Terms of Service

Updated: October 26, 2026 · Effective: October 26, 2026 · Version: v2.0

Lumos Software Studio of Echeng District, Ezhou (鄂州市鄂城区路莫斯软件工作室), an individually-owned business registered in the People's Republic of China ("we", "us"), provides the PerfectRefs (今日宜引文) service to you under these Terms. These Terms are legally binding on both you and us. Please read these Terms carefully before using the service, in particular the provisions displayed in bold. By registering for or using the service, you are deemed to have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms. The processing of personal information is governed by the Privacy Policy.

These Terms apply when you use the English-language version of the service, including when you register through it, and to every purchase made on Gumroad, wherever you made it. Use of the Chinese-language version and purchases paid in Chinese yuan (RMB) are governed by the Chinese 《用户协议》 instead.

1. The Service

The service checks the references you submit against public academic databases and reports on three dimensions — authenticity, completeness, and format — with support for formatting and export in a target citation style.

• We endeavour to provide accurate results, but results reflect the coverage and current state of public databases and are provided for your reference and self-checking only.
• Public databases may be subject to indexing delays, gaps, or cataloguing errors; "not found in public databases" does not mean that a reference does not exist or cannot be used.
• The decision to rely on and submit any reference remains yours alone. The service does not replace the review requirements of your institution, supervisor, defense committee, or journal.

2. Your Responsibilities

By using the service, you undertake that:

1. the content you submit is reference information that you lawfully hold or are entitled to process, and does not infringe the lawful rights of others;
2. you will not use the service for unlawful activities, and will not engage in abuse such as bulk scraping, load testing, circumventing quota limits, or falsifying identifiers;
3. you will not use automated means to send requests to the service beyond normal usage intensity;
4. you will keep your account secure and are responsible for the activity under it.

3. Fair Use and Quotas

• Free use of the service is subject to daily/period quota limits, so that the service remains available to all users.
• The usage available to paying users is determined by the Packs or Passes purchased (see the pricing information on the site).
• We may throttle, block, or suspend access that is plainly abnormal or abusive.

4. Fees and Refunds

• Tiers and prices are as displayed on the site; payment is completed through third-party payment channels; for purchases on Gumroad, Gumroad is the merchant of record. Refunds are governed by the Refund Policy, which forms an integral part of these Terms with equal legal effect.
• Credit conversion ratios and tier prices may be adjusted from time to time. Packs or Passes you have already purchased will continue to be honoured at the price, credit amount, and validity period agreed at the time of purchase; new purchases made thereafter will be at the adjusted price.
• If we change, suspend, or terminate part or all of the service for reasons such as business adjustments or force majeure, and this leaves a purchased Pack or Pass unfulfilled, we will refund the amount corresponding to the unused portion; the details are governed by the Refund Policy.

5. Intellectual Property

• The intellectual property in the service's software, interface, copy, and their presentation belongs to us.
• The rights in the references you submit belong to you or the original authors; we process them solely to provide the verification service to you and claim no ownership of them.
• You are free to use the results (comparison, formatting, and exported text) for your academic and professional purposes.

6. Third-Party Services

The service relies on third-party public interfaces (search, academic databases, and the like) for verification, and on third-party payment channels for payment. The availability, accuracy, and terms of these third-party services are the responsibility of the respective providers; changes to them may affect parts of the service. We will endeavour to adapt, but are not liable for the conduct of third parties.

7. Changes and Suspension of the Service

• We may from time to time update, adjust, or suspend parts of the service; material changes will be announced in advance where practicable.
• For service interruptions caused by force majeure, third-party interface failures, compliance requirements, or the like, we will endeavour to restore the service, but to the extent permitted by law we are not liable for indirect losses arising therefrom.

8. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

• The service is provided "as is". To the maximum extent permitted by law, we do not warrant that the results are absolutely accurate or complete, or fit for your particular purpose.
• In any event, our aggregate liability to you in connection with the service is limited to the fees you actually paid for the service concerned.
• This section does not exclude or limit any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under law.

9. Amendments

If these Terms are amended, we will announce the amendment on the site and update the effective date. Your continued use of the service after an amendment constitutes acceptance of it; if you do not accept, you should stop using the service.

10. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

• The formation, validity, interpretation, and dispute resolution of these Terms are governed by the laws of the mainland of the People's Republic of China.
• Disputes arising from these Terms shall first be resolved through friendly negotiation; failing such resolution, either party may bring an action before the people's court with jurisdiction at the defendant's domicile.
• If you are a consumer, the choice of law above does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory provisions of the law of the country where you have your habitual residence, and you may also bring proceedings against us in the courts of the place where you are domiciled.
• If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions is not affected.

11. Contact

For any questions about these Terms, contact: support@perfectrefs.com.

12. Language

These Terms are written in English, and the English text is the governing text.