Product Licensing.
The terms that govern access to and use of SYNE Ratings' platforms, rating reports, data feeds and developer assets - for individual accounts, enterprise licenses and API access alike.
Twelve sections, start to finish.
Scope of This Agreement
02Accounts & Authorized Users
03License Rights & Restrictions
04Product-Specific Terms
05Third-Party Products & Services
06Support & Maintenance
07License Term, Payment & Renewals
08License Certification & Audits
09Ownership & Feedback
10Warranties & Liability
11Term & Termination
12Definitions
What this agreement covers.
This Product Licensing agreement governs your access to and use of SYNE Ratings' hosted platforms, rating reports, benchmark data, APIs and any related documentation (together, the "Products"), whether accessed directly or through an authorized reseller or exchange partner. It applies alongside any order form, statement of work or data license schedule you have executed with SYNE, which will take precedence in the event of conflict.
By creating an account, activating a license key, or otherwise accessing a Product, you agree to be bound by these terms on behalf of yourself and, where applicable, the organization you represent.
Who can use a SYNE Ratings license.
Licenses are issued to a named subscribing organization and made available to a defined number of Authorized Users, as set out in your order form. Authorized Users may not share login credentials, and each named seat is non-transferable except with SYNE's written consent.
Secondary users - for example, a rated entity's investor relations team accessing a shared report link, or an auditor reviewing a disclosure package - may be granted limited, read-only access at SYNE's discretion, subject to the restrictions in Section 3 below.
Secondary users
Where SYNE provides read-only access to a rating report or scorecard to a party who is not a licensed Authorized User (such as the rated entity itself, or a counterparty relying on a Second Party Opinion), that access is limited strictly to the specific report shared and does not extend to the underlying platform, methodology workbooks, or any other SYNE Ratings data.
What you can, and can't, do with a SYNE Rating.
Subject to payment of applicable fees, SYNE grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Products solely for your internal business purposes, or, where your order form specifies redistribution rights, to include SYNE Ratings data in your own client-facing materials within the limits stated in that order form.
You may not
- Resell, sublicense or redistribute SYNE Ratings data to any third party except as expressly permitted in your order form;
- Use the Products to build a competing ratings, scoring or benchmarking service;
- Reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to derive the underlying methodology algorithms beyond what is published in our public Methodology pages;
- Remove or obscure any SYNE attribution, grade symbol or "Rated by SYNE" mark from a report or data extract;
- Use automated means to scrape or bulk-extract data beyond your licensed API call volume.
How the license differs by product.
Where we rely on someone else's infrastructure.
Certain Products incorporate or interoperate with third-party data (such as satellite imagery providers for carbon MRV, or exchange market data feeds). Your use of that third-party content is subject to the applicable third-party terms, which SYNE will make available on request, and SYNE is not responsible for the availability or accuracy of data it does not itself generate.
What's included, and what costs extra.
Standard support (platform access issues, methodology clarification questions, data delivery queries) is included with every license and is available through your account team during local business hours. Additional services - bespoke research, onboarding workshops, or dedicated analyst time - are billed separately under a statement of work.
Terms, invoicing and what happens at renewal.
Unless your order form states otherwise, licenses run for an initial term of twelve months and renew automatically for successive twelve-month terms unless either party gives at least sixty days' written notice of non-renewal. Fees are invoiced annually in advance and are non-refundable except as described in your order form.
Keeping usage honest on both sides.
SYNE may, no more than once per twelve-month period and on reasonable notice, request a written certification of your seat count and usage, or conduct a remote audit of API call logs, to confirm compliance with your license scope. Where an audit reveals usage in excess of your licensed entitlement, you agree to true up fees for the excess usage.
Who owns what.
SYNE retains all right, title and interest in the Products, including all ratings, scores, methodologies and underlying software. You retain ownership of any data you submit to SYNE as part of a rating engagement. If you provide feedback or suggestions about the Products, you grant SYNE a perpetual, royalty-free license to use that feedback without restriction.
The honest limits of what a rating can promise.
A SYNE Rating is an independent, forward-looking opinion based on information available at the time it was issued. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, nor a guarantee of future performance, credit, environmental or governance outcomes. The Products are provided "as is," and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, SYNE's aggregate liability arising from your use of the Products is limited to the fees paid by you in the twelve months preceding the claim.
How a license ends.
Either party may terminate for the other's uncured material breach on thirty days' written notice. On termination, your right to access the Products ends immediately, though you may retain and continue to reference reports already delivered to you, subject to the restrictions in Section 3.
Looking for the data-handling side of this relationship? See our Data Management Policy for how information you share with us is stored, secured and retained.
The terms used throughout this agreement.
"Authorized User" means an individual employee or contractor of the subscribing organization who has been issued credentials to access a Product.
"Order Form" means the commercial document, executed by both parties, that specifies the Products licensed, fees, and any product-specific terms.
"Rating" means any grade, score, opinion or benchmark position issued by SYNE Ratings.
Need a licensing question answered?
Our commercial team can walk through order-form specifics, redistribution rights, or API entitlements.