Terms of Service

Version 1.1 Effective Date: September 22, 2026

gibq.org is operated by GIBQ Operations LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

1. Agreement to These Terms

These Terms of Service (these "Terms") form a binding agreement between you and GIBQ Operations LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("GIBQ Operations," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of the website located at gibq.org and any related online services we operate (collectively, the "Services").

GIBQ Operations LLC currently owns all GIBQ intellectual property. GIBQ™ and GIBQ Verified™ are unregistered trademarks of GIBQ Operations LLC. A future two-entity structure with a separate standards-holding nonprofit may be established.

By accessing or using the Services, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not access or use the Services.

If you access or use the Services on behalf of an entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to bind that entity to these Terms, and references to "you" include both you individually and that entity.

2. Eligibility

The Services are intended for business and professional use. You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract to use the Services.

2.1 Phase 1 Vendor Eligibility

During Phase 1, vendor applications for GIBQ Verified status are accepted only from entities legally formed and operating in the United States. Vendor applications from outside the United States will not be processed during Phase 1. Browsing the Services from outside the United States is permitted in accordance with these Terms.

3. Nature of the Services

The Services include the GIBQ Verified vendor verification program, the public registry of certified vendors, and informational content describing the GIBQ Verified standard and the work of GIBQ. The GIBQ Verified program is an independent third-party documentation audit registry. Vendor applications are evaluated against the GIBQ Verified Certification Mark Standards published by GIBQ.

3.1 What GIBQ Is

An independent third-party audit registry.
A documentation-quality verification program.
A market trust signal for participating vendors.

3.2 What GIBQ Is Not

GIBQ is not a laboratory, manufacturer, pharmacy, or distributor.
GIBQ is not a regulator and does not exercise governmental authority.
GIBQ is not a legal shield against enforcement by the FDA, FTC, or any other regulator.
GIBQ is not a guarantee of approval by any payment processor, advertising platform, or financial institution.
GIBQ does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any vendor product. The GIBQ Verified mark certifies only that the vendor's submitted documentation has met the published standard at the time of audit, and does not constitute a recommendation that any product be purchased, used, or relied upon.

4. Research Use Only Notice

Vendors participating in the GIBQ Verified program offer products designated for research use only. Such products are not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for human or veterinary use, are not pharmaceuticals, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Nothing on the Services should be interpreted as medical advice or as encouragement to use any product for any purpose other than research conducted by qualified personnel in compliance with applicable law.

5. Accounts and Vendor Submissions

5.1 Account Registration

Certain features of the Services, including vendor application submissions, may require you to register for an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration, to keep that information current, and to safeguard your account credentials. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.

5.2 Vendor Submissions

Materials submitted by a vendor for evaluation under the GIBQ Verified program ("Submissions") include Certificates of Analysis, product labels, packaging artwork, supporting test methodology, and any sworn attestations required by the audit process. By submitting Submissions, you represent and warrant that:

The Submissions are authentic, accurate, and complete in all material respects.
You have the right to submit the materials and to permit us to use them for the purposes described in these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
The Submissions do not infringe the intellectual property, contractual, privacy, or other rights of any third party.
The Submissions do not contain malware, malicious code, or other harmful elements.

5.3 License to Submissions

You retain ownership of your Submissions. By submitting them, you grant GIBQ Operations LLC a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, store, analyze, and display the Submissions as reasonably necessary to evaluate your application, operate the Services, maintain the integrity of the GIBQ Verified certification mark, and meet our legal obligations. We may also use de-identified, aggregated information derived from Submissions for analytics, benchmarking, and improvement of the standard.

Decisions to grant, deny, suspend, or revoke GIBQ Verified status are made under the GIBQ Verified Certification Mark Standards and the GIBQ Vendor Verification Agreement that vendors execute in connection with applying for the program. To the extent any provision in those documents conflicts with these Terms in connection with the certification program, those documents control.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree that you will not, and will not permit any third party to:

Use the Services in violation of any applicable law or regulation.
Submit information you know to be false, misleading, fraudulent, or that you do not have the right to submit.
Display, replicate, or imitate the GIBQ™ or GIBQ Verified™ marks, the GIBQ shield, or any confusingly similar designation, except as expressly authorized in writing by GIBQ Operations LLC or under a duly executed GIBQ Vendor Verification Agreement and the GIBQ Brand and Mark Usage Guidelines.
Falsely state or imply that you, your products, your suppliers, or your services are GIBQ Verified, certified, endorsed, accredited, or otherwise affiliated with GIBQ when you are not.
Reverse engineer, decompile, scrape, harvest, or systematically extract data from the Services, except for reasonable indexing by general-purpose search engines.
Interfere with, disrupt, probe, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Services, our infrastructure, or any other user's account.
Use the Services to transmit malware, malicious code, denial-of-service traffic, or unsolicited communications.
Use the Services in a manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair our systems or the experience of other users.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Ownership

As between you and us, the Services and all content, features, functionality, software, design, text, graphics, logos, trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and trade dress associated with the Services are owned by GIBQ Operations LLC or its licensors, and are protected by United States and international intellectual property laws.

7.2 Limited License to Use the Services

Subject to your continuing compliance with these Terms, we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Services solely for their intended purposes. No other rights are granted by implication, estoppel, or otherwise. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

7.3 GIBQ Marks

GIBQ™ and GIBQ Verified™ are unregistered trademarks of GIBQ Operations LLC. The GIBQ shield design and the name "Global Institute for Biomedical Quality" are also owned by GIBQ Operations LLC. Use of these marks is permitted only under a written license, including a duly executed GIBQ Vendor Verification Agreement, and only in accordance with the GIBQ Brand and Mark Usage Guidelines. Any unauthorized use of the marks is a material breach of these Terms and may also constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition, or false designation of origin under applicable law.

7.4 Feedback

If you provide us with comments, suggestions, or other feedback regarding the Services, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up license to use that feedback for any lawful purpose, without obligation or compensation to you.

8. Third-Party Links and Content

The Services may contain links to third-party websites, content, or services. We do not control, endorse, or assume responsibility for any third-party website, content, or service, and your use of any third-party offering is at your own risk and subject to that third party's terms and policies.

9. Changes to the Services or These Terms

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Services, in whole or in part, at any time and for any reason, with or without notice. We may revise these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of these Terms and, if the changes are material, provide additional notice through the Services or by other reasonable means. Your continued use of the Services after the Effective Date of revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of those revised Terms.

10. Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including if we believe you have breached these Terms or any applicable law, or if continuing to provide access would expose us, our licensors, or other users to legal, financial, or reputational risk.

You may stop using the Services at any time. Sections 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 survive termination.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ALL CONTENT, AUDIT DETERMINATIONS, REGISTRY LISTINGS, AND ANY OTHER INFORMATION ACCESSED THROUGH THE SERVICES, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, GIBQ OPERATIONS LLC DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, ACCURACY, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, OR USAGE OF TRADE.

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY DEFECT WILL BE CORRECTED.

THE GIBQ VERIFIED MARK CERTIFIES ONLY THAT THE PARTICIPATING VENDOR'S SUBMITTED DOCUMENTATION HAS BEEN AUDITED AGAINST THE GIBQ VERIFIED CERTIFICATION MARK STANDARDS AND FOUND TO MEET THOSE STANDARDS AT THE TIME OF AUDIT. THE MARK IS NOT A WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE OF PRODUCT SAFETY, EFFICACY, IDENTITY, PURITY, STERILITY, MANUFACTURING QUALITY, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. THE MARK IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A BUYER'S OR USER'S OWN INDEPENDENT DUE DILIGENCE.

WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT DISPLAY OF THE GIBQ VERIFIED MARK WILL RESULT IN APPROVAL BY ANY PAYMENT PROCESSOR, ADVERTISING PLATFORM, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, INSURER, OR REGULATOR, OR THAT IT WILL PREVENT ENFORCEMENT ACTION BY ANY GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL GIBQ OPERATIONS LLC OR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, ADVISORS, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST GOODWILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR LOSS OF DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) ONE THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS (US$1,000) OR (B) THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so the limitations above may not apply to the extent prohibited by law. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted.

13. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless GIBQ Operations LLC and its officers, directors, members, employees, advisors, agents, affiliates, and licensors from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or related to: (i) your access to or use of the Services; (ii) your Submissions; (iii) your products, marketing, or business operations; (iv) your unauthorized use of the GIBQ™ or GIBQ Verified™ marks; or (v) your breach of these Terms or violation of any law or third-party right.

We may, at our option, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses. You will not settle any matter without our prior written consent if the settlement requires any admission or imposes any obligation on us.

14. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

14.1 Informal Resolution

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to first contact us at info@gibq.org with a written description of the dispute and the relief sought. We will attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for thirty (30) days from receipt of the notice.

14.2 Binding Arbitration

If we cannot resolve the dispute informally, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be resolved exclusively by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules then in effect. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single arbitrator. The seat of the arbitration shall be Wilmington, Delaware. The arbitrator may award only monetary damages and equitable relief, and may not award damages excluded by Section 12. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

14.3 Class Action Waiver

You and we each agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action. The arbitrator may not consolidate the claims of multiple persons and may not preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.

14.4 Equitable Relief in Court

Notwithstanding Section 14.2, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in the state or federal courts located in Wilmington, Delaware to protect intellectual property rights, including unauthorized use of the GIBQ™ and GIBQ Verified™ marks, pending the outcome of arbitration.

14.5 Jury Trial Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND WE EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES.

15. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any action, suit, or proceeding not subject to arbitration under Section 14 shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Wilmington, Delaware, and the parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts and waive any objection based on inconvenient forum.

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms.

16. Notices

We may provide notices to you through the Services, by email to the address associated with your account, or by other reasonable means. You may provide notices to us by email to info@gibq.org or by mail to GIBQ Operations LLC at the address listed on gibq.org. Notices are effective when received, and in the case of email, when transmitted without bounce or rejection.

17. Miscellaneous

17.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other agreements expressly incorporated by reference (including, where applicable, the GIBQ Vendor Verification Agreement and the GIBQ Brand and Mark Usage Guidelines), constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Services and supersede any prior agreements between you and us regarding the Services.

17.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

17.3 No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not be deemed a waiver of that right or provision.

17.4 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights under them without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, or to any affiliate. Any attempted assignment in violation of this Section is void.

17.5 Force Majeure

We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, governmental action, labor disputes, internet or utility failures, or pandemics.

17.6 Relationship of the Parties

Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, employment, or fiduciary relationship between you and us.

17.7 No Third-Party Beneficiaries

These Terms do not create any third-party beneficiary rights.

17.8 Headings

Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation of these Terms.

18. Contact

GIBQ Operations LLC General inquiries: info@gibq.org Privacy: privacy@gibq.org Website: gibq.org

GIBQ Operations LLC · Terms of Service v1.1 · September 2026 GIBQ™ and GIBQ Verified™ are unregistered trademarks of GIBQ Operations LLC.