Terms of Use

The original version of the Terms of Use is in French language. Any translated version is for your convenience and information only. In case of disputes the French text shall prevail.

Who are we?

Symplicy is a Belgian limited liability company that develops IT solutions for the legal profession and the general public.

Symplicy is a Belgian startup that aims to make the law more accessible, simpler and understandable for everyone.

We are active in Belgium. We respect the Belgian and European legislation.

We invite you to consult our legal notice for more information about us.

What is the purpose of this contract?

The purpose of this Agreement is to define the contractual relationship between You (hereinafter referred to as “You” and/or “Litigant” and/or “Justiciable”) and Symplicy (hereinafter referred to as “We”).

By browsing and/or using one of our Services, i.e:

  • The Symplicy website: www.symplicy.com.
  • Symplicy’s application, hereinafter referred to as the “Software”.

you declare that you have read our General Terms of Use and that you expressly accept them.

What do these basic terms mean?

In this Agreement, it is agreed that the following words or phrases, whether used in the singular or plural, have the following meanings:

Lawyer’s Directory“: Database within the meaning of Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases, which consists in particular of the following information: photos, surname, first name, schedule, Tags of competence, telephones, email, fax, website, LinkedIn link, registered bar, pleaded court decisions, Models of contract, training courses, languages spoken, the name of the Lawyer’s office, the Lawyer’s bank account, the hours and the fees. The information in the Lawyer Directory constitutes the Lawyer profile.

Lawyer“: Any natural person (lawyer registered with a Belgian and/or foreign bar) or legal entity (law firm) wishing to use our Services and to be indexed in the Lawyer Directory.

Case” : Database in the sense of the Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases which consists of legal problems, legal requests, legal concerns, legal questions.

UUID Key“: A unique sequence of symbols, letters, numbers or special signs provided to the Lawyer in order to authorize the legal use of the Software, its specific version or the extension of the license period in accordance with this Agreement. Therefore, it is a unique identifier that allows the Lawyer to identify itself within the Symplicy database. This UUID is unique to each Lawyer. This UUID is personal to each Lawyer and is therefore limited to one Lawyer and one Domain Name.

Agreement“: This Agreement is between Symplicy and you. These are the terms and conditions of use.

Personal Data“: Personal Data has the meaning given in the European and Council Regulation n°2016/679 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC.

Intellectual Property Rights“: All patents, designs (registered and unregistered), trademarks (registered and unregistered), copyright, database rights, confidential information, domain names, trade secrets, present and future know-how and all applications relating to any of these rights as well as any equivalent rights of any kind existing in the world.

Personal Area“: Platform through which the Lawyer can manage the influx of requests received via a Form, carry out legal research, import court decisions or Model Documents.

Force Majeure“: Circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the Parties that cause a Party to be unable to observe or perform an obligation under the Agreement. Such circumstances shall include but not be limited to the following events: acts of God, pandemics, epidemics, strikes, floods, storms, exploitations, fires and all acts of God and acts of war, acts of public enemies, acts of terrorism, riots, civil insurrections, wilful damage, sabotage and revolution.

Form“: An interactive form to be completed by the Litigant and consisting of:

  • A graphic interface protected by copyright. An original textual content composed of questions and pre-constructed answers, which may include several zones or fields. The Justiciable can enter text, check boxes, make a choice from a list of predefined terms, press buttons, etc. The Form is used to prepare the first meeting between the Lawyer and the Litigant. There are two types of Forms:
    • General” or “default” forms: These are forms created by Symplicy.
    • Custom” forms: These are forms co-created by the lawyer and Symplicy.

Hosting“: Activity that consists of storing a Website on the Web Server in order to make it available to the terminal (computer or cell phone for example) of any Litigant who requests it electronically.

Hyperlink“: Hypertext link or web link that allows the passage from one web page to another with a click.

Indexing“: Operation that consists of including the URL address of an Internet Site in the databases of search engines and directories.

Litigant“: Any natural person on behalf of whom a specific Case is introduced by means of the Interactive Form.

Software” means a computer program and all of its components, including the Forms. Software means the entire contents of any disk, CD-ROM, DVD, e-mail and attachment, or other media provided with this Agreement, including the object code form of Software, provided on a data transport medium, via e-mail or downloaded from the Internet. Software also means any explanatory written material and other types of documentation related to the Software, including any description of the Software and its features, any description of the properties and operation of the Software, any description of the operating environment in which the Software is used, instructions for using or installing the Software or any description of how to use the Software (“Documentation”). The Software is provided exclusively in the form of a script. This script is provided with a UUID Key.

Document Template“: Written material in digital format used for information, notes, conclusions, requests or questions and answers. This writing is previously imported by the Lawyer in his Personal Space.

Domain Name“: Web address on which the Lawyer hosts his Website and through which he makes it available to the Litigant.

Referencing“: Operation that ensures that a Website, or the pages that constitute it, are well ranked in the results of search tools (Search Engines) for keywords or a given expression. The goal of referencing is to increase the frequentation, the traffic of an Internet Site.

Web Server“: Computer connected to the Internet and on which Internet Sites are hosted.

Service“: Service provided by Symplicy under this Agreement.

Website“: A collection of web pages and resources linked by Hyperlinks, defined and accessible via a Domain Name. A Website is hosted on a Web Server that is accessible via the global Internet.

Tag“: A database within the meaning of Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases comprising multiple tags that illustrate in a popularized manner an area of expertise of a Lawyer.

What are the features of our Services?

Symplicy website: www.symplicy.com

You can browse our website, learn about our startup Symplicy and the services it offers.

You can contact us by email or make an appointment.

Symplicy’s software

Symplicy has developed a Software as a Service. The Software is not sold but licensed as a Service to the Lawyer who accepts it.

Symplicy remains the owner of the Software and its components.

The Software allows the Lawyer :

  • Contact a Litigant via Forms.
  • Manage the requests received via Forms through a Personal Space.
  • To import through a Personal Space court decisions and/or document templates.
  • To carry out legal research through a Personal Space.

The Software works in the following way:

  • Our Software is installed on the Lawyer’s website.
  • The Litigant goes to the Lawyer’s website and clicks on a contact button to trigger the Form.
  • The Litigant expresses his legal problem with his own words in the search bar of the Form.
  • From the words expressed by the Client, we try to reformulate his legal need. The formulation corresponds to concrete cases in our database. The Litigant selects and clicks on a concrete Case present in our database.
  • A Form appears according to the selected concrete Case.
  • The Litigant answers this Form.
  • As soon as the Litigant validates the content, the Form is automatically sent to the e-mail address of the Lawyer. The content of the Form is also communicated in the Lawyer’s Personal Space.
  • In the Lawyer’s Personal Space, we communicate to the Lawyer the Form completed by the Litigant, court decisions and Model documents related to the specific Case selected by the Litigant.
  • In the Lawyer’s Personal Space, the Lawyer has the possibility to import and/or search for court decisions and/or Model Documents.

Our Software remains at all times stored on Symplicy’s servers and/or on servers designated for such purposes by Symplicy.

Our Software is available in French and the Services are provided in French.

What are your obligations and responsibilities?

You agree and are required to:

  • To use our Services in accordance with this Agreement.
  • Not to interfere with or disrupt the operation of our Services, impair any or all of its components, or access it fraudulently.
  • Not to copy, distribute, extract components or create derivative works based on the Software and databases.
  • Not to use, modify, translate, reproduce or transfer the rights to use the Software or copies of the Software in any manner other than as provided in this Agreement.
  • Not to sell, sublicense, lease or rent the Software or use the Software to provide commercial services.
  • Not to reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the Software.
  • Not to use the Lawyer’s Directory for commercial purposes and/or for prospecting purposes to sell services or products.
  • Not to reuse, store, reproduce, represent or retain, directly or indirectly, on any medium whatsoever, by any means and in any form whatsoever, all or part of the contents of our databases.
  • Not to use any manual process, system or automated software aimed at extracting data from our Services, in particular with a view to displaying the data on another website (“framing”, “screen data capture”, “Web scraping”).
  • We reserve the right to bring any action or claim necessary to enforce this prohibition, including legal action, without prior notice.
  • When you fill out a Form and/or when you contact a Lawyer as a result of using our Services, you agree and are required to:
    • To provide correct, lawful, true and relevant information to a Lawyer.
    • Not to communicate false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, libelous, unlawfully threatening, unlawfully harassing or obscene information to a Lawyer.
    • Not to transmit any promotional information to any Lawyer.
    • To ensure the truthfulness and lawfulness of any data provided to the Lawyer via the Forms.
    • To respect privacy, including the General Data Protection Regulation (nᵒ 2016/679).

You expressly confirm that the data (texts, images, drawings, videos, photos, software, databases) you provide to the Lawyer via the Forms respect the rights of third parties and are not illegal. You expressly confirm that you have all the necessary Intellectual Property Rights and authorizations and that these software, works and inventions do not contain anything that could fall under the laws and regulations relating in particular to counterfeiting, unfair competition, privacy, protection of personal data, Intellectual Property Rights, image rights, personality rights and more generally, infringe the rights of third parties.

You are solely responsible for all content that you transmit to the Lawyer via the Forms.

Therefore, we are not responsible and liable for any reimbursement, which could result from a failure on your part in the use of our Services.

The Form can in no way replace a physical meeting between a Lawyer and a Litigant.

What are our responsibilities?

You acknowledge and agree that:

  • Our Services are solely a meeting point between You and a Lawyer.
  • We are a complete third party to any contractual relationship that existed, exists or will exist between You and a Lawyer.
  • We manage a computer and software infrastructure made available to you. Accordingly, we are not agents, servants or representatives of the Lawyers or you.
  • Our Services are provided on an “as is” basis and not on an “as available” basis.
  • We cannot ensure or warrant that your use of our Services will meet your needs and circumstances.
  • We do not exercise any degree of authority or control over the Lawyers listed on our Services.
  • In no event shall we be liable for any loss of right or opportunity resulting from a delay caused by a failure of the Lawyer and/or you to respond.
  • Our Services are third party and not determinative of any agreement that may arise between you and a Lawyer.
  • We shall not be liable for any damages resulting from disputes between you and a Lawyer, including but not limited to the scope, performance of the Lawyer’s duties, payment of fees.
  • The transmission of content via a Form is done immediately and without us exercising any control or prior validation of the content sent. This measure has been taken to respect the confidentiality requirements imposed by the deontology and the professional secrecy of the Lawyer.
  • As soon as the Justiciable validates the content, the Form is automatically sent to the Lawyer’s e-mail address. The content of the Form is also communicated in the Lawyer’s Personal Space.
  • The Form can in no way replace a physical meeting between a Lawyer and a Litigant. The Lawyer is personally responsible for checking his/her email and SPAM inbox on a regular basis in order to avoid that a Concrete Case remains without useful reaction. In no event shall we be liable for any loss of right or opportunity resulting from a delay caused by a lack of response from you and/or the Lawyer.
  • We shall not be liable for any lack of information, erroneous, false, illegal, inaccurate or harassing information transmitted between a Litigant and the Lawyer via the Forms. We do not have direct access to the content of your request via the Forms, we cannot filter, censor, modify and control the information transmitted between the Litigant and the Lawyer.
  • We will not be liable if you send content to the Lawyer via the Forms that infringes any Intellectual Property Right and/or Personal Data of a third party. We do not have direct access to the content of your request via the Forms, we cannot filter, censor, modify and control the information transmitted between the Litigant and the Lawyer.
  • We cannot guarantee the regular registration of Lawyers at a Belgian Bar or the legality of the practice of the profession of Lawyer.
  • We do not guarantee that the servers hosting our Services will be free of viruses and other harmful components. It is therefore your responsibility to take all appropriate measures to protect your own data and/or software from contamination by any viruses circulating on the Internet. Any material, file downloaded and/or obtained, in any way whatsoever, when using our Services, is done so at your own risk.
  • In the event of a security incident, Force Majeure, technical failure and in the event of maintenance altering the normal functioning of our Services, we undertake to the best of our ability to restore the continuity of the functioning of our Services. However, given the complexity of the technical chain implemented, we cannot guarantee full continuity of operation and access to the Services. Security incident, technical failure, Force Majeure and/or maintenance do not entitle you to any compensation or refund from us.
  • We are not responsible for the total or partial non-compliance with an obligation and/or failure of the operators of the transport networks to the Internet world and in particular of your access provider(s).
  • The information on the Lawyer Directory may contain inaccuracies or errors, in particular with regard to postal addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, jurisdictional tags of lawyers, and lawyer’s fees. We do not warrant the accuracy, truthfulness, adequacy, completeness, legality, or timeliness of the Lawyer Directory and disclaim any liability for the information contained in this Lawyer Directory. We do not verify the truthfulness, completeness, relevance and legality of the content of the Lawyer Directory. Therefore, We are not responsible and liable for any damages, which may result from a lack of truthfulness, completeness, relevance and legality of such information. If a lawyer notifies us that there is an error in the Lawyer Directory, we will make every effort to correct such errors. We are bound by an obligation of means and not of result.
  • We are not responsible for any material or information provided by or published by the Websites to which we post Hyperlinks, or which redirect to us. You visit such Websites at your own risk.
  • We are not responsible for the content published on the Lawyer’s Website. We are not involved in the editing of such content. We have no control over the quality, safety or legality of the content published on the Lawyer’s Website. Symplicy is not acting as a publisher of the content published through its Services on the Lawyer Website and Symplicy cannot control the truthfulness, accuracy, appropriateness or legality of such content.

What about our intellectual property?

All information, data and materials, including but not limited to:

  • The source code.
  • The Software Documentation.
  • The design, interfaces, drawings and models, color scheme, architecture of the Software and Forms.
  • The databases of Case Histories, Forms, Lawyer’s Directory, Tags, Court Decisions, Document Models.

are protected by copyright, database rights, other Intellectual Property Rights and/or by this Agreement.

Any use and/or reproduction and/or communication to the public without our prior written consent is prohibited and constitutes a breach of this Agreement, and may violate our Intellectual Property Rights.

We incorporate into our Services API modules developed by third party companies whose use is governed by licenses.

What about privacy, confidentiality and data protection?

We invite you to read our Policy on the protection of personal data.

We invite you to read our Cookies Policy.

Our Privacy Policy and our Cookie Policy form an integral part of this Agreement and are inseparable from it.

When using the Software on the Lawyer’s website, this Privacy Policy is available in the Software interface. This Policy is communicated to and accepted by the Litigant. His consent is obtained via a checkbox in the interface of the Software.

What about changes to this Agreement?

We may unilaterally modify or discontinue this Agreement, in whole or in part, for legal, technical or regulatory purposes, as we deem necessary or as a result of a change in the Services provided, the nature or format of our Services.  You expressly agree to be bound by this Agreement as amended.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Services.

We may also limit or restrict your access to all or part of our Services, without notice or further obligation, for technical or security reasons, to prevent unauthorized access, loss or destruction of data, or when we determine, in our sole discretion, that you are in violation of this Agreement or any Law or Regulation and when we decide to discontinue providing our Services.

By continuing to use our Services now or after changes have been posted, you signify your acceptance of those changes.

What about Hyperlinks to our Services?

You may not create Hyperlinks to our Services without our prior written consent.

What is the applicable law?

This Agreement shall be interpreted by and in accordance with the laws of Belgium.

What to do in case of a dispute?

In the event of a dispute between the parties relating to the validity, interpretation or performance of this Agreement, which cannot be resolved amicably, the Parties shall first attempt to resolve such dispute through mediation. The Parties shall appoint a mediator from among the mediators approved by the Federal Mediation Commission in Belgium.

If the mediation does not allow the dispute to be resolved, the dispute shall be brought exclusively before the courts of Liège, Namur division, which have material jurisdiction.

Miscellaneous clauses

If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, it shall be deemed to be unwritten, without affecting the validity of the remaining provisions.

The original version of this Agreement is in French. The Dutch and English translations are available for your convenience and information only. In the event of a dispute, the French version of the text will be deemed to prevail.

Do you have any questions, suggestions, remarks regarding our Terms of Use? Contact us via info@symplicy.com.

The version of this Agreement is dated November 11, 2023. You can download a copy of this version on a durable medium (.pdf format) by clicking here.