Terms of Service | Juhll AI Film Studio

1. About these Terms

1.1 These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern your use of juhll.com and any page, form or tool on it (the "Site"). The Site is operated by Juhll, Inc., a California corporation doing business as Juhll AI Film Studio ("Juhll", "the Studio", "we", "us" or "our"), based in Hermosa Beach, California.

1.2 By using the Site, you agree to these Terms. If you use the Site for a company or other organization, you confirm that you are authorized to accept these Terms for it, and "you" includes that organization. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1.3 The Site is intended for business users (brands, agencies, producers and writers) who are at least 18 years old.

2. Related documents and order of precedence

2.1 Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information, including information sent through the quote page and the AI brief helper.

2.2 How we use AI. Section 4 of these Terms (How we use generative AI) explains how and where we use generative AI in our work.

2.3 Signed agreements control. These Terms cover use of the Site. They do not govern a client project. If you and the Studio sign a Master Services Agreement ("MSA"), statement of work ("SOW"), change order, mutual nondisclosure agreement ("NDA") or other written agreement, that signed agreement controls over these Terms for the matters it covers. If there is a conflict, the signed agreement wins. Among signed documents, the order of precedence stated in the MSA applies.

2.4 Quotes are not contracts. Quotes, estimates, proposals and AI-drafted briefs are not binding offers or contracts. Work starts only under a signed SOW (and MSA) and, where the SOW says so, after the deposit is received.

3. Using the Site

3.1 You may use the Site to learn about the Studio, view our work and ask for a quote. You agree not to:

(a) break the law or anyone else's rights while using the Site;
(b) upload or send malware, or try to get into systems or data you are not allowed to access;
(c) scrape, copy or reuse Site content, reels or images, or use them to train any AI model, except as the law allows or we agree in writing;
(d) overload, probe or interfere with the Site, its forms or its AI brief helper (including trying to make the brief helper produce harmful, unlawful or off-topic content, or to reveal its instructions);
(e) submit information about another person without the right to do so; or
(f) impersonate anyone or misstate your affiliation.

3.2 We may change, suspend or remove any part of the Site at any time.

4. How we use generative AI (no hidden AI)

4.1 Up-front disclosure. The Studio is an AI-assisted film and video studio. We use third-party generative AI tools (for example, video, image, voice and music generators) together with our own proprietary prompts, workflows, pipelines, templates and know-how, and with human writing, direction, selection, editing and professional post-production. Unless we agree otherwise in a signed SOW, you should assume that any work we produce contains AI-generated material.

4.2 What we tell clients. For client projects, the SOW lists the AI tools we plan to use, and our delivery notes identify which parts of each deliverable are AI-generated, as set out in the signed MSA and SOW.

4.3 Tool names. The tools we use change over time, so the Site describes them only as third-party generative AI tools. For client projects, the tools are named in the SOW.

4.4 Work on the Site. Films, stills and reels on the Site may contain AI-generated people, places, voices and events. Unless we clearly say otherwise, people shown in our AI-generated work are not real people, and scenes involving real historical figures are dramatizations, not authentic recordings (see Section 9.4).

5. Quote requests and the AI brief helper

5.1 How the quote page works. Our quote page (juhll.com/quote.html) works in steps:

(a) Contact details. First, we ask for your name and email. These are saved to our customer database (Airtable) as a lead as soon as you submit them, even if you do not finish the rest of the form.
(b) AI brief helper (optional). If you use the brief helper, the text you type (and the text of any public web page you ask it to read) is sent to a third-party generative AI service to draft a suggested project brief for you.
(c) Project brief. The brief itself is a Tally form. Submissions are stored by Tally and sent to our Airtable database, and we are notified by email.
(d) Research. We may review and research your brief, including with third-party generative AI tools, to understand the project, check for conflicts and prepare a quote.

Details are in our Privacy Policy.

5.2 What to put in a quote request. Share only what we need to understand and price your project: who you are, what you want made, format, length, timing, budget range and where it will run. Please do not include scripts, treatments, full story details, unreleased materials, trade secrets, or personal or sensitive information about other people in the quote form or the brief helper. If we move forward, our process is to sign a mutual NDA before you share scripts or confidential materials.

5.3 The brief helper is an AI draft. The brief helper produces AI-generated suggestions. They may be incomplete or wrong. You are responsible for reviewing and editing the brief before you submit it. The brief helper is not legal, financial or professional advice, and nothing it says is a quote, offer or promise by the Studio.

5.4 Third-party services. Text you send through the brief helper and forms is processed by third-party services (including a third-party generative AI service, Tally, Airtable, our web host DreamHost, and Microsoft 365 for email) under their own terms and privacy policies. See Section 8.

5.5 No confidentiality through the Site. Information sent through the Site is not treated as confidential under an NDA unless and until a signed NDA or other written agreement covers it. We still protect personal information as described in our Privacy Policy.

6. Unsolicited submissions and ideas

6.1 We do not accept unsolicited ideas. The Studio does not accept or consider unsolicited scripts, screenplays, treatments, pitches, story ideas, formats, characters, concepts or other creative material ("Unsolicited Submissions"). We regularly develop our own original films and series, including historical, period and biographical projects, and we may already be working on, or may later work on, material that is similar to something you send.

6.2 If you send one anyway. If you send an Unsolicited Submission by any means (including the quote form, the brief helper, email or social media):

(a) it is sent without any obligation from the Studio to read, review, return, pay for, credit or otherwise compensate you;
(b) no confidential, fiduciary or implied-in-fact contractual relationship is created, and the Studio does not agree, expressly or by implication, to pay for any idea or material;
(c) we may delete it without reading it; and
(d) any obligation to pay or credit you arises only if and when you and the Studio sign a separate written production or services agreement that expressly provides for payment.

6.3 Quote requests for your own project. A request for a quote that describes a project you want the Studio to produce for you, as a paying client, is not an Unsolicited Submission to the extent it contains what we reasonably need to understand and price that project. That information is used to respond to you and prepare a quote, as described in Section 5 and our Privacy Policy. Anything beyond what is needed to quote (for example, full scripts, story ideas offered for the Studio's own development, or pitches for projects you want the Studio to fund or acquire) is treated as an Unsolicited Submission under Section 6.2.

6.4 Invited material under an NDA. When we invite you to share a script or other material, we do so under a signed NDA and, for paid work, a signed MSA and SOW. Those agreements, not this Section, govern that material.

6.5 Ideas are not owned. Nothing in these Terms limits the Studio's right to develop material based on general ideas, concepts, themes, genres, formats or styles, historical facts, real historical events and figures, public-domain works or publicly available research, as long as we do not use your protected expression or information we have agreed in writing to keep confidential.

7. Copyright and AI-generated material

7.1 Current US law. Under current US Copyright Office guidance, copyright protects original expression created by a human author, even if a work also includes AI-generated material. It does not extend to purely AI-generated material, or to material where there is insufficient human control over the expressive elements. The Office has concluded that, based on current generally available technology, prompts alone do not provide sufficient control to make the user the author. Whether human contributions (such as creative selection, arrangement or modification of AI output) are enough is decided case by case. The Office also requires applicants to disclose, and exclude from their claim, AI-generated content that is more than de minimis. US courts have held that the Copyright Act requires a work to be authored in the first instance by a human being.

7.2 What this means for you.

(a) Some or all AI-generated portions of a work we make may not be protected by copyright, and others may be free to copy those portions.
(b) We do not promise that any work, or any part of it, can be registered with the US Copyright Office or protected in any other country.
(c) The rights we can license or assign to a client in AI-generated material are limited to the rights we actually have.
(d) Our human creative contributions (writing, direction, selection, arrangement, editing, compositing, grading, sound and titles) may be protectable, and for client projects we keep production records to help document them, as set out in the MSA.

7.3 Our materials. Our proprietary prompts, prompt libraries, workflows, pipelines, templates, custom settings, methods and know-how ("Studio Materials") are our confidential property and trade secrets. Nothing on the Site or in these Terms gives you any right to them.

7.4 Outside the US. Copyright rules for AI-generated material differ from country to country.

8. Third-party AI tools and service providers

8.1 Vendors have their own terms. We use third-party generative AI tools and online services to run the Site and make our work. Each vendor operates under its own terms of service, usage policies and privacy policy, which may change without notice to us. Outputs may be subject to those vendor terms.

8.2 What we do not control. We do not control our vendors. Although we choose business or no-training settings where commercially reasonable, we cannot guarantee that any vendor will delete data, will not keep it, or will never use inputs or outputs to improve or train its systems. We also cannot guarantee that a vendor tool will stay available, keep the same features or produce the same results.

8.3 Client choices. For client projects, the SOW lists the tools to be used, and a client may ask us in writing not to use a specific tool with its material before providing it, as set out in the signed MSA and NDA.

8.4 Site and business services. The Site and our quote process use a third-party generative AI service (the brief helper), Tally (the brief form), Airtable (our lead and brief database), DreamHost (web hosting), Microsoft 365 (email) and Google Analytics (site statistics). We store client project files with Box, and we may research briefs with third-party generative AI tools. Our Privacy Policy has more detail.

9. Real people, likeness, voice and historical figures

9.1 Our policy. We do not create a digital replica or imitation of the face, body, voice or other identifying likeness of a real, identifiable person unless we have the rights, consents and releases the law requires for that use. For client projects, the client is responsible for obtaining written consents and releases for any real person (living or deceased) that the client asks us to depict or imitate, or whose likeness or voice the client provides, unless the SOW assigns that task to us.

9.2 Living people. California law generally prohibits knowingly using another person's name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness for advertising or selling products or services without consent (Cal. Civ. Code § 3344). News, public affairs, sports and political uses are treated differently.

9.3 Deceased personalities. California also protects the name, voice, signature, photograph and likeness of a "deceased personality" (a person whose identity had commercial value at or because of death) for 70 years after death (Cal. Civ. Code § 3344.1). Using a deceased personality to advertise or sell products or services requires consent from the rights holder, including when a historical figure appears to endorse or use a brand's product inside a branded film. Since January 1, 2025, California law also restricts digital replicas of a deceased personality's voice or likeness in audiovisual works made without the required consent. That rule has exceptions, including portraying a person in a historical or biographical manner, but the exception does not apply if the use is intended to create, and does create, the false impression that the work is an authentic recording in which the person participated.

9.4 Our "Dramatization, not an authentic recording" notice. For original films, series and trailers that portray real historical figures, we present AI recreations as dramatizations and never as authentic archival recordings. Each such film and trailer carries the notice "Dramatization, not an authentic recording" on screen or in an end card. Social clips and cutdowns carry the same notice on screen or, where the format does not allow it, in the caption or description. We do not use a real historical figure's identity in advertising or branded product placements without clearing the rights.

9.5 Performers and digital replicas. In California, a contract term that lets a party create and use a digital replica of an individual's voice or likeness in place of work the individual would otherwise have performed in person can be unenforceable unless it meets specific requirements (Cal. Lab. Code § 927). We replicate a living performer's likeness or voice only with a written, use-specific consent, and only where the performer was represented by legal counsel or a union in agreeing to it.

9.6 Other places differ. Right-of-publicity, post-mortem and digital replica rules differ by state and country. Clients distributing outside California must tell us where the work will run so the right clearances can be obtained.

9.7 Right to refuse. We may refuse or stop any request involving a real person's likeness or voice if we are not satisfied that it is lawful and properly cleared.

10. Synthetic performers in advertising

10.1 California law (SB 1050). Beginning January 1, 2027, California Business and Professions Code Section 17610 (added by SB 1050, Chapter 246, Statutes of 2026) makes it unlawful to create and cause to be published in an advertising medium an advertisement that prominently includes a synthetic performer without a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the advertisement includes a synthetic performer. The disclosure must use wording substantially similar to "this performance features a synthetic performer" or "no human performer is depicted." A clear and conspicuous disclosure is one that is difficult to miss, easily understandable, and presented in a manner that a reasonable consumer would notice, read and comprehend, taking into account the medium, format and context in which the advertisement appears.

(a) Synthetic performer. A digital figure, voice or representation created in whole or in part using generative artificial intelligence that creates the realistic impression of the audio, audiovisual or visual performance of a human performer who is not recognizable as any identifiable natural person. Because the definition includes voices, the law can apply to audio ads as well as video.
(b) Prominently. A synthetic performer is included prominently if it is (1) in the foreground and demonstrating or illustrating the product or service, (2) providing or voicing the on-camera or off-camera narration or commercial message, or (3) illustrating or reacting to the on-camera or off-camera narration or commercial message.
(c) Exemptions. The law does not apply to advertisements for expressive works (including motion pictures, television programs, streaming content, documentaries, video games or other similar audio or audiovisual works), as long as the use of the synthetic performer in the advertisement or promotional material is consistent with its use in the expressive work. It also does not apply to an advertisement in which the use of generative AI solely involves the language translation of a human performer or other accessibility features.
(d) Enforcement. A violation is treated as a violation of California's false advertising law (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17500) and may be enforced under the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 and following).

10.2 Why this matters for branded work. Brand films, commercials and branded micro-dramas with product integration that feature a synthetic performer are advertising, and they are where this law is most likely to apply. Ads for a film or series we make as an expressive work may fall within the exemption if the synthetic performer is used in the ad consistently with its use in the work, but a branded product film generally will not.

10.3 Who does what. For client projects, the signed SOW records whether a deliverable will run as advertising in California, whether a synthetic performer is included prominently, and the disclosure text and placement. Where the law applies, the Studio builds the disclosure into each version, aspect ratio and cutdown we deliver. The client keeps it intact: the client must not remove, crop, shorten or obscure it, and is responsible for it in placements, edits and formats the client or its agencies control.

10.4 Other disclosure rules. Other states, including New York, have their own synthetic performer disclosure rules. Platform rules and advertising laws (including endorsement and paid-partnership labeling) may require other labels. Clients are responsible for platform and paid-media labels in their own posts and placements unless the SOW says otherwise.

11. Music, stock and client-supplied materials

11.1 What you supply. If you give us any material (scripts, footage, images, logos, trademarks, product shots, music, voice recordings, likenesses or references), you confirm that you own it or have all rights, licenses and consents needed for us to use it for your project, including uploading it to the AI tools listed in your SOW. You are responsible for clearing it.

11.2 What we license. Music, sound effects and stock footage or images for a project are licensed as set out in the SOW, under the applicable license terms and for the uses, media, territory and term stated in the SOW. Licenses may limit how a deliverable can be used. Uses beyond the SOW may need additional licenses and fees.

11.3 AI-generated music and voices. AI-generated music, sound and voices are subject to the same copyright limits described in Section 7 and to the terms of the tool used to make them.

12. Content standards and our right to refuse or stop work

12.1 We will not make:

(a) sexual content involving minors, or anything that sexualizes minors;
(b) non-consensual intimate or sexual imagery of any real person;
(c) deceptive deepfakes or impersonations of real people, including content meant to mislead voters or the public about real events;
(d) content that defames, harasses or threatens anyone, or promotes violence or hatred against protected groups;
(e) content that infringes intellectual property, publicity or privacy rights;
(f) false or misleading advertising, or ads for unlawful products or services; or
(g) content that violates the usage policies of the AI tools we use or the rules of the platforms where the work will run.

12.2 Right to refuse or stop. We may decline any request, and may pause or stop work on a project, if we believe in good faith that it would break the law, infringe rights, violate a tool's or platform's policies, or harm the Studio's reputation. For client projects, the effect on fees is governed by the signed MSA and SOW.

12.3 Tool refusals. AI tools may refuse or filter some requests, and we cannot override their safety systems.

13. Our Site content and intellectual property

13.1 The Site and its content (including our films, reels, stills, text, design, logos and trademarks) belong to the Studio or our licensors, subject to the copyright limits on AI-generated material described in Section 7. Client work shown on the Site is shown with the client's permission and may belong to the client.

13.2 You may view the Site and share links to it. You may not copy, download, modify, distribute or use Site content (including for AI training or to create competing work) without our written permission, except as the law allows.

14. Information you send us through the Site

14.1 You keep any rights you have in information you send us. You give the Studio permission to store, copy, process and use it (including through the service providers described in Section 8 and our Privacy Policy) to respond to you, prepare a quote, research the request, run our business and meet legal obligations.

14.2 You confirm you have the right to send it and that it does not break the law or anyone else's rights.

14.3 This Section does not apply to Unsolicited Submissions, which are covered by Section 6, or to material covered by a signed NDA, MSA or SOW.

15. Third-party links and services

The Site may link to or embed third-party sites and services (for example, video players, social media and the Tally form). We are not responsible for them, and your use of them is governed by their own terms and privacy policies.

16. Disclaimers

16.1 The Site, its content and the AI brief helper are provided "as is" and "as available." To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement.

16.2 We do not promise that the Site will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free, or that AI-generated content (including brief helper drafts) will be accurate or suitable for your purposes.

16.3 Information on the Site, including the summaries of law in these Terms, is general information. It is not legal advice. Please get your own legal advice about your project.

16.4 Some places do not allow certain warranty disclaimers, so some of these disclaimers may not apply to you.

17. Limitation of liability

17.1 To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Studio will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data or goodwill, arising from or related to the Site or these Terms, even if we were told they were possible.

17.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Studio's total liability arising from or related to the Site or these Terms is limited to the greater of (a) the fees paid and payable to the Studio under the statement of work giving rise to the claim, if any, or (b) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50).

17.3 These limits do not apply to liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law (for example, liability for fraud or willful misconduct, and certain consumer rights). Some places do not allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.

17.4 For client projects, the limitation of liability in the signed MSA applies instead of this Section.

18. Your responsibility for your use and submissions

To the extent permitted by law, you will defend and indemnify the Studio against third-party claims arising from information or material you send through the Site in breach of these Terms, or from your misuse of the Site. For client projects, indemnities are governed by the signed MSA.

19. International visitors and clients

19.1 The Site is operated from California, USA. If you use it from elsewhere, you are responsible for complying with local law.

19.2 Mandatory local rights. Nothing in these Terms takes away rights you have under mandatory laws where you live that cannot be waived by contract, including consumer protection laws. If you are a consumer in the European Union or the United Kingdom, you may also be able to bring proceedings in the courts where you live, and the choice of California law does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory provisions of your local law.

19.3 Data protection. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data, including for visitors outside the United States.

20. Governing law, venue and disputes

20.1 Governing law. These Terms and any dispute arising from or related to the Site are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, except where mandatory local law applies (see Section 19).

20.2 Venue. Any dispute will be brought exclusively in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Southwest District (Torrance Courthouse), or, if federal jurisdiction exists, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and you and the Studio consent to personal jurisdiction there.

20.3 Informal resolution first. Before filing a claim, please email us at juhll@juhll.com with a description of the issue and give us 30 days to try to resolve it informally.

20.4 Attorneys' fees. In any action or proceeding to enforce or interpret these Terms, the prevailing party is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, in accordance with California Civil Code section 1717.

21. Electronic communications, records and signatures

21.1 By using the Site or emailing us, you agree to receive communications from us electronically, and agree that electronic notices, records and disclosures satisfy any requirement that they be in writing.

21.2 Where you and the Studio agree to do business electronically, electronic records and signatures (including e-signature services and signed PDFs) have the same legal effect as paper originals, as provided by the California Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1633.1 and following) and the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 and following).

21.3 Submitting a form on the Site does not by itself create a contract for services.

22. Changes to these Terms

22.1 We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms on this page and change the "Last updated" date at the top. If a change is material, we will also give reasonable notice on the Site.

22.2 Changes apply from the date they are posted and do not apply to disputes that arose before that date. If you continue to use the Site after changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.

23. General

23.1 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and the Studio about the Site, subject to Section 2.3 (signed agreements control).

23.2 Severability. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent allowed and the rest will remain in effect.

23.3 No waiver. If we do not enforce a provision, that is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

23.4 Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our written consent. We may assign them to an affiliate or to a successor to our business.

23.5 No agency. These Terms do not create any partnership, joint venture, employment or agency relationship.

23.6 Headings. Headings are for convenience only.

24. Contact

Juhll, Inc., doing business as Juhll AI Film Studio
Hermosa Beach, California
Email: juhll@juhll.com