Rhesis AI — Self-Hosting Terms and Conditions

IMPORTANT NOTICE — Research Beta Phase
These Self-Hosting Terms and Conditions apply to the Research Beta Phase of Rhesis AI. During this phase, the self-hosted software is provided free of charge under the MIT License as part of a BMBF-funded research project. The software is experimental and under active development. No warranties, SLAs, or commercial support are provided. Features and functionality may change at any time. These terms will be supplemented with commercial licensing options when the research phase concludes. By using the self-hosted version, you acknowledge that this is open source research software distributed under the MIT License.

Rhesis AI GmbH, August-Bebel-Str. 89, 14482 Potsdam, Germany ("Rhesis AI", "we", "us", "our") makes available self-hosted software subject to these Terms.

1. About This Research Program

1.1 Research Context
This software is provided as part of a research and development project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the StartUpSecure initiative. The goal is to validate our technology, gather community feedback, and advance collaborative Gen AI testing capabilities.

1.2 Open Source Distribution
The core Rhesis AI platform is distributed as open source software under the MIT License. This means the software is free to use, modify, and distribute. Source code is available at: https://github.com/rhesis-ai/rhesis. The MIT License terms govern your usage rights. No payment or commercial license is required during the research phase.

1.3 Experimental Nature
The software is in a research and development stage. Features are experimental and subject to change. The software may contain bugs, errors, and instabilities. Functionality may be added, modified, or removed. No guarantees are provided regarding accuracy, reliability, or results.

1.4 Future Commercial Licensing
Following the research phase, Rhesis AI will offer:
• Community Edition: Free and open source (MIT License) — available indefinitely
• Enterprise Edition: Commercial self-hosting licenses with additional features, support, and SLAs
These Self-Hosting Terms will be updated to reflect commercial licensing options when available. We will provide at least 30 days' notice before any changes that affect your usage rights.

2. Eligibility

2.1 Business-Only Use
Self-hosting is intended exclusively for business users (“Unternehmer” under § 14 BGB), including companies, startups, organizations, freelancers, academic institutions, and individual developers acting in a professional capacity. Consumers (“Verbraucher” under § 13 BGB) are prohibited from using the self-hosted software for personal, non-business purposes.

2.2 Requirements
To use the self-hosted software, you must be at least 18 years old, have legal authority to accept these Terms, comply with the MIT License and these Terms, and have technical capability to install, configure, and operate the software.

3. MIT License and Usage Rights

3.1 MIT License Governs Usage
The Rhesis AI self-hosted software is licensed under the MIT License. The full license text is available at:
https://github.com/rhesis-ai/rhesis/blob/main/LICENSE
The MIT License grants rights to use, copy, distribute, modify, sublicense, and sell the software, subject to including the copyright and permission notices.

3.2 These Terms Supplement the MIT License
These Terms provide additional context regarding the research nature of the software, liability limitations, future commercial offerings, and BMBF funding acknowledgment. If conflicts arise, the MIT License governs usage rights, while these Terms govern the relationship between you and Rhesis AI.

3.3 Third-Party Components
The software includes third-party open source components under their respective licenses. A list of components is available at:
THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md

4. Permitted Use

4.1 Hosting and Operation
You may install and run the software on your own infrastructure, use third-party hosting providers, configure the software for internal business needs, modify the source code, and deploy multiple instances for testing and development.

4.2 Use Restrictions
You must not use the software for illegal, unethical, or unauthorized purposes; violate laws or regulations; test systems without authorization; introduce malicious code; or remove copyright notices.

4.3 Test Case Responsibility
You are responsible for selecting, generating, and deploying test cases; ensuring proper authorization; managing testing effects on your systems; and compliance with internal policies and regulations. Rhesis AI is not responsible for how you use test cases.

4.4 No Production Use (Recommendation)
During the research phase, we strongly recommend against using the software in production environments, with real customers, in safety-critical or financial workflows, or anywhere errors may cause harm. The software is experimental.

5. No Warranties

5.1 "AS IS" Provision
The software is provided “AS IS” under the MIT License, without warranties of any kind, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, or reliability. No guarantee of error-free or uninterrupted operation is made.

5.2 Research Phase Limitations
Features may break, be removed, or change without warning. Updates may introduce breaking changes. No backward compatibility is guaranteed.

5.3 No Support Obligations
Rhesis AI is not obligated to provide technical support, bug fixes, patches, feature requests, installation help, or documentation beyond what exists publicly. Community contributions are welcome but not guaranteed to be accepted.

6. Your Data and Responsibilities

6.1 Data Ownership
You retain ownership of all data, configurations, test cases, and content created or processed using the software (“Your Data”).

6.2 Data Backup
You are solely responsible for backing up Your Data, implementing redundancy, securing data, and maintaining disaster recovery procedures. Rhesis AI does not have access to or responsibility for Your Data.

6.3 Security and Infrastructure
You are responsible for securing your environment, managing access controls, protecting against attacks, maintaining infrastructure, and keeping dependencies updated.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 MIT License Rights
You have broad rights under the MIT License to use, modify, and distribute the software.

7.2 Rhesis AI Trademarks
Rhesis AI trademarks, logos, and branding are not covered by the MIT License and may not be used without written permission, except as required for attribution.

7.3 Contributions
If you contribute to the project, you grant Rhesis AI rights under the MIT License to use your contributions.

8. Limitation of Liability

8.1 Maximum Exclusions
To the maximum extent permitted by law and consistent with the MIT License, Rhesis AI is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages; loss of profits, revenue, data, or opportunities; business interruption; damages from testing or use of the software; regardless of legal theory.

8.2 Liability Cap
Where liability cannot be excluded, Rhesis AI’s total liability shall not exceed EUR 100.

8.3 Exceptions
Liability is not excluded for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or mandatory German statutory liability.

8.4 MIT License Disclaimer
“THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND…” (full disclaimer included in the MIT License).

9. Community and Feedback

9.1 Feedback Welcome
We encourage community contributions, issue reporting, documentation improvements, and feature suggestions.

9.2 Feedback Ownership
Feedback becomes the property of Rhesis AI and may be used without restriction. Your Data and code contributions remain under the MIT License.

9.3 No Obligation to Act
Rhesis AI is not obligated to implement feedback, fix bugs, or accept contributions.

10. Transition to Commercial Licensing

10.1 Future Commercial Options
After the research phase, Rhesis AI will introduce commercial licenses offering enterprise features, support, security updates, and compliance tooling.

10.2 Community Edition Remains Free
The Community Edition will always remain free and open source under the MIT License.

10.3 Prior Notification
We will provide at least 30 days’ notice before introducing commercial licensing, including features, pricing, and migration options.

10.4 No Obligation
Using the software during the research phase does not obligate you to purchase a commercial license.

11. BMBF Funding Acknowledgment

11.1 Required Notice
“Das diesem Projekt zugrundeliegende Vorhaben wird mit Mitteln des Bundesministeriums für Bildung und Forschung gefördert. Die Verantwortung für den Inhalt dieser Veröffentlichung liegt bei Rhesis AI GmbH.”

11.2 Research Purpose
Your use and feedback help advance research on collaborative Gen AI testing, safety, and quality assurance.

12. Term and Termination

12.1 Perpetual License
The MIT License grants perpetual usage rights, subject to compliance.

12.2 Termination of Additional Terms
Rhesis AI may update or discontinue these Terms at any time. MIT License rights remain unaffected.

12.3 Discontinuation of Development
Rhesis AI may discontinue development, but the community may continue independently.

13. General Provisions

13.1 Changes to Terms
We may update these Terms. Material changes will be communicated via GitHub, website, or email if subscribed. Continued use constitutes acceptance.

13.2 Entire Agreement
These Terms and the MIT License form the entire agreement regarding the self-hosted software.

13.3 Severability
If any provision is invalid, remaining provisions remain in effect.

13.4 No Waiver
Failure to enforce a provision does not constitute a waiver.

13.5 Governing Law
These Terms are governed by German law (excluding CISG). Jurisdiction: Potsdam, Germany.

13.6 Language
The English version prevails over translations.

14. Contact Information
Rhesis AI GmbH
August-Bebel-Str. 89
14482 Potsdam, Germany
support@rhesis.ai
GitHub: https://github.com/rhesis-ai/rhesis
Website: https://rhesis.ai

By using the self-hosted software, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms, in addition to the MIT License.