Terms of service

Effective as of October 2, 2026.

The illuminatingsoftware.com website (the "Site") is operated by Illuminating Software LLC ("Illuminating Software"), 3688 S Rowan Cove, Unit 1-B, West Valley City, Utah 84128. The Site is offered to you conditioned on your acceptance without modification of the terms, conditions, and notices contained herein (the "Terms"). Your use of the Site constitutes your agreement to all such Terms. Please read these terms carefully, and keep a copy of them for your reference.

The website

The Site describes Illuminating Software and points you to our products. It is not a contract to provide software. A contract starts when both sides sign one, or when you accept product terms at sign-in. Illuminating Software does not operate any contests. Contest organizers use our software to manage their own contests.

Product terms

Software we operate is covered separately. Use of zFairs, Orkboo, and ISEF Forms is governed by the product terms and the contract for that program. zFairs terms are published at zfairs.com/Policy/TermsOfUse. If your program has a signed agreement, that agreement controls where it conflicts with these website terms.

Privacy

Your use of the Site is subject to Illuminating Software's privacy policy, which also governs the Site and informs users of our data collection practices on this website.

When Illuminating Software obtains student education records to perform services, those duties are stated in the product terms and the signed agreement for that program. Those terms include our responsibilities under FERPA, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as applicable.

Electronic communications

Visiting the Site or sending emails to Illuminating Software constitutes electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically, via email and on the Site, satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

Your account

If you create an account on a site we operate, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. You may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity. You acknowledge that Illuminating Software is not responsible for third party access to your account that results from theft or misappropriation of your account. Illuminating Software and its associates reserve the right to refuse or cancel service, terminate accounts, or remove or edit content in our sole discretion.

Accounts for zFairs, Orkboo, and ISEF Forms are governed by the terms for that product.

Children

If you are under 18, you may use the Site only with permission of a parent or guardian.

Links to other sites

The Site may contain links to other websites ("Linked Sites"). The Linked Sites are not under the control of Illuminating Software and Illuminating Software is not responsible for the contents of any Linked Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Linked Site, or any changes or updates to a Linked Site. Illuminating Software is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Illuminating Software of the site or any association with its operators.

Certain services made available via the Site are delivered by third party sites and organizations. By using any product, service, or functionality originating from the Site's domain, you hereby acknowledge and consent that Illuminating Software may share such information and data with any third party with whom Illuminating Software has a contractual relationship to provide the requested product, service, or functionality on behalf of the Site users and customers.

No unlawful or prohibited use

You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use illuminatingsoftware.com strictly in accordance with these terms of use. As a condition of your use of the Site, you warrant to Illuminating Software that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You may not use the Site in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Site. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site.

Intellectual property

All content included as part of the Service, such as text, graphics, logos, images, as well as the compilation thereof, and any software used on the Site, is the property of Illuminating Software or its suppliers and protected by copyright and other laws that protect intellectual property and proprietary rights. You agree to observe and abide by all copyright and other proprietary notices, legends, or other restrictions contained in any such content and will not make any changes thereto.

You will not modify, publish, transmit, reverse engineer, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit any of the content, in whole or in part, found on the Site. Illuminating Software content is not for resale. Your use of the Site does not entitle you to make any unauthorized use of any protected content, and in particular you will not delete or alter any proprietary rights or attribution notices in any content. You will use protected content solely for your personal use, and will make no other use of the content without the express written permission of Illuminating Software and the copyright owner. You agree that you do not acquire any ownership rights in any protected content. We do not grant you any licenses, express or implied, to the intellectual property of Illuminating Software or our licensors except as expressly authorized by these Terms.

International users

The Service is controlled, operated, and administered by Illuminating Software from our offices within the USA. If you access the Service from a location outside the USA, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws. You agree that you will not use the Illuminating Software content accessed through the Site in any country or in any manner prohibited by any applicable laws, restrictions, or regulations.

Liability disclaimer

THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. ILLUMINATING SOFTWARE LLC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES IN THE SITE AT ANY TIME. ILLUMINATING SOFTWARE LLC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. ILLUMINATING SOFTWARE LLC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ILLUMINATING SOFTWARE LLC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE, WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR RELATED SERVICES, THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ILLUMINATING SOFTWARE LLC OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THE SITE, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE.

Termination and governing law

Illuminating Software reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Site and the related services or any portion thereof at any time, without notice. To the maximum extent permitted by law, this agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Utah and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts in Utah in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of the Site. Use of the Site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these Terms, including, without limitation, this section. Product agreements may specify a different venue; follow that agreement for product disputes.

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Illuminating Software as a result of this agreement or use of the Site. Illuminating Software's performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of Illuminating Software's right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Site or information provided to or gathered by Illuminating Software with respect to such use. If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall continue in effect.

Unless otherwise specified herein, this agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the user and Illuminating Software with respect to the Site and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between the user and Illuminating Software with respect to the Site. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. It is the express wish of the parties that this agreement and all related documents be written in English.

Changes to these terms

Illuminating Software reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change the Terms under which the Site is offered. The most current version of the Terms will supersede all previous versions. Illuminating Software encourages you to periodically review the Terms to stay informed of our updates.

Contact

Illuminating Software welcomes your questions or comments regarding the Terms:

Illuminating Software LLC
3688 S Rowan Cove
Unit 1-B
West Valley City, Utah 84128
info@illuminatingsoftware.com
800-252-0903