Terms of Use
These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the platforms, products, and services operated by BinderCo Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, "BinderCo," "we," "us," or "our"). BinderCo's subsidiaries include Binder, Binder Analytics, Care, and Binder University. By creating an account or using any BinderCo product, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
Where a subsidiary's terms differ materially from these parent Terms, a product-specific addendum applies and is incorporated herein. Product-specific addenda are set out at the end of this document. In the event of a conflict between a subsidiary addendum and these parent Terms, the addendum governs with respect to that product only.
1. Acceptance
By accessing or using any BinderCo product, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age, have read and understood these Terms, and agree to be bound by them. If you are using a BinderCo product on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use BinderCo products.
2. Accounts
You must create an account to access most BinderCo features. You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of your account information, including your registered email address. You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your account.
Account credentials are personal. You may not share login credentials with another individual. Multi-user access is available only under subscription tiers that expressly provide for it.
3. Communications and Notice
3.1 Method of Service
BinderCo delivers all notices, disclosures, and legally significant communications through two channels: (a) email to the address registered to your account, and (b) in-platform notification delivered within your BinderCo dashboard. Either channel, independently or in combination, constitutes valid and legally sufficient notice for all purposes under these Terms.
Notice is deemed received at the time of sending, regardless of whether you have accessed your email, opened the message, or logged into the platform. BinderCo is not responsible for failures to receive notice arising from inaccurate account information, email filtering, service provider delivery failures, or account inactivity.
3.2 Your Obligation to Maintain Current Contact Information
It is your sole responsibility to ensure that your registered email address remains current and accurate. BinderCo will rely on the registered email address as the authoritative point of contact for your account. If BinderCo cannot successfully deliver notice to your registered address, any resulting failure to act on time-sensitive obligations — including but not limited to limitation period deadlines — is your responsibility and does not create any obligation or liability on BinderCo's part.
3.3 Time-Sensitive Platform Notices
Certain BinderCo products generate automated notices related to legal deadlines, limitation periods, and other time-sensitive platform obligations. These notices are provided as a service to help you manage awareness of relevant timeframes. They do not constitute legal advice, do not extend any applicable limitation period, and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and BinderCo or any of its products. See the Disclaimer for further detail regarding limitation period warnings.
Where automated limitation period warnings are generated, they will be issued at 90, 60, and 30 days before the applicable deadline as calculated from the incident date you have provided and the general two-year limitation period established under the Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c L-12. BinderCo does not represent that automated deadline calculations are accurate in all circumstances and recommends that you obtain independent legal advice before relying on any platform-generated deadline notice.
3.4 User Acknowledgement of Warnings
Your acknowledgement of limitation period warnings within the platform is recorded and time-stamped. This record is available in your account activity log. BinderCo may rely on this record to demonstrate that notice was delivered and acknowledged.
4. Permitted Use
BinderCo products are licensed for lawful personal or organizational use within the scope of each product's documented purpose. The Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms, defines in further detail what constitutes permitted and prohibited conduct on the platform. You agree to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy at all times.
5. Intellectual Property
All platform software, designs, content, and technology are owned by or licensed to BinderCo. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable licence to access and use the platform for its intended purpose during the term of your subscription or account. You may not copy, reverse-engineer, distribute, modify, or create derivative works of any BinderCo software or content without express written permission.
Content that you upload or create within BinderCo products remains your property. By uploading content, you grant BinderCo a limited licence to store, process, and display that content solely as necessary to provide the service to you. This licence terminates when your data is deleted in accordance with the Privacy Policy.
6. Dominant Purpose and Litigation Privilege
Records, documentation, and data generated, uploaded, or organized through Binder, Care, and Binder Analytics are created for the dominant purpose of anticipated or actual litigation, or for the purpose of obtaining legal advice in connection with that litigation. The parties acknowledge and agree that this characterization applies to records created within these platforms, and that such records are and will remain subject to litigation privilege and, where applicable, solicitor-client privilege.
This agreement is intended to preserve the privileged status of platform records in any proceeding in which their production is sought. Users must not voluntarily disclose platform records to adverse parties or unrelated third parties, as such disclosure may waive applicable privilege. If you receive a request for production or a court order requiring disclosure of platform records, you should immediately seek independent legal advice before responding.
This clause does not create privilege where it would not otherwise exist under applicable law. Its purpose is to record the parties' shared intention and dominant purpose at the time records are created.
7. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, BinderCo and its subsidiaries are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of, or inability to use, our products — including loss of data, revenue, business opportunity, or goodwill, even if BinderCo has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
BinderCo's total cumulative liability to you in connection with any claim arising under or related to these Terms is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid to BinderCo in the twelve months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred Canadian dollars ($100.00 CAD).
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by BinderCo's negligence, or for fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
8. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless BinderCo, its subsidiaries, officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your violation of these Terms or any applicable addendum; (b) your use of any BinderCo product in a manner not permitted by these Terms; or (c) your infringement of any third-party right.
9. Modifications to These Terms
BinderCo may modify these Terms from time to time. We will provide notice of material modifications at least 14 days before they take effect, using the notice methods described in Section 3. The current version of these Terms is always available at binderco.ca/legal. Your continued use of any BinderCo product after the effective date of a modification constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
10. Termination
BinderCo may suspend or terminate your account for material breach of these Terms or any applicable addendum. Depending on the nature of the breach, termination may occur with or without prior notice. You may close your account at any time by contacting us at legal@binderco.ca.
On termination, your licence to use BinderCo products ceases immediately. Provisions that by their nature survive termination — including intellectual property, limitation of liability, indemnification, and governing law — will continue in effect after termination.
11. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Alberta and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Any dispute arising under or in connection with these Terms will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Alberta, and each party irrevocably submits to that jurisdiction.
12. Contact
Questions about these Terms may be directed to legal@binderco.ca.
Subsidiary Addenda
The following addenda apply to specific BinderCo products. Each addendum supplements, and where explicitly stated supersedes, the parent Terms above. Users of a product are bound by both the parent Terms and the applicable addendum.
This addendum governs use of the Binder platform, including its internal services: Record, Advocate, Counsel, and University. Unless otherwise stated below, the parent Terms of Use apply in full to all Binder users.
Counsel
Counsel is Binder's legal service, supervised and operated by a licensed and insured lawyer. Engaging Counsel establishes a solicitor-client relationship. Counsel communications are privileged as solicitor-client communications. Privilege attaches because Counsel operates under the supervision of a licensed lawyer — not by the platform alone. This distinction is legally significant: courts have recognized that AI-assisted legal work product does not attract privilege absent a supervising lawyer who accepts professional responsibility. Counsel's supervising lawyer does accept that responsibility. See the Disclaimer for further detail on the scope of the relationship.
Binder Remediation Tier
Users accessing Binder through the Remediation membership tier are subject to the following additional terms in addition to this Addendum I.
(a) Pre-Litigation Scope. The Remediation tier is designed exclusively to support insurance claims management before the commencement of litigation. Use of the Remediation platform is not permitted in connection with any matter in which a Statement of Claim has been filed or litigation is otherwise in progress. If litigation commences while you are an active Remediation user, you must immediately notify BinderCo and cease using the Remediation platform in connection with that matter. Use of the platform in connection with active litigation is a prohibited use under the Acceptable Use Policy.
(b) Limitation Period Window. Your Remediation membership is structured around Alberta's two-year limitation period for civil claims under the Limitations Act. The platform will generate automated limitation period warnings at 90, 60, and 30 days prior to the second anniversary of your incident date. These warnings are provided as a service and do not constitute legal advice. BinderCo is not responsible for determining whether exceptions, extensions, or standstill agreements apply to your specific circumstances. You are strongly encouraged to obtain independent legal advice well in advance of the expiration of any limitation period.
(c) Standstill and Extension Options. As your limitation period approaches, Counsel may surface information about standstill agreements and other mechanisms that could affect the applicable deadline. Counsel's output in this context is informational only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an obligation on BinderCo or any affiliated legal service to take any action on your behalf.
(d) Method of Service — Limitation Warnings. Limitation period warnings delivered to your registered email address or presented as in-platform notifications are deemed received upon sending, in accordance with Section 3 of the parent Terms. Your responsibility to maintain a current registered email address is especially important given the time-sensitive nature of limitation period obligations.
(e) Upload Window. Incident documentation may be uploaded to the Remediation platform for a period of two years from the incident date. After the two-year upload window closes, new document uploads for that incident are not available. Existing documents remain accessible to you during the data retention period set out in the Privacy Policy.
This addendum will govern use of Binder Analytics, including organizational data processing, third-party data integrations, API access, and output licensing. Substantive terms will be finalized when Binder Analytics' product-specific requirements are confirmed. Until then, the parent Terms of Use apply in full.
Key areas for development: organizational data processing agreements, authorized third-party data inputs and source disclosure, API access and rate limitation terms, output data ownership and licensing, and organizational user seat management.
This addendum will govern use of Care, including personal data handling, health-adjacent information, professional referral disclaimers, and relevant provincial regulatory compliance. Substantive terms will be finalized when Care's product-specific requirements are confirmed. Until then, the parent Terms of Use apply in full.
Key areas for development: personal sensitive information handling, provincial healthcare information regulations, referral service disclaimers, and scope limitations relative to regulated professional services.
This addendum will govern use of Binder University, including credential and status progression terms, course completion records, the distinction between program courses (credential-bearing) and standalone courses (non-credential), academic integrity obligations, and the scope and limitations of University credentials. Substantive terms will be finalized when Binder University's product-specific requirements are confirmed. Until then, the parent Terms of Use apply in full.
Key areas for development: credential issuance and revocation, academic integrity policy, status progression (Undergraduate → Graduate → PhD → Professor), course record retention, and the non-accredited, non-CPD status of University credentials under Alberta law.
Privacy Policy
BinderCo Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, "BinderCo") are committed to protecting the privacy of individuals whose personal information we collect, use, and disclose. This Privacy Policy is governed by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where applicable, Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
This Policy applies to all BinderCo products: Binder (including the Remediation tier and internal services Record, Advocate, Counsel, and University), Binder Analytics, Care, and Binder University. Product-specific treatments are described in Section 3.
1. Personal Information We Collect
We collect personal information that is necessary to provide our products and services. Depending on the BinderCo product you use, this may include:
- Contact information: name, email address, postal address, telephone number
- Account credentials: username, password (stored using a one-way cryptographic hash; BinderCo cannot recover your password in plain text)
- Billing information: billing address and payment method details — payment card processing is performed by a third-party processor; BinderCo does not retain full card numbers
- Incident information (Binder Remediation): incident date, nature and location of the incident, parties involved, insurer and policy details, documentation and correspondence related to the claim, and your narrative Record of events
- Organizational information (Binder, Binder Analytics): business name, industry classification, insurance policy and coverage records, operational records, risk data, and incident history
- Platform communications (Counsel): questions, document uploads, and responses exchanged through Counsel
- Technical and usage data: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, session logs, and platform feature usage patterns
2. How We Use Personal Information
We use the personal information we collect to:
- Provide, operate, and improve BinderCo products and services
- Communicate with you regarding your account, your subscription, and time-sensitive platform obligations (including limitation period warnings)
- Process payments and manage billing
- Comply with applicable legal obligations
- Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud and security incidents
- Analyze aggregate platform usage patterns for product improvement — where analysis is conducted at scale, personal identifiers are removed or anonymized where reasonably practicable
We do not sell personal information to any third party.
3. Product-Specific Privacy Treatment
3.1 Binder Analytics
Binder Analytics processes organizational risk data at scale. This includes data uploaded directly by organizational users through the Binder platform, data derived from Binder platform activity, and — where applicable — data sourced from authorized third-party inputs such as industry risk databases, publicly accessible regulatory records, and user-authorized external integrations.
Organizational data processed through Binder Analytics is used solely to produce risk intelligence outputs for the subscribing organization. BinderCo does not disclose one organization's data to another organization, does not use identifiable organizational data in generalized model training without explicit written consent, and does not aggregate identifiable organizational data in a manner that could permit reverse identification by third parties.
Where third-party data sources are integrated into Binder Analytics outputs, users will be informed of the category of data source. BinderCo enters into data processing agreements with all third-party data providers that govern the terms of input data use.
Retention: Organizational data is retained for the duration of the active subscription plus 24 months following subscription termination, unless the organization formally requests earlier deletion. Anonymized and aggregated outputs may be retained indefinitely for product development and benchmarking purposes, provided they cannot reasonably be used to identify any individual or organization.
3.2 Counsel
Counsel is Binder's legal service, supervised and operated by a licensed and insured lawyer. Engaging Counsel establishes a solicitor-client relationship, and communications made through Counsel — including questions submitted, documents uploaded, and responses generated — are solicitor-client privileged communications.
Privilege attaches to Counsel communications because a licensed lawyer supervises and accepts professional responsibility for the service. This is a legally material distinction: courts have recognized that AI-assisted legal work product does not attract privilege without a supervising lawyer. Counsel's supervising lawyer provides that foundation.
BinderCo implements the following safeguards to protect the confidentiality of Counsel communications:
- Counsel communications are stored in a logically segregated, access-controlled environment separate from general platform data
- BinderCo personnel do not access the content of Counsel communications except where required by law, or where strictly necessary to investigate a material security incident, and then only to the minimum extent required
- Counsel communications are not used to train machine learning models or to improve generalized AI systems
- Counsel communications are not disclosed to third parties except as required by applicable law or valid legal process
Retention: Counsel communications are retained for the duration of your active account plus 36 months following account closure. You may request deletion; however, deletion may be delayed or limited where a legal hold, regulatory requirement, or active legal proceeding applies.
3.3 Binder Remediation
The Remediation tier collects consumer incident data — information about a specific insurance claim incident and your efforts to manage and resolve that claim. This data is sensitive. It may concern a difficult personal event, involve third parties who have not independently consented to share information with BinderCo, and carry legal significance in a potential future civil claim.
Remediation incident data is used solely to provide the Remediation service to you. BinderCo does not disclose Remediation incident data to insurers, adverse parties, or any third parties without your explicit consent, except where required by applicable law or valid legal process. We do not use Remediation incident data for product development, analytics, or training purposes without anonymization.
Retention: Remediation incident data is retained for two years from the date of your incident — aligned with the general two-year limitation period for civil claims in Alberta under the Limitations Act. This alignment is deliberate: it is intended to ensure that your incident record remains available to you throughout the full period during which you may have actionable legal rights in connection with your incident.
You will receive notice at 90 days before your data retention window closes. At that time, you may request extended retention or export your incident data in a portable format. If no request for extension or export is received and confirmed, incident data will be permanently deleted at the end of the two-year retention window. Deletion is irreversible.
4. Dominant Purpose and Privilege
Records, documentation, and data generated, uploaded, or organized through Binder, Care, and Binder Analytics are created for the dominant purpose of anticipated or actual litigation, or for the purpose of obtaining legal advice in connection with such litigation. BinderCo and its users acknowledge and agree that this dominant purpose characterization applies at the time records are created within these platforms.
As a consequence, platform records are treated as privileged for data handling purposes. BinderCo will not voluntarily produce platform records to adverse parties, insurers, or unrelated third parties without your consent. If BinderCo receives a legal demand for disclosure of your platform records — including a subpoena, court order, or regulatory request — we will notify you promptly to the extent permitted by law so that you have the opportunity to assert privilege before any disclosure occurs.
This treatment reflects the parties' shared intention and does not operate to create privilege where it would not otherwise arise under applicable law.
5. Disclosure of Personal Information
BinderCo does not sell personal information. We may disclose personal information in the following limited circumstances:
- Service providers: We engage third-party vendors (hosting, payment processing, analytics, security) who may process personal information on our behalf under appropriate data processing agreements that prohibit use beyond what is necessary to perform the contracted service
- Legal requirements: We may disclose personal information to regulatory authorities, law enforcement, or courts where required by applicable law, valid court order, or legal process
- User authorization: We will share personal information with third parties when you have expressly authorized us to do so
- Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of BinderCo or substantially all of its assets, personal information may be transferred to the acquiring entity, subject to equivalent privacy commitments
Where we are required to disclose personal information by law, we will notify you of the disclosure to the extent permitted by applicable law.
6. Your Rights
Under PIPEDA and PIPA, you have the right to:
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you, subject to limited exceptions
- Request correction of personal information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date
- Withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, subject to legal and contractual limitations that may affect our ability to provide the service
- Request deletion of your personal information, subject to retention obligations described in this Policy and applicable law
- Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you believe we have not handled your personal information in accordance with applicable law
To exercise any of the above rights, contact our Privacy Officer at privacy@binderco.ca. We will respond within 30 days of receiving a complete request.
7. Security
BinderCo implements technical, administrative, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information we hold. These include encryption of data in transit and at rest, access controls, and security incident response procedures. No information system is entirely free of security risk. In the event of a security incident affecting your personal information, we will notify you in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
8. Data Transfers Outside Canada
BinderCo stores data primarily on servers located in Canada. Where we engage service providers who may process data outside Canada, we require contractual protections that are substantially equivalent to Canadian privacy law requirements. By using BinderCo products, you consent to your personal information being processed outside Canada where necessary for service delivery, subject to these contractual protections.
9. Children
BinderCo products are not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact privacy@binderco.ca and we will take steps to delete it.
10. Modifications to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. We will notify you of material changes using the methods described in the Terms of Use. The current version is always available at binderco.ca/legal.
11. Contact — Privacy Officer
BinderCo Inc.
Privacy Officer
privacy@binderco.ca
If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy concern, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta at oipc.ab.ca.
Acceptable Use Policy
This Acceptable Use Policy governs conduct on all BinderCo platforms. It is incorporated into and forms part of the BinderCo Terms of Use. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given to them in the Terms of Use.
1. Permitted Uses
BinderCo products are licensed for lawful personal or organizational use within the documented scope of each product. Permitted uses include:
- Managing insurance policies, coverage documentation, and organizational risk records through the Binder platform
- Documenting, organizing, and managing pre-litigation insurance claims through the Binder Remediation tier
- Accessing risk intelligence and analytics outputs through Binder Analytics
- Using Counsel for platform-based legal guidance and document assistance in connection with your active incident or risk management activity
- Accessing educational resources through Binder University
- Accessing Care for personal life, health, and planning guidance within the scope of the Care product
2. Prohibited Uses
You may not use any BinderCo product to:
- Violate any applicable federal, provincial, or municipal law or regulation
- Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information to BinderCo, to insurers through the platform, or to any third party through communications facilitated by the platform
- Interfere with, disrupt, or attempt to compromise the integrity, security, or availability of any BinderCo platform or infrastructure
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any BinderCo system, database, or another user's account
- Harvest, scrape, or otherwise systematically extract data from any BinderCo platform by automated means without express written authorization
- Use any BinderCo product or its outputs to facilitate, conceal, or advance insurance fraud or misrepresentation to an insurer
- Upload content that infringes third-party intellectual property rights or contains personal information about a third party without lawful authority to share it
- Upload or transmit malicious code, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other harmful software or scripts
- Circumvent, disable, or tamper with any security, access control, or limitation period warning feature of the platform
- Use the platform in any manner that creates material legal exposure for BinderCo or other users
3. Binder Remediation — Pre-Litigation Scope
The Remediation tier is designed exclusively for managing insurance claims before litigation has commenced. The following conditions apply to all Remediation users:
3.1 Active Litigation Prohibition
You may only use the Remediation platform in connection with an insurance incident for which no Statement of Claim has been filed and no litigation is currently pending. Using the Remediation platform in connection with a matter in active litigation is a prohibited use.
3.2 Obligation to Notify on Commencement of Litigation
If litigation commences — or if you receive a Statement of Claim or are notified of formal legal proceedings — in connection with any incident for which you are an active Remediation user, you must notify BinderCo promptly at legal@binderco.ca and immediately cease using the Remediation platform in connection with that matter. Continued use following commencement of litigation is a material breach of these Terms.
3.3 Litigation Is a Separate Matter
The Remediation platform is not a litigation management tool. If your matter proceeds to or already involves litigation, you should retain independent legal counsel to represent you. BinderCo products, including Counsel, do not establish a legal retainer relationship and are not a substitute for independent legal representation in litigation.
3.4 Document Use in Proceedings
You must not use documents or outputs generated through the Remediation platform in litigation proceedings without first consulting independent legal counsel about the appropriateness of doing so. BinderCo makes no representations about the admissibility, relevance, or evidential weight of any platform-generated record in any legal proceeding.
4. Counsel — Solicitor-Client Relationship and Scope
Counsel is Binder's legal service, supervised and operated by a licensed and insured lawyer. Engaging Counsel establishes a solicitor-client relationship. The following terms define the scope of that relationship and your obligations as a Counsel user:
4.1 Solicitor-Client Relationship
A solicitor-client relationship is formed when you engage Counsel. This relationship carries the protections of solicitor-client privilege. It also carries obligations: you must provide accurate and complete information, you must not use Counsel in connection with any unlawful purpose, and you must not disclose Counsel communications in a manner that waives privilege.
4.2 Privilege — Human Lawyer Supervision
Counsel communications are privileged as solicitor-client communications. Privilege attaches because a licensed lawyer supervises and accepts professional responsibility for Counsel — not because the platform uses AI assistance. Courts have recognized that AI-generated legal work product does not attract privilege without a supervising lawyer who accepts that professional responsibility. Counsel's supervising lawyer does. You must not voluntarily disclose Counsel communications to adverse parties or unrelated third parties, as doing so may waive privilege.
4.3 Platform Scope
Counsel provides legal guidance within the context of your Binder platform activity. It is not a general-purpose legal retainer covering matters outside the platform's scope. If your matter extends significantly beyond the documented scope of your platform engagement, you should discuss the scope of the Counsel relationship with the supervising lawyer directly.
4.4 Significant Decisions
For significant legal decisions — particularly those involving limitation periods, settlement, litigation strategy, or the waiver of legal rights — you should ensure you have a full understanding of the advice provided through Counsel before acting. If you are uncertain whether Counsel's guidance covers the full scope of your circumstances, raise that uncertainty with the supervising lawyer.
5. Enforcement
BinderCo may investigate suspected violations of this Policy and may suspend or terminate platform access for any user found to be in breach, with or without prior notice depending on the severity and nature of the violation. We may also report conduct to relevant regulatory or law enforcement authorities where required or permitted by applicable law.
If you have reason to believe another user is violating this Policy, please contact legal@binderco.ca with the relevant details.
6. Contact
Questions about this Policy may be directed to legal@binderco.ca.
Cookie Policy
This Cookie Policy explains how BinderCo Inc. and its subsidiaries use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our platforms. It supplements the Privacy Policy and is incorporated into the Terms of Use.
1. What Cookies Are
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website or access a web application. They serve functional purposes — such as maintaining your login session — and analytical purposes, such as helping us understand how the platform is used. Similar technologies include local storage tokens and session identifiers; references to "cookies" in this Policy include these where the context applies.
2. Cookies We Use
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential to the operation of BinderCo platforms. They manage authentication sessions, maintain security tokens, enable session continuity across page loads, and support core platform functionality such as document access and notification delivery. Strictly necessary cookies cannot be disabled without materially impairing or preventing use of the platform.
No consent is required for strictly necessary cookies, as they are required for the service you have requested. They do not track your activity for marketing or profiling purposes.
Functional Cookies
Functional cookies remember your preferences and settings — including notification preferences, display configurations, and saved filters. They are not strictly necessary for the platform to operate but improve the consistency of your experience. These cookies are set only for the duration of your active session or account, depending on your preference settings.
Analytics Cookies
We use analytics cookies to understand how users interact with BinderCo platforms — which features are accessed, where users encounter difficulty, and how navigation patterns vary across user segments. This information is used in aggregate and anonymized form to improve the product. Analytics cookies do not identify you personally and are not used for advertising.
You may opt out of analytics cookies at any time using the controls described in Section 4 below. Opting out will not affect your ability to use the platform.
No Advertising Cookies
BinderCo does not use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking technologies. We do not participate in advertising networks, and we do not permit third-party advertising platforms to set cookies on our platforms. We do not serve targeted advertising.
3. Third-Party Cookies
A limited number of platform features involve third-party services that may set their own cookies or session tokens. These include:
- Payment processing: our payment provider may set session tokens during checkout to maintain transaction security. These are temporary and expire at the end of the session.
- Security and fraud prevention: we may use a security service that sets session identifiers to detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive platform access.
We do not allow advertising networks, social media platforms, or data brokers to set cookies on BinderCo platforms.
4. Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You can manage cookie preferences through the following mechanisms:
- Cookie preference panel: accessible via the preferences link in the platform footer. You can enable or disable functional and analytics cookies independently of one another.
- Browser settings: most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies through the browser's privacy or settings menu. Note that blocking strictly necessary cookies will impair or prevent platform access.
- Opt-out confirmation: when you update cookie preferences, your selection is recorded and applied to future sessions. You may update your preferences at any time.
Withdrawing cookie consent applies prospectively to future data collection. It does not retroactively delete previously collected analytics data, which is retained in anonymized, aggregate form.
5. Retention
Strictly necessary cookies expire at the end of your session or when you log out. Functional preference cookies persist until you clear them or update your preferences. Analytics cookies retain session-level data for a rolling period of 13 months, after which individual session records are deleted or anonymized.
6. Modifications
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated using the notice methods described in the Terms of Use. The current version is always available at binderco.ca/legal.
7. Contact
Questions about this Cookie Policy may be directed to privacy@binderco.ca.
Disclaimer
This Disclaimer applies to all platforms and services operated by BinderCo Inc. and its subsidiaries. It supplements and is incorporated into the BinderCo Terms of Use. Reading this Disclaimer alongside the Terms of Use and Acceptable Use Policy is recommended for a complete understanding of the scope and limitations of BinderCo products.
1. Counsel — Solicitor-Client Relationship and Privilege
Counsel is Binder's legal service, supervised and operated by a licensed and insured lawyer. Engaging Counsel establishes a solicitor-client relationship. Communications made through Counsel — including questions submitted, documents uploaded, and responses generated — are solicitor-client privileged communications.
1.1 A Solicitor-Client Relationship Is Formed
A solicitor-client relationship arises when you engage Counsel. Counsel's supervising lawyer accepts professional responsibility for the service and the advice it provides. This is a real professional relationship, not a platform disclaimer. It carries the full protections and obligations of a solicitor-client relationship under Alberta law, including the duty of confidentiality and the protection of privilege.
1.2 Privilege Attaches — The Role of the Supervising Lawyer
Solicitor-client privilege attaches to Counsel communications because a licensed lawyer supervises and accepts professional responsibility for Counsel. This is a material legal distinction. Courts have recognized that AI-assisted legal work product does not attract solicitor-client privilege where there is no supervising lawyer who accepts professional responsibility for the advice. Because Counsel's supervising lawyer does accept that responsibility, the foundation for privilege is present. Users must protect that privilege by not voluntarily disclosing Counsel communications to adverse parties, insurers, or unrelated third parties.
1.3 Scope of the Relationship
The Counsel solicitor-client relationship is scoped to your platform engagement — the incident, matter, or risk management activity for which you are using Binder. It is not a general-purpose retainer covering unrelated legal matters. If your circumstances raise issues that extend materially beyond that scope, you should discuss the scope of the engagement with the supervising lawyer directly.
1.4 Your Obligations
As a party in a solicitor-client relationship, you are obligated to provide accurate and complete information to Counsel, to use the service only for lawful purposes, and not to take steps that would waive privilege over Counsel communications. If you receive a demand for production of Counsel communications, seek legal advice before responding.
2. Limitation Period Warnings — Not Legal Advice
2.1 Nature of Automated Warnings
BinderCo products, including the Binder Remediation tier, generate automated limitation period warnings at specified intervals before the calculated expiration of the applicable limitation period. These warnings are a service feature intended to help you stay aware of time-sensitive obligations. They are not legal advice. They do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and BinderCo or any person associated with BinderCo.
2.2 Basis of Calculation
Automated limitation period warnings are calculated from the incident date you have entered into the platform and Alberta's general two-year limitation period for civil claims under the Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c L-12. This calculation is a default starting point, not a legal determination of the limitation period applicable to your specific circumstances.
2.3 Limitations of the Calculation
The two-year limitation period is not universal. Specific types of claims — including claims against certain governmental bodies, claims by or against minors, claims involving latent injury or damage, and claims subject to contractual limitation periods — may be subject to different limitation periods, extensions, or exceptions. BinderCo does not represent that the automated calculation is accurate for any particular claim type or set of circumstances.
Standstill agreements, acknowledgment of liability, and other legal mechanisms may also affect the applicable limitation period. Counsel may surface general information about such mechanisms as your deadline approaches, but this information is not a legal opinion about whether any mechanism applies to your matter.
2.4 No Extension of Limitation Period
Automated limitation period warnings do not extend, toll, or suspend any applicable limitation period. The fact that BinderCo has issued a warning, or that you have acknowledged a warning within the platform, does not preserve any legal right. Only independent legal action — typically the filing of a claim or a signed standstill agreement with the opposing party — can affect a limitation period.
2.5 Reliance at Your Own Risk
BinderCo is not liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on automated limitation period warnings in place of, or without the concurrent advice of, a qualified lawyer. If you are uncertain whether your limitation period is still open, or whether any exception or extension may apply, you should obtain independent legal advice immediately.
3. Binder Remediation — Pre-Litigation Scope and Limitation Window
3.1 Pre-Litigation Scope
The Remediation tier is designed to assist in managing insurance claims before the commencement of formal litigation. It is not a litigation support tool and is not appropriate for use in connection with matters in which a Statement of Claim has been filed or litigation is otherwise in progress. BinderCo makes no representations about the suitability of Remediation platform materials or records as evidence in any legal proceeding.
3.2 Limitation Window and Data Retention
Remediation incident data is retained for two years from your incident date, aligned with Alberta's general civil limitation period. This alignment is intended to ensure that your incident record remains available during the period in which you may have actionable rights. It does not constitute a representation that your limitation period expires two years from your incident date, nor does the expiration of the data retention window mean that your limitation period has passed or that any right has been extinguished.
The deletion of your Remediation data at the end of the retention window does not affect, toll, or otherwise alter any legal right or limitation period applicable to your matter. Data deletion is a platform data management function, not a legal determination.
4. General Platform Liability Limitations
BinderCo platforms and services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. BinderCo makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or accuracy of information, except to the extent that such warranties cannot be excluded under applicable law.
BinderCo is not liable for:
- Decisions made in reliance on platform outputs, including Counsel responses, limitation period warnings, analytics outputs, or any other platform-generated content
- Loss or damage resulting from system unavailability, interruption, data loss, or unauthorized access where BinderCo has implemented reasonable security measures
- The outcome of insurance claims, legal proceedings, or negotiations managed through or informed by BinderCo platforms
- Third-party actions, including actions by insurers, adverse parties, or other third parties in connection with your incident or claim
The limitations in this Disclaimer are subject to, and do not exclude or limit, the statutory protections available under applicable law, including consumer protection legislation where it applies.
5. No Professional Relationship
Nothing on any BinderCo platform constitutes legal, financial, medical, or other professional advice unless explicitly delivered by a credentialed professional acting under a formal client engagement with you personally. BinderCo products are organizational and personal management tools. They help you document, organize, and navigate processes. They do not replace the professional judgment, independent analysis, or legal obligations that arise from a formal professional relationship.
If you are facing a significant legal, financial, or medical decision and are uncertain about the right course of action, you should engage a qualified professional for advice specific to your circumstances.
6. Contact
Questions about this Disclaimer may be directed to legal@binderco.ca.