Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you (“you,” “your,” or “user”) and Utopia (“Utopia,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). The Terms govern your access to and use of the Utopia website, mobile-friendly web app, APIs, and related services (collectively, the “Service”).

By creating an account, signing in, or otherwise accessing or using any part of the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which are incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

To use Utopia you must be at least eighteen (18) years old, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater. By using the Service you represent and warrant that:

• You meet the age requirement above;
• You have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract;
• You are not barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction (including, without limitation, applicable export controls and trade sanctions);
• You will comply with these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations;
• If you are creating or using an account on behalf of an entity, you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

Utopia is not directed to children. We do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to create or use an account. If we learn that a user is under 18, we will terminate the account.

3. What Utopia is (and isn’t)

Utopia is a free coordination platform for collectors. It helps users discover one another locally, list cards they own, propose trades, message about those trades, and arrange in-person meetups to swap cards. We currently support the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the One Piece Trading Card Game, and Magic: The Gathering.

Card pricing displayed in the Service is sourced from third-party data providers (including Pokémon TCG API, optcgapi.com, and Scryfall) and is provided for reference only. Real-world value depends on condition, market conditions, and what another collector is willing to pay, and may differ — sometimes substantially — from the figure shown in the app.

4. Account creation, phone verification & security

To use most features of Utopia you must create an account. We require a working mobile phone number, which we verify by sending a one-time code via SMS through our SMS partner (Twilio). Your phone number is encrypted at rest before it is stored. See our Privacy Policy for details on how we handle your phone number and other data.

Phone verification helps Utopia reduce the volume of throwaway, bot, and obviously fraudulent accounts on the platform. It is a deterrent, not a guarantee. Phone verification does not confirm a user’s identity, age, location, character, honesty, or intent. It does not vet anyone. It does not prevent bad actors from using a burner number, a number obtained from another person, or other techniques to evade detection. You must still independently evaluate the other user and the trade in front of you.

You agree that:

• You will create only one account for personal use, and you will use accurate information when you register;
• You will keep your password confidential and use a strong, unique password;
• You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorized by you;
• You will promptly notify us at legal@utopiamarket.app of any suspected unauthorized access to or use of your account;
• You will not share, sell, rent, trade, transfer, or otherwise grant access to your account to anyone else, and you will not use anyone else’s account.

To protect accounts, we may temporarily lock an account after repeated failed login attempts, throttle suspicious activity, and require re-verification. We may also require additional verification before allowing certain actions.

5. Trading on Utopia — at your own risk

Trades on Utopia happen in person, between two adult users, at a location and time the parties choose. Utopia is not present at the meetup. We do not chaperone, mediate, witness, verify, or insure any trade.

5.1 Card authenticity, condition, and value

Utopia does not inspect, authenticate, grade, condition-check, or value any card. Anyone can list anything with any description. It is entirely your responsibility, as a buyer and as a seller, to inspect the physical card in front of you at the meetup and decide whether the trade is acceptable. If you are unsure about authenticity or grade, consider visiting a local game store, dealer, or grading service before completing the trade.

Counterfeit cards, “proxy” cards, intentionally altered cards (including but not limited to re-coloring, re-bordering, re-printing, regluing, trimming, or refoiling cards), and stolen cards are strictly prohibited on Utopia. Offering or completing a trade involving any of these is a violation of these Terms and may also violate state, federal, or international law. We may remove listings, suspend or terminate accounts, and cooperate with law enforcement where appropriate.

5.2 The 35% fairness threshold and pricing data

Utopia automatically computes a fairness score for a proposed trade and warns users when the combined value of one side exceeds the other by more than approximately 35%. This is a guideline tool, not a guarantee. Fairness scores rely on third-party pricing data and on the condition and grading information that users themselves enter. We cannot and do not verify that information. Accepting, declining, or countering any trade is solely the user’s decision, and Utopia is not responsible for the outcome.

5.3 Disputes between users

Because Utopia is not a party to any trade, we do not arbitrate disputes between users, determine who owns which card, refund value, recover lost or damaged cards, replace misrepresented cards, or reverse completed transactions. If you have a dispute with another user, you must resolve it directly with that user. You may report suspected fraud or unsafe behavior to us at legal@utopiamarket.app, and where appropriate we will take action against the offending account. This does not mean we are an escrow agent, arbitrator, insurer, or guarantor.

5.4 Trade expiration and finalization

Trade offers expire automatically after a default period (currently seventy-two hours) if neither party acts. After a trade is accepted, both parties have a grace period to meet up and finalize the trade. Both parties must mark the trade as completed in the app to close it out. Completion in the app reflects the parties’ assertion that the swap occurred; it is not Utopia’s verification that any particular cards changed hands or that the trade was satisfactory.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to (and not to attempt to):

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose, in violation of any law, or to facilitate illegal activity;
• Harass, threaten, intimidate, stalk, defame, dox, or impersonate any person;
• Engage in fraud, including but not limited to misrepresenting card identity, condition, authenticity, grade, or ownership;
• Solicit, conduct, or participate in any payment off-platform that is intended to be a substitute for a card trade, including wire transfers, bank transfers, peer-to-peer payment apps, gift cards, prepaid cards, money orders, or cryptocurrency;
• Use the Service to launder money, evade taxes, or finance illegal activity;
• List, offer, trade, or attempt to trade counterfeit, proxy, altered, or stolen cards, or cards whose sale or transfer is prohibited by law;
• Trade or attempt to trade items other than physical collectible trading cards through the Service, including but not limited to weapons, drugs, regulated items, currency, NFTs, or intangible goods;
• Send unsolicited promotional material, spam, chain messages, or commercial advertising;
• Upload, post, transmit, or otherwise make available any material that infringes any intellectual-property right of any person, or any defamatory, obscene, hateful, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable content;
• Use bots, scrapers, crawlers, automated tools, headless browsers, or any other means to access, copy, monitor, or interfere with any portion of the Service or its underlying data, or to circumvent any technical measure;
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive source code from any part of the Service, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law;
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service, breach security or authentication measures, or interfere with the proper functioning of the Service;
• Create or use more than one account; sell, rent, or transfer an account; create an account for someone else; or use the Service to evade a prior suspension or ban.

7. User content & license

You retain ownership of the content you create or submit through the Service, including your listings, images you upload, messages, reviews, deck and collection metadata, profile bio, profile picture, and other materials (collectively, “User Content”). You are solely responsible for your User Content and for any consequences of posting it.

By submitting User Content, you grant Utopia a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, cache, reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt, and modify the User Content solely as necessary to operate, promote, and improve the Service. This license ends when you delete the relevant User Content or your account, except that (a) reasonable copies may remain in our backups for a limited period and (b) we may retain and use User Content as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or maintain the integrity of the Service.

You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to grant the license above, and that your User Content does not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

We may, but are not obligated to, monitor, review, remove, or restrict access to User Content at our discretion, including content we believe violates these Terms or that we reasonably believe is harmful, unlawful, or infringing.

8. Reviews & reputation

After a trade is completed, each party may leave a star rating and an optional written review of the other party. Reviews must:

• Be based on a real, completed trade between you and the user you are reviewing;
• Be honest and reflect your actual experience;
• Not be retaliatory, coerced, paid for, or traded for a reciprocal review;
• Not be used to threaten, intimidate, or extort another user (including threats to leave a negative review unless the other user changes the terms of a trade or takes some other action);
• Not contain personal information about other users (such as full names, addresses, or phone numbers), hate speech, harassment, or content that violates section 6.

We may remove or edit reviews that violate these rules and may take action against the reviewing account.

9. Intellectual property

The Utopia name, the Utopia logo, the “U” mark, the Utopia user interface, software, source code, designs, illustrations, and all related materials are owned by Utopia or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws. Except for the limited rights expressly granted to you in these Terms, you receive no rights in or to any of the foregoing.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game, the One Piece Trading Card Game, Magic: The Gathering, and all related names, characters, set names, logos, card frames, card artwork, and trade dress are the property of their respective owners, including The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Creatures Inc., GAME FREAK inc., Bandai Co., Ltd., Wizards of the Coast LLC, and Hasbro, Inc. Utopia is an independent service. Utopia is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or otherwise associated with any of those entities. All trademarks and copyrights are used only for identification of the underlying cards and are the property of their respective owners.

If you believe content available through the Service infringes your copyright, please contact us at legal@utopiamarket.app with the information required by the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), including identification of the copyrighted work, identification of the allegedly infringing material with enough detail for us to locate it, your contact information, a statement of good-faith belief, a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that you are the rights holder or are authorized to act on the rights holder’s behalf, and your physical or electronic signature.

10. Feature credits

Utopia provides a limited number of “feature credits” (currently three per calendar month) that allow a user to promote or pin a card within their own profile. Feature credits:

• Are issued at our discretion as a free convenience and have no cash value;
• Are personal to your account, are not transferable, and may not be combined with any third-party offer;
• May not be sold, traded, bartered, or exchanged for anything outside the Service;
• Expire on a rolling basis and do not accumulate beyond the monthly grant unless we say otherwise;
• Are not property of the user. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the feature-credit program at any time without notice and without liability.

11. Suspension & termination

You may close your account at any time from Settings > Danger Zone > Delete Account. Closing your account terminates your right to use the Service and these Terms, except that the sections that by their nature should survive (including disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, intellectual property, and dispute resolution) will survive termination.

We may suspend, restrict, limit features for, or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice and with or without cause, including (without limitation) if we reasonably believe that you have violated these Terms, engaged in fraud or abuse, threatened the safety of users or the integrity of the Service, or where required by law. We may also discontinue the Service in whole or in part at any time. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any suspension, termination, or discontinuation.

12. Disclaimers

13. Limitation of liability

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liabilities. To the extent those laws apply to you, some or all of the above exclusions or limitations may not apply, and you may have additional rights.

14. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Utopia and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, suppliers, and licensors from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) any trade, meetup, communication, or interaction between you and another user; (d) your violation of these Terms or of any law; or (e) your violation of any third-party right, including any intellectual-property or privacy right. Utopia reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with Utopia’s defense.

15. Dispute resolution, arbitration & class-action waiver

15.1 Informal resolution first

Before filing arbitration, you agree to first contact us in writing at legal@utopiamarket.app and to make a good-faith attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least sixty (60) days. The notice should describe the nature and basis of the claim and the relief sought.

15.2 Binding individual arbitration

If we cannot resolve the dispute informally, you and Utopia agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Service, or any trade arranged through the Service (collectively, a “Dispute”) will be resolved exclusively through final and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules in effect at the time the arbitration is commenced. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator, will be held in the State of Delaware (or via remote videoconference at the arbitrator’s discretion, taking your circumstances into account), and will be conducted in English. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

The arbitrator has exclusive authority to resolve any threshold issues, including issues relating to the scope, enforceability, and arbitrability of this Section 15. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this agreement to arbitrate.

15.3 Class action and jury trial waiver

You and Utopia each agree that any dispute will be resolved only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, mass, representative, or private-attorney-general action or proceeding. You and Utopia each expressly waive any right to a jury trial and any right to participate in or be represented in any class, collective, consolidated, mass, representative, or private-attorney-general action or proceeding.

If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any part of this Section 15.3 is unenforceable, that part will be severed, and the remainder of this Section 15 will continue to apply. However, if the class-action waiver itself is found unenforceable as to any particular claim or request for relief, that claim or request must proceed in court, while all other claims and requests must still proceed in arbitration.

15.4 Small claims

Either party may bring an individual action in a small-claims court of competent jurisdiction in lieu of arbitration, so long as the action remains in small-claims court and proceeds on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis.

15.5 Opt-out of arbitration

You may opt out of this agreement to arbitrate by sending a written opt-out notice to legal@utopiamarket.app within thirty (30) days of the date you first accepted these Terms. The opt-out notice must include your full name, the email address associated with your account, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. Opting out of arbitration will not affect any other provision of these Terms.

15.6 Governing law & venue for non-arbitrable disputes

These Terms and any Dispute are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, and (where applicable) by U.S. federal law. For any Dispute that is not subject to arbitration (including a Dispute brought after a valid opt-out), you and Utopia agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Delaware, and each party consents to personal jurisdiction in those courts and waives any objection based on inconvenient forum.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we will provide reasonable notice (for example, via an in-app message, an email to the address associated with your account, or a notice on the home page) before the change takes effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of these Terms reflects when they were last revised. By continuing to use the Service after the effective date of any change, you accept the modified Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service and may close your account.

17. General terms

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy and any supplemental terms we provide, constitute the entire agreement between you and Utopia regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements on that subject.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary, or severed, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that right or provision.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. Any attempt to do so without consent is void. Utopia may assign these Terms without restriction.

Notices. We may provide notices to you through the Service, by email to the address associated with your account, or by other reasonable means. You may provide notices to us at legal@utopiamarket.app.

No agency. No agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or franchise relationship is created between you and Utopia by these Terms or by your use of the Service.

Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and have no legal effect.

18. Contact

Questions, concerns, or notices about these Terms should be sent to legal@utopiamarket.app.