Terms of Service

These terms govern your use of Boardcast ("we", "us", "our"), including the Boardcast Studio desktop application, the Boardcast relay server, the Boardcast website, and the Boardcast iOS spectator app (collectively, the "Service").

The short version: Boardcast is free, open-source software for broadcasting live chess games. Use it responsibly and respect the people whose games you broadcast.

By downloading, installing, or using any part of the Service you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

Boardcast provides:

• Boardcast Studio — a desktop application for tournament organisers to capture and broadcast live chess games from DGT electronic boards.
• Relay server — a cloud WebSocket relay that bridges live game data from the organiser to remote spectators.
• Spectator apps — a website and iOS application for following live broadcasts.

The Service is provided free of charge. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time without notice.

If you use Boardcast Studio to broadcast a tournament, you are responsible for:

• Obtaining any necessary consent from players and participants before broadcasting their games, names, or ratings.
• Ensuring that your broadcast complies with any applicable rules set by your national chess federation or FIDE.
• The accuracy and appropriateness of any content you broadcast through the Service.

You agree not to:

• Use the Service to transmit any content that is unlawful, defamatory, or infringes the rights of others.
• Attempt to disrupt, overload, or interfere with the relay server or any other user's broadcast.
• Use the relay server for purposes other than live chess broadcasting.
• Reverse-engineer or exploit the Service for automated data harvesting or scraping.

Boardcast is open-source software released under the terms of its repository licence. You may use, modify, and distribute the software in accordance with that licence.

Chess game moves are not copyrightable. However, any commentary, annotations, or supplementary content you add to a broadcast remains your intellectual property.

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available at all times.

Live broadcasting depends on local hardware, network conditions, and third-party services (including DGT boards and internet connectivity). We are not responsible for interruptions caused by factors outside our control.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Boardcast and its contributors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Service, including but not limited to loss of data, tournament results, or broadcast interruptions.

Your privacy is important to us. Please review our Privacy Policy for details on how we handle data. The short version: we collect no personal data.

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

If you have questions about these terms, please open an issue on our GitHub repository: github.com/chess-centre/broadcasts