Terms of service

Who provides the service

PINT — Plateforme Interactions Moléculaires Timone, Institut de NeuroPhysiopathologie (Aix-Marseille Université / CNRS), 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille. SIRET ⟨SIRET of the INP⟩.

Preamble

These terms (below, "the Terms") apply to every service carried out by the platform (below, "the Platform") for a client (below, "the Client"). Under article L441-1 of the French Commercial Code they are the sole basis of the commercial negotiation between the parties.

Unless disputed within 48 hours of being sent, the Terms are deemed accepted by the Client. The Client waives reliance on any conflicting document, in particular its own purchasing terms, which will not bind the Platform even if it was made known to it. Where a contract is signed between the parties, its wording prevails over these Terms in the event of conflict.

Article 1 — How an order is placed

1.1 By quotation. The Platform sends the Client a technical proposal and a quotation. The quotation is valid for three (3) months from receipt. The Client accepts it expressly by returning it signed, together with a purchase order where one is required. A deposit of up to thirty per cent (30 %) of the amount before tax may be required to confirm the order.

No later than at acceptance, the Client provides its intra-Community VAT number or evidence of exemption. Failing that, the French VAT rate applies automatically.

1.2 By contract. The order is confirmed when both parties sign the contract. The Client then provides a purchase order for the total amount. Invoicing follows the schedule set out in the contract.

Article 2 — Rates

Services are provided at the rates in force on the day the order is accepted (art. 1.1) or the contract signed (art. 1.2). Rates are in euros, net and before tax, unless stated otherwise. They depend on the technique, the number of samples and the kind of institution the Client belongs to — academic, platform partner or company; the amount that applies is always on the quotation, before any commitment.

Article 3 — Payment

The payment schedule is the one set out in the quotation or the contract. The price is payable by transfer to the establishment's bank account.

Deposit. A deposit of thirty per cent (30 %) of the total before tax may be required when the order is placed; the order is then confirmed only once it has been received.

Payment period. Invoices are payable within thirty (30) days of receipt, or on the different terms stated on the quotation. For orders placed by contract, the contract's payment terms apply.

Late payment. Late payment carries interest at three (3) times the statutory rate in force, plus a fixed recovery charge of forty (40) euros, under article L441-10 of the French Commercial Code. Interest runs from the day after the due date until the day the transfer is made. Where payment terms are not met, the Platform may suspend performance of its obligations and, if need be, suspend or cancel the ordered service.

Article 4 — Liability

4.1 The Platform applies the means and the skills the work requires. Its obligation is one of means, not of result: research does not guarantee an outcome, and the absence of a measurable effect is itself a scientific result.

4.2 Each party keeps ownership of any equipment it makes available to the other for the work and bears the cost of damage to that equipment. The Platform is not liable for acts of the Client or of anyone under the Client's responsibility, nor in cases of force majeure as defined in article 1218 of the French Civil Code.

Article 5 — Confidentiality

Information passed by one party and marked or identified as confidential when it is handed over is covered by secrecy. Each party undertakes not to disclose it and to give it the same care and protection as its own confidential information. This obligation applies throughout the work and for five (5) years afterwards. Where the work is governed by a contract, the contract's confidentiality provisions apply.

Article 6 — Intellectual property

Work on a quotation. Ownership of the results passes to the Client on full payment, on the terms set out here and unless agreed otherwise. Raw data is handed over with the report.

These Terms give the Client no right to use the name, trade mark or emblems of the Platform, of Aix-Marseille Université or of the CNRS. Any use requires prior written agreement.

Work published from results obtained on the platform acknowledges it; the wording is on the Legal notice page. Where the team's contribution goes beyond technical service, co-authorship is discussed before publication.

Article 7 — Samples

The Client warrants that the samples sent match the description in the order, that it is entitled to entrust them to the Platform, and that they carry no undeclared hazard. The biosafety classification and, where applicable, the material transfer agreement are provided before shipping. Volume, concentration and buffer requirements are on each method's page; failing to meet them can make the measurement impossible without the work ceasing to be payable.

Unless asked otherwise in the order, unused samples are kept until the report is delivered and are then disposed of under the establishment’s rules; keeping them longer is agreed when the order is placed. Shipping in both directions is at the Client's cost and risk.

Article 8 — Cancellation

A confirmed order may be cancelled by the Client before measurements begin; the deposit stays with the Platform where consumables have already been committed. Once measurements have begun, the work carried out is payable. The Platform may postpone work if an instrument fails or the responsible person is unavailable, and tells the Client at once; a postponement gives no right to compensation.

Article 9 — Personal data

Personal data exchanged in the course of an order is handled as set out on the Personal data page, which states the purposes, the legal bases, the retention periods and how to exercise your rights.

Article 10 — Governing law

These Terms are written in French and governed by French law. Any translation is provided for information only: in a dispute, the French version alone is authoritative. The parties will try to settle any difficulty of interpretation or performance amicably. Failing agreement, the dispute goes before the competent courts of Marseille.

Version of 20 August 2026.