1. Acceptance and Scope
These Terms of Use ("Terms") are entered into between Very Good Engineering LLC, doing business as Hermes Data Infrastructure ("Hermes," "we," "us," or "our"), and the upstream partner organization ("Partner," "you," or "your") that accesses or uses Hermes's infrastructure.
By accessing or using Hermes's proxy node infrastructure, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and any Master Services Agreement ("MSA") executed between Hermes and your organization. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and the MSA, the MSA controls.
If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access or use the infrastructure.
2. Description of Service
Hermes operates a wholesale residential and mobile proxy node service. Hermes provides IP transit infrastructure: it routes internet traffic on behalf of authorized Partners and their downstream end users. Hermes acts as a transmission conduit only — it does not host, store, modify, or control the content of the communications that transit its nodes.
Hermes's infrastructure is offered exclusively on a wholesale B2B basis. Hermes does not offer services directly to consumers.
3. Who These Terms Apply To
These Terms apply to:
- Upstream Partners: Companies and organizations that hold a commercial relationship with Hermes and route traffic through Hermes infrastructure.
- Partners' downstream end users (by reference): End users whose traffic transits Hermes infrastructure do so subject to the limitations and prohibitions stated in these Terms, regardless of whether they have a direct relationship with Hermes. Partners are responsible for ensuring their end users comply with these Terms as a condition of the Partner's own agreement with Hermes.
Hermes has no direct contractual relationship with, and makes no representations to, individual end users.
4. Acceptable Use Policy
Hermes's infrastructure may be used only for lawful purposes and only in a manner consistent with these Terms. Use of Hermes's infrastructure constitutes your representation that you will comply, and will require your downstream users to comply, with all applicable local, state, federal, and international laws.
5. Prohibited Activities
The following activities are prohibited on Hermes's infrastructure. These prohibitions apply to all traffic transmitted through Hermes IP addresses, regardless of who originated the traffic:
- Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and illegal content. Transmission, distribution, or access to child sexual abuse material or any other content that is illegal under applicable law.
- Fraud and financial crimes. Any use of Hermes infrastructure to commit fraud, wire fraud, identity theft, financial crimes, or any misrepresentation intended to deceive another party for financial gain.
- Network attacks — DDoS, DoS, and port scanning. Distributed denial of service attacks, denial of service attacks, port scanning or enumeration of third-party systems without the system owner's authorization, or any other attack against the availability or integrity of a network, system, or service.
- Credential stuffing, brute force, and password spraying. Automated testing of stolen or generated credential lists against any service, unauthorized login attempts of any kind, or password spraying attacks.
- Copyright infringement. Use of Hermes infrastructure to infringe the copyright rights of any person or entity, including but not limited to unauthorized downloading, uploading, distribution, or reproduction of copyrighted material.
- Spam and unsolicited bulk messaging. Sending unsolicited commercial messages (spam) in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. § 7701 et seq.), bulk email campaigns without appropriate consent mechanisms, or any other unsolicited bulk communication.
- Unauthorized access (CFAA violations). Accessing any computer, network, server, or system without authorization, or in excess of authorized access, in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030) or any analogous state or foreign law.
- Circumventing or evading platform access controls. Using Hermes infrastructure to evade a ban, block, or access restriction imposed by a third-party platform, service, or website, where such evasion violates the third party's terms of service or applicable law.
- Regulated and embargoed content categories. Transmission of content or access to services in violation of U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws, including but not limited to activities involving countries or entities subject to OFAC sanctions programs, or content categories specifically prohibited under Hermes's partner agreements.
- Unauthorized resale of Hermes IPs. Reselling, sublicensing, or otherwise providing access to Hermes IP addresses or proxy nodes to any third party without Hermes's prior written authorization. Partners' downstream end-user deployment as contemplated by the MSA is not considered unauthorized resale.
6. Repeat-Infringer and Repeat-Violator Policy
In accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512(i) and Hermes's general right to protect the integrity of its network, Hermes maintains and enforces a policy against repeat copyright infringers and repeat AUP violators.
Partners whose downstream end users repeatedly engage in copyright infringement or repeatedly violate these Terms — after notice from Hermes and a reasonable opportunity to investigate and remediate — are subject to suspension or termination of their services relationship with Hermes, at Hermes's sole discretion. Hermes reserves the right to act immediately and without prior notice where the nature or severity of the violation warrants it.
7. No Service Level Commitments
Unless expressly stated in a separately executed MSA, Hermes makes no commitments regarding:
- Uptime or availability of proxy node infrastructure
- Throughput, bandwidth, or latency
- IP availability or geographic distribution
- Response time for support requests
All service level commitments, if any, are set forth exclusively in the MSA.
8. Indemnification
Partner agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Hermes, its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:
- Partner's use of Hermes infrastructure;
- Traffic transmitted through Hermes infrastructure by Partner or Partner's downstream users;
- Partner's or Partner's users' violation of these Terms, any MSA, or any applicable law;
- Any third-party claim arising from Partner's downstream user activity.
This indemnification obligation survives termination of the services relationship.
9. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE HERMES INFRASTRUCTURE AND ALL RELATED SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HERMES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.
HERMES DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY SPECIFIC RESULT WILL BE ACHIEVED.
10. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:
- HERMES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO PARTNER OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO USE OF HERMES INFRASTRUCTURE OR THESE TERMS, EVEN IF HERMES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
- HERMES'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO PARTNER FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO HERMES INFRASTRUCTURE OR THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY PARTNER TO HERMES IN THE TWELVE (12) CALENDAR MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.
Some jurisdictions do not permit certain limitations of liability. In those jurisdictions, Hermes's liability is limited to the minimum extent permitted by law.
11. Governing Law, Venue, and Class Action Waiver
Governing Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
Exclusive Venue. Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the use of Hermes infrastructure shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Brevard County, Florida. Partner irrevocably submits to the personal jurisdiction of those courts and waives any objection to venue or jurisdiction in those courts.
Class Action Waiver. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Partner waives any right to bring or participate in any class action, collective action, or representative proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms or use of Hermes infrastructure. All disputes must be brought in Partner's individual capacity.
12. Modifications to These Terms
Hermes reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be announced by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where practicable, by direct notice to Partners via the contact information on file. Continued use of Hermes infrastructure after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If a material change is unacceptable, Partner's sole remedy is to cease use and notify Hermes of termination per the MSA.
13. Severability and Entire Agreement
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
These Terms, together with any fully executed MSA between Hermes and Partner, constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior representations, understandings, and agreements. In the event of conflict, the MSA controls.
14. Contact
For questions regarding these Terms, contact: