Experimenter Study Agreement

BIOME EXPERIMENTER STUDY AGREEMENT
Effective Date: March 24, 2026
Version: 1.0

This Experimenter Study Agreement ("Agreement") governs your posting and management of experiments on the BIOME platform. This Agreement supplements the BIOME Platform Terms of Service.

// SECTION_01 — PARTIES

This Agreement is between you ("Experimenter") and BIOME Technologies Private Limited ("BIOME"). Participants who enrol in your experiment are governed by separate Participant Study Agreements.

// SECTION_02 — ELIGIBILITY TO POST

2.1 To post an experiment on BIOME, you must complete the Experimenter screening process and be approved by BIOME.

2.2 You must have the legal authority to conduct the type of experiment you are posting, including any required institutional, regulatory, or ethics approvals.

2.3 Corporate and institutional experimenters must designate an authorised individual responsible for experiment management on the platform.

// SECTION_03 — EXPERIMENT REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Your experiment listing must accurately describe:
    (a) The nature and purpose of the experiment;
    (b) All participant obligations and time commitments;
    (c) Any health, dietary, physical, or lifestyle interventions required;
    (d) Eligibility criteria for participants;
    (e) The reward structure and payout conditions;
    (f) Any risks, side effects, or potential adverse outcomes.

3.2 You must not misrepresent the scientific purpose, commercial interest, or funding source of your experiment.

3.3 You must not post experiments that:
    (a) Involve illegal activities;
    (b) Target vulnerable populations without appropriate ethical safeguards;
    (c) Require participants to consume unregulated substances without full disclosure;
    (d) Involve deception without appropriate debriefing protocols;
    (e) Violate any applicable laws or regulations.

// SECTION_04 — BOUNTY POOL AND FUNDING

4.1 You must deposit the full bounty pool into your BIOME account before your experiment is published.

4.2 The bounty pool is held in escrow and released to participants upon verified milestone completion.

4.3 BIOME charges a 2.5% platform fee on all disbursed bounty amounts.

4.4 Unused bounty pool amounts (e.g., from participants who did not complete the study) may be returned to you less any applicable fees, within 30 days of study completion.

4.5 Fraudulent or wilful misrepresentation of experiment details may result in forfeiture of deposited funds at BIOME's sole discretion.

// SECTION_05 — PARTICIPANT MANAGEMENT

5.1 You are responsible for reviewing and approving participant applications according to your stated eligibility criteria.

5.2 You must not discriminate in participant selection in violation of applicable anti-discrimination laws.

5.3 You must verify or reject participant milestone submissions in a timely manner (recommended: within 7 days of submission).

5.4 You must provide written reasons for milestone rejection.

5.5 You may flag participants for compliance violations, but must have documented evidence for any flag that results in payout reduction.

// SECTION_06 — BIOME VERIFIED CREDENTIAL (OPTIONAL)

6.1 The BIOME Verified credential is available as an optional add-on service.

6.2 To obtain the credential, you must submit your experiment for BIOME review, including any ethical approvals, safety documentation, protocol details, and conflict-of-interest disclosures.

6.3 BIOME will review your submission and may request additional information. Review typically takes 5–10 business days.

6.4 The credential fee is approximately USD $1,000. Fee schedules are published on the platform and subject to change with 30 days' notice.

6.5 BIOME may revoke the credential at any time if it determines the experiment no longer meets its standards.

// SECTION_07 — DATA AND RESEARCH INTEGRITY

7.1 You are responsible for handling participant data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and any other applicable legislation in your jurisdiction.

7.2 You must implement appropriate technical and organisational safeguards to protect participant data.

7.3 You may only use participant data for the stated purposes of the experiment.

7.4 You must not attempt to de-anonymise participants.

7.5 You must retain study data for a minimum of 5 years and make it available to BIOME upon request in connection with any audit or dispute.

// SECTION_08 — DISPUTES

8.1 Participant disputes must be responded to within 7 days of submission.

8.2 BIOME may review disputed milestone decisions and may override your determination in cases of clear procedural error or bad faith.

8.3 BIOME's determination in a dispute is final and binding on both parties.

8.4 Repeated or bad-faith rejections of milestone submissions may result in account suspension.

// SECTION_09 — COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

9.1 You must notify BIOME within 48 hours of any adverse event experienced by a participant that you believe may be related to the experiment.

9.2 You must provide BIOME with a study completion report within 30 days of study closure.

9.3 BIOME may audit your use of the platform at any time and may request copies of ethics approvals, protocols, and participant data in anonymised form.

// SECTION_10 — INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

10.1 You retain ownership of all scientific data, results, and intellectual property generated by your experiment.

10.2 You grant BIOME a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display your experiment title, description, and outcomes summary (in anonymised aggregate form) on the platform and in BIOME marketing materials.

10.3 You warrant that your experiment and any materials you post do not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights.

// SECTION_11 — LIABILITY

11.1 You accept sole responsibility for the design, conduct, safety, and legal compliance of your experiment.

11.2 You indemnify BIOME against any claims, losses, or liabilities arising from:
    (a) Your experiment design or conduct;
    (b) Any adverse health event experienced by a participant;
    (c) Your breach of this Agreement or any applicable law;
    (d) Any misrepresentation in your experiment listing.

11.3 BIOME's liability to you is limited as described in the Platform Terms of Service.

// SECTION_12 — GOVERNING LAW

12.1 This Agreement is governed by the laws of India.

12.2 Any disputes shall be subject to binding arbitration in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, as described in the BIOME Platform Terms of Service.

12.3 NO CLASS ACTION: You waive any right to participate in class action litigation arising from your use of the BIOME platform or any experiment you post.

// SECTION_13 — ACKNOWLEDGMENT

By accepting this Agreement, you confirm that:
(a) You have read and understood the Agreement;
(b) You have the legal authority to post and conduct the experiments you list on BIOME;
(c) You have obtained all required ethical and regulatory approvals for each experiment you post;
(d) You accept sole responsibility for participant safety and data protection;
(e) You understand the fee structure and payout obligations.

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BIOME Technologies Private Limited
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
legal@biome.to