Terms of Service
1. What VMI is
VMI (Verified Music Identity) is a registration and verification service for audio recordings. When you certify a track, VMI computes a cryptographic fingerprint of your file, embeds an inaudible watermark, and records a digitally signed certificate on an append-only ledger, fixed to the moment of registration.
2. What a certificate is — and is not
A VMI certificate is evidence that a specific file existed and was registered by a specific account at a specific time. It is not:
- a copyright registration or any form of legal rights grant;
- a legal determination of authorship or ownership;
- proof that the registering account created the work;
- proof that no earlier version of the work exists elsewhere.
A negative verification result means only that a file is not registered with VMI. It is not a claim that a work is AI-generated, unowned, or infringing.
3. Your responsibilities
By certifying a track you confirm that you hold the rights to it. You must not certify works you do not own or control. VMI may refuse certification where its systems detect an existing VMI watermark or fingerprint, and may revoke certificates obtained in breach of these terms.
4. Revocation
The ledger is append-only. Certificates are never deleted; they can be revoked, which appends a revocation record, removes the stored master audio, and ends VMI's vouching for the certificate. Revocation can occur (a) at your request, after review by VMI, or (b) by VMI where a certificate breaches these terms. Revocations are recorded on the ledger and visible on the certificate page.
5. Payments and credits
Certification is paid for with credits purchased in advance. Payment processing is handled by Stripe; VMI does not store card details. A credit is consumed when certification succeeds; refused certifications are automatically refunded to your balance. Purchased credits are otherwise non-refundable except as required by law.
6. The service
VMI is provided "as is". VMI makes reasonable efforts to keep the service and its verification available but does not guarantee uninterrupted operation. Watermark detection has documented technical limits: heavily processed audio (for example time-stretched, effected, or very short excerpts) may not be traceable, while the certificate's timestamp remains unaffected.
7. Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, VMI's total liability for any claim arising from the service is limited to the amount you paid VMI in the twelve months preceding the claim. VMI is not liable for decisions made by third parties (platforms, labels, courts) on the basis of, or despite, a VMI certificate.
8. Accounts
You are responsible for the security of your account credentials. Certificate removal requests are reviewed by VMI before any action is taken, as a protection against compromised accounts.
9. Changes and contact
These terms may be updated; material changes will be announced on the site. Questions: [contact email].