Legal
These Terms of Use are an agreement between you and The Defense Brief, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (“The Defense Brief”, “we”, “us”). They apply to our website, applications and services (the “Service”). Paid membership is also governed by our Membership Agreement, and licences for DB Wire stories by the DB Wire Story Licence.
By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
We may update these Terms. We will post the updated version with a new “Last Updated” date and, for changes that materially affect members or organizations, give at least thirty (30) days’ notice by email before the change takes effect. A material change to paid terms never takes effect for you merely because you keep using the Service: if you do not accept it, you may cancel before it takes effect.
The Service is for professionals and organizations seeking defense, geopolitical, government and market intelligence. You must be at least 18 years old to use it.
Some features require an account. Keep your sign-in details confidential and tell us promptly at info@defensebrief.ca if you believe your account has been used without your permission. An individual membership is for one person; do not share your account.
You may use the Service for your own personal, professional or internal business purposes. You may quote short excerpts of our content with attribution to The Defense Brief where Canadian copyright law permits, including fair dealing for research, private study, education, criticism, review or news reporting.
Wider use — publishing our work, white-label or co-branded delivery, redistribution to others, or use of licensed DB Wire stories — is permitted only as set out in a signed organization agreement or a DB Wire Story Licence.
Unless a signed organization agreement or DB Wire Story Licence expressly permits it, you agree not to:
Our Acceptable Use Policy explains these rules in more detail and forms part of these Terms. It protects legitimate research, journalism and security analysis about these subjects.
Some features let you send us material — questions, watchlists, reports for analysis, contributor drafts, corrections and complaints. You keep whatever rights you have in it. You give us a non-exclusive licence to store, process and use it to provide the Service and to respond to you, and, for contributor work, as set out in your contributor agreement.
You confirm you are entitled to share what you send. Do not send classified material, export-controlled technical data or technology, or information you received under a duty of confidence that you are not free to disclose. We screen submissions for classification and export-control markings, serious allegations and private personal information, and may hold, refuse, remove or escalate material for review. Screening is a safeguard, not a guarantee that the material is lawful to hold or share; that remains your responsibility.
The Service and our original content are owned by The Defense Brief or used under licence, and are protected by Canadian and international law. We do not claim ownership of underlying facts, public records, or third-party material we cite or link to; those remain subject to their own owners’ terms, which we identify where we show them.
Our content is general information and analysis. It is not legal, financial, investment, security, sanctions-compliance or other professional advice, and it is not tailored to your circumstances. Some summaries and assessments are produced with automated tools, including AI models, and we label them. Please read our Disclaimer, which forms part of these Terms.
If you believe something we published is wrong, unlawful or unfair to you, use the report form or write to info@defensebrief.ca with a link and an explanation. We review reports promptly and correct material errors, noting the correction where the item remains available. How we verify, attribute and correct is set out in our Editorial Standards.
Paid individual membership is governed by the Membership Agreement, which sets out price, renewal, cancellation, refunds and taxes. DB Wire story licences are governed by the DB Wire Story Licence. Organization pilots and engagements are governed by the agreement signed for them.
You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time from your account settings.
We may suspend or close an account for a material breach of these Terms, non-payment, fraud or abuse, or where the law requires it. Where it is practical and lawful to do so, we will tell you why and give you an opportunity to respond first. If we close a paid account without cause, we will refund the unused portion of any prepaid period.
The Service evolves, and we may add, change or retire features. If we remove a feature that is a material part of what a member has paid for, we will give at least thirty (30) days’ notice by email, and a member who no longer wishes to continue may cancel and receive a refund of the unused portion of a prepaid period.
To the extent permitted by law, The Defense Brief is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data or business opportunity, arising from your use of the Service.
To the extent permitted by law, our total liability for all claims relating to the Service is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months before the event giving rise to the claim, or one hundred Canadian dollars (CAD $100).
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any right or remedy you have under consumer protection or other law that cannot be excluded or limited by agreement. If you are a consumer in Australia, section 15 applies and prevails over this section.
If you use the Service for business purposes, you agree to indemnify The Defense Brief against third-party claims arising from your breach of these Terms or your misuse of the Service. This section does not apply to consumers to the extent the law does not allow it.
If you acquire the Service as a consumer in Australia, our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)), including that they will be supplied with due care and skill and be reasonably fit for any purpose you make known to us.
Nothing in these Terms, the Membership Agreement, the DB Wire Story Licence, the Disclaimer or any other document of ours excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy under the Australian Consumer Law, or any other right that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified. Where a term would have that effect, it does not apply to you to that extent.
Where the Australian Consumer Law allows us to limit our liability for a failure to comply with a consumer guarantee — which it does not for services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use — our liability is limited, at our option, to supplying the services again or paying the cost of having them supplied again.
If there is a major failure with the Service, you may cancel and obtain a refund for the unused portion, or compensation for its reduced value. You may also be entitled to compensation for other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.
These Terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. The courts of Ontario have jurisdiction over disputes, without taking away any right you have under the law of the place where you live to bring a claim there. If you are a consumer in Australia, this choice of law does not deprive you of the protection of the Australian Consumer Law or the laws of your State or Territory, and you may bring proceedings in an Australian court or tribunal where the law allows.
Before starting formal proceedings, please write to info@defensebrief.ca so we can try to resolve the matter. This does not stop you contacting a consumer protection agency or regulator at any time.
If you or your organization has signed an agreement with us — a pilot agreement, order form or licence — that agreement prevails over these Terms to the extent they conflict. Otherwise, these Terms, the Membership Agreement, the DB Wire Story Licence where applicable, our Privacy Policy, our Acceptable Use Policy and our Disclaimer are the whole agreement about your use of the Service.
If a provision is found unenforceable, it will be enforced to the extent permissible and the rest of these Terms remain in effect.
The Defense Brief, Toronto, Ontario, Canada — info@defensebrief.ca.