academy Terms.

2. Definitions

"Academy" means the CompCheck.IO learning management, training and course-creation platform.

"Course" means training, learning content, lessons, modules, assessments, resources or associated material created, uploaded or supplied through Academy.

"Course Creator" means a Customer or Authorised User authorised to create or publish Courses.

"Course Content" means all text, images, video, audio, documents, assessments, questions, certificates, descriptions and other material supplied by a Course Creator.

"Learner" means an individual who undertakes, accesses, purchases or is assigned a Course.

"Marketplace" means any Academy functionality through which Courses can be made available to persons outside the Course Creator's own organisation, including for payment.

3. Relationship with the Main Terms

3.1 These Academy Terms apply alongside:

• the Main Terms;
• the Acceptable Use Policy;
• the Privacy Policy;
• the Data Processing Agreement where applicable; and
• any additional Marketplace, payment or promotional rules made applicable to a particular feature.

3.2 Where these Academy Terms specifically conflict with the Main Terms concerning Course Creator or Marketplace functionality, these Academy Terms prevail to the extent of that conflict.

4. Academy Provides Technology

4.1 Academy provides software which enables Customers to create, administer, deliver and manage training.

4.2 Unless expressly stated otherwise, WICL does not independently:

• create Customer Courses;
• verify Course Content;
• accredit Customer Courses;
• approve Course accuracy;
• assess whether a Course satisfies a particular statutory requirement;
• guarantee the qualifications of a Course Creator;
• guarantee that completing a Course demonstrates occupational competence; or
• provide professional advice merely by hosting the Course.

4.3 The presence of a Course within Academy does not constitute endorsement by WICL.

5. Responsibility for Courses

5.1 The Course Creator is responsible for each Course it creates, uploads, distributes or sells.

5.2 This includes responsibility for:

• accuracy;
• completeness;
• quality;
• suitability;
• currency;
• learning outcomes;
• assessment content;
• statements and representations;
• intellectual-property rights;
• legal compliance;
• accessibility where legally required;
• advertising claims;
• pricing; and
• learner support provided by the Course Creator.

5.3 Course Creators should review Course Content periodically and update it where appropriate.

6. Professional and Regulatory Content

6.1 A Course Creator providing training concerning regulated, professional, technical, safety, compliance or other specialist subjects remains responsible for ensuring that it is competent to provide that training.

6.2 Academy does not convert unaccredited training into accredited training.

6.3 A Course Creator must not state or imply that a Course:

• is accredited;
• leads to a regulated qualification;
• satisfies statutory training requirements;
• is recognised by a professional body; or
• has been approved by WICL

unless the relevant statement is accurate and appropriately authorised.

7. Employer-Assigned Training

7.1 Employers may use Academy to assign Courses to employees or other personnel.

7.2 Employers remain responsible for determining:

• what training is required;
• who requires it;
• whether online learning is an appropriate delivery method;
• whether additional practical training is required;
• whether supervision is required;
• whether an employee has understood the training; and
• whether the employee is competent to perform the relevant activity.

7.3 A record showing that a Learner completed a Course does not automatically establish occupational competence.

8. Course Completion Records

8.1 Academy may record enrolment, progress, completion, assessment results, completion dates, certificates and related learning activity.

8.2 Such records reflect information recorded by the Platform.

8.3 WICL does not warrant that completion of a Course, in isolation, satisfies every regulatory, professional, contractual or workplace training requirement.

9. Certificates

9.1 Academy may enable Course Creators to issue or generate certificates.

9.2 Unless expressly stated otherwise, a certificate generated through Academy confirms only the information recorded through the applicable Course functionality.

9.3 The Course Creator is responsible for certificate wording, accreditation claims, validity periods, renewal requirements, qualification representations and determining whether a certificate is appropriate.

9.4 A certificate must not display the WICL or CompCheck.IO name in a manner implying WICL accreditation unless expressly authorised.

10. Intellectual Property in Course Content

10.1 As between WICL and the Course Creator, the Course Creator retains ownership of intellectual-property rights it lawfully owns in its Course Content.

10.2 The Course Creator grants WICL a non-exclusive licence to host, store, reproduce technically, transmit, display, distribute at the Course Creator's direction, create necessary technical copies and otherwise process Course Content to provide Academy.

10.3 This licence continues for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the relevant Services and comply with applicable legal obligations.

11. Course Creator Intellectual Property Warranty

11.1 The Course Creator warrants that it has sufficient rights and permissions to use all Course Content uploaded to Academy.

11.2 Course Creators must not knowingly upload:

• copyrighted material without appropriate rights;
• pirated training material;
• unauthorised photographs;
• third-party videos without permission;
• plagiarised material;
• trade-marked content used unlawfully; or
• confidential material which they are not entitled to disclose.

12. Third-Party Materials

Where Course Content includes third-party material, the Course Creator is responsible for:

• obtaining necessary licences;
• complying with attribution requirements;
• complying with usage restrictions; and
• ensuring Academy's operation does not breach those rights.

13. Course Creator Branding

Academy may permit Course Creators to use their own branding.

Course Creators must not use branding which:

• infringes third-party rights;
• impersonates another organisation;
• falsely implies accreditation;
• falsely implies WICL endorsement; or
• otherwise misleads Learners.

14. Publishing Courses

14.1 Where Academy permits publication of Courses, the Course Creator determines whether and when its Course is made available.

14.2 The Course Creator is responsible for reviewing the Course before publication.

14.3 WICL may restrict or remove Course Content where WICL reasonably believes that it:

• breaches these Academy Terms;
• infringes third-party rights;
• is unlawful;
• presents a material security risk;
• contains malicious material;
• materially misrepresents accreditation or qualification status; or
• creates a material legal risk to WICL or users.

15. Marketplace Courses

Where Marketplace functionality is enabled, Course Creators may be permitted to make Courses available to persons outside their own organisation.

The Course Creator remains the supplier of the Course unless the applicable transaction expressly identifies WICL as the supplier.

16. Selling Courses

16.1 Where a Course Creator sells a Course through Academy, the Course Creator is responsible for:

• determining the price;
• Course descriptions;
• Course Content;
• promotional claims;
• taxes;
• VAT treatment where applicable;
• refund obligations;
• learner complaints;
• consumer-law obligations where applicable; and
• fulfilment of the Course.

16.2 WICL does not become the Course provider merely because Academy facilitates access or payment.

17. Course Descriptions

Course descriptions must be accurate and must not materially mislead prospective Learners regarding:

• Course content;
• duration;
• level;
• learning outcomes;
• prerequisites;
• accreditation;
• qualification status;
• certificate status;
• instructor;
• price; or
• any material restriction.

18. Consumer Transactions

18.1 Where a Course Creator sells Courses to individual consumers, the Course Creator is responsible for determining and complying with applicable consumer law.

18.2 This may include requirements concerning:

• pre-contract information;
• pricing;
• cancellation rights;
• digital content;
• refunds;
• unfair terms;
• descriptions; and
• remedies.

18.3 Course Creators should obtain appropriate legal advice concerning consumer-facing sales where necessary.

18.4 WICL may introduce additional consumer Marketplace terms as the Academy Marketplace develops.

19. Refunds

19.1 Unless WICL is expressly identified as the supplier, responsibility for refunds relating to Course Content lies with the Course Creator.

19.2 A Course Creator must comply with applicable law, its published refund policy and requirements imposed by relevant payment providers.

19.3 WICL may facilitate refunds technically where the Platform permits, but this does not make WICL responsible for the underlying refund obligation.

20. Payment Processing

20.1 Academy may integrate with third-party payment providers.

20.2 Payment providers may impose their own terms, fees, identity checks, payment restrictions, chargeback rules and compliance requirements.

20.3 Course Creators are responsible for complying with requirements applicable to their payment-provider relationship.

21. Platform Charges and Commission

21.1 WICL may charge:

• Subscription fees;
• Marketplace fees;
• transaction fees;
• commission;
• payment-processing related fees; or
• other disclosed charges

for Marketplace functionality.

21.2 Any applicable charge will be communicated through the Platform, applicable Subscription, Marketplace interface or separate commercial terms.

22. Promotional Codes and Discounts

Where functionality permits Course Creators to create promotional codes or discounts, the Course Creator is responsible for:

• discount amount;
• eligibility;
• validity period;
• promotional wording;
• compliance with advertising law; and
• honouring valid offers.

23. Learner Accounts

Course Creators must not:

• create fraudulent learner records;
• impersonate Learners;
• falsify completion;
• manipulate assessment results dishonestly;
• issue certificates for training not completed where completion is represented; or
• otherwise knowingly create misleading training records.

24. Assessments

Where a Course contains assessments:

1. the Course Creator is responsible for questions and answers;
2. Academy may automatically mark assessments where configured;
3. automated marking reflects rules configured within the Course;
4. WICL does not independently certify the educational validity of an assessment; and
5. the Course Creator remains responsible for determining whether the assessment method is appropriate.

25. Learner Data

25.1 Academy may process Personal Data concerning Learners.

25.2 Data-protection roles will depend upon the circumstances.

25.3 For employer-assigned training, the employer will commonly determine the purposes for which training records are processed.

25.4 Where an independent Course Creator sells directly to Learners, the Course Creator may itself be a Controller of relevant learner information.

25.5 Course Creators are responsible for determining their data-protection role and providing appropriate privacy information.

Further information is available in the Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement.

26. Marketing to Learners

Course Creators must not use learner information obtained through Academy for unlawful marketing.

Where electronic marketing rules require consent or another condition, the Course Creator is responsible for ensuring those requirements are satisfied.

Access to a Learner through Academy does not automatically constitute permission to send unrelated marketing communications.

27. Communications

Course Creators may use Academy communication functionality only for legitimate Course, customer-service, organisational or appropriately authorised marketing purposes.

Spam, phishing, harassment and unlawful unsolicited communications are prohibited.

28. Reviews and Ratings

If Academy introduces review or rating functionality:

• reviews must not knowingly be fabricated;
• Course Creators must not improperly manipulate ratings;
• incentives for reviews must comply with applicable law;
• WICL may moderate content in accordance with applicable policies; and
• publication of a review does not constitute WICL endorsement.

29. Prohibited Course Content

Courses must not knowingly contain:

• unlawful content;
• malicious software;
• fraudulent accreditation claims;
• infringing material;
• content deliberately encouraging unlawful activity;
• unlawfully discriminatory material;
• content intended to facilitate fraud;
• confidential third-party information disclosed without authority; or
• material otherwise prohibited by the Acceptable Use Policy.

30. Removal or Suspension of Courses

WICL may suspend, restrict or remove a Course where reasonably necessary because:

• it appears unlawful;
• there is a credible intellectual-property complaint;
• there is a material complaint about fraudulent accreditation;
• it presents a security risk;
• the Course Creator materially breaches these Terms;
• a competent authority requires removal; or
• continuing distribution creates a material legal risk.

Where reasonably appropriate, WICL will seek clarification from the Course Creator before permanent removal.

31. Intellectual Property Complaints

A person alleging that Course Content infringes their rights may contact:

compcheck@warisconsulting.co.uk

WICL may:

• request evidence;
• notify the Course Creator;
• temporarily restrict disputed material;
• request a response;
• restore or remove material following appropriate assessment; or
• comply with a court or competent authority.

32. Learner Complaints

Complaints concerning Course quality, Course accuracy, instruction, accreditation claims, refunds or Course Creator services should ordinarily be addressed to the Course Creator.

WICL may investigate complaints insofar as they concern misuse of Academy or breach of CompCheck.IO terms.

33. No Guarantee of Sales

WICL does not guarantee:

• that a Course will sell;
• any number of Learners;
• revenue;
• search prominence;
• commercial success;
• Marketplace ranking; or
• continued availability of a particular promotional feature.

34. Marketplace Visibility

Where Academy permits public Course discovery, WICL may determine reasonable technical methods for displaying, searching, categorising or presenting Courses.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, no Course Creator is guaranteed a particular ranking or position.

35. Taxes

Course Creators remain responsible for determining:

• taxes due on Course sales;
• VAT registration obligations;
• VAT rates;
• invoicing requirements;
• income or corporation tax treatment; and
• other applicable tax obligations.

WICL does not provide tax advice merely by providing Marketplace functionality.

36. Course Creator Records

Course Creators should maintain appropriate records concerning:

• sales;
• Learners;
• refunds;
• accreditation;
• intellectual-property permissions;
• Course updates; and
• other matters required by applicable law or professional requirements.

37. Changes to Courses

Course Creators may update their Courses using available functionality.

Where a material change could affect an existing purchaser or Learner, the Course Creator remains responsible for determining whether notification or other action is required.

38. Discontinuing a Course

Where a Course Creator wishes to discontinue a Course, it should consider obligations owed to:

• existing purchasers;
• enrolled Learners;
• employers who have assigned the Course; and
• persons entitled to access for a stated period.

WICL may impose reasonable technical arrangements for withdrawal where necessary to protect existing legitimate access.

39. Termination of Course Creator Account

Termination of a Course Creator's CompCheck.IO Account may result in removal or restriction of Course Content.

The Course Creator remains responsible for outstanding obligations to Learners arising before termination.

40. WICL Intellectual Property

Nothing in these Academy Terms transfers ownership of:

• Academy;
• CompCheck.IO;
• WICL software;
• interfaces;
• Platform functionality;
• WICL branding;
• proprietary templates; or
• other WICL Intellectual Property Rights

to the Course Creator.

41. Course Creator Indemnity

Subject to applicable law, the Course Creator shall indemnify WICL against third-party claims, losses, liabilities and reasonable costs arising directly from:

• Course Content infringing third-party Intellectual Property Rights;
• materially false accreditation or qualification claims;
• unlawful Course Content;
• the Course Creator's breach of consumer law;
• unlawful Processing of Learner Personal Data;
• material misrepresentation concerning a Course;
• the Course Creator's failure to provide a Course sold to a Learner; or
• material breach of these Academy Terms,

except to the extent caused by WICL's own breach, negligence or unlawful conduct.

42. WICL Liability

42.1 The limitations and exclusions of liability in the CompCheck.IO Terms of Service apply to Academy and Marketplace functionality.

42.2 In particular, WICL is not responsible for the quality, accuracy or professional suitability of Customer-created Courses merely because they are hosted through Academy.

42.3 Nothing excludes liability which cannot lawfully be excluded.

43. Changes to Academy

WICL may develop, modify or expand Academy, including introducing:

• new Course formats;
• new learning tools;
• Marketplace features;
• payment options;
• reviews;
• certificates;
• accreditation-related functionality;
• mobile learning; or
• other functionality.

Additional terms may apply to significant new features.

44. Changes to these Academy Terms

WICL may update these Academy Terms where reasonably necessary to reflect:

• changes to Academy;
• Marketplace development;
• payment arrangements;
• consumer requirements;
• changes in law;
• new functionality; or
• reasonable commercial changes.

Material changes will be communicated where appropriate.

45. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

45.1 These Academy Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

45.2 The jurisdiction provisions contained in the Main Terms apply.

46. Contact

Questions concerning Academy, these Terms or Marketplace functionality may be sent to: