The fine print, kept short

By using carterative.com you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the site. I may update them from time to time; the current version is always here with its date, and using the site after a change means you accept it.

Carterative is operated by Carter Stoddard LLC. When this page says I or me, that is who it means.

This site shows the studio's work and services: brand, web, video, motion, CGI, content and related creative and marketing work. Nothing on it is a binding offer, a quote or a guarantee of availability.

Actual client work is governed by the proposal, statement of work or agreement signed for that engagement, including scope, fees, timelines, revisions and ownership of deliverables. If that document and these terms conflict, the signed agreement wins. Talking with me, sending a brief or receiving a quote does not create an engagement; only a signed agreement does.

The content of this site (text, design, code, imagery, video, and the Carterative name and marks) belongs to Carter Stoddard LLC or its licensors and is protected by copyright and trademark law. You may browse and share links. You may not copy, scrape, republish or use the content commercially without written permission.

Client names, logos and project work appear here to identify real engagements. Those marks belong to their owners, and showing them does not imply endorsement of anything beyond the work shown. Testimonials are genuine statements from named, real people, published with permission.

Some of the work shown on this site is self-directed: pieces I made for fun, to test an idea or to practise, using a brand everyone already knows as the brief. Where that is the case it is labelled as a concept. Those brands did not commission, approve or pay for the work, I have no relationship with them, and nothing about it implies endorsement or affiliation. Their names and marks remain their property and appear only to make the concept legible. Concept work is shown as a demonstration of craft, not as a claim of a client relationship. If you own a brand shown in a concept and would like it removed, email carter@carterative.com and it will come down.

Unless a signed agreement says otherwise, Carterative keeps the right to show completed client work in its portfolio, on this site and in its own marketing. Confidential work under NDA is excluded, always.

Do not misuse the site: no attempting to breach its security, no scraping or automated harvesting, no sending malicious code through the form, and no using the form for spam or unlawful content. I may restrict access to anyone who does.

The site links out to social platforms, client sites and tools. Those destinations have their own terms and privacy practices, and I am not responsible for them.

The site and its content are provided as is and as available, without warranties of any kind, express or implied. Case studies describe specific past engagements. Marketing outcomes depend on many things, and past results do not guarantee future ones.

To the fullest extent the law allows, Carter Stoddard LLC is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising from your use of this site. Total liability for any claim related to the site is limited to one hundred US dollars ($100). Liability arising from a client engagement is addressed in that engagement's signed agreement, not here. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

You agree to indemnify and hold Carter Stoddard LLC harmless from claims arising out of your breach of these terms or your misuse of the site or its content.

If you send material through this site or by email (a brief, a logo, copy, images, product claims), you confirm you have the right to share it and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights. You are responsible for the accuracy of claims you ask me to publish about your product or business, and for clearing any third-party rights in what you supply. I may decline material I consider unlawful, misleading or infringing.

Some work is made with the help of AI tools, alongside cameras, software and my own hands. Where that matters to a deliverable it is disclosed in the engagement. The judgement, direction and final call are mine.

If you believe something on this site infringes your copyright, email carter@carterative.com with the work you own, where it appears here, and your contact details. Legitimate notices are acted on promptly.

How personal information is handled is covered in the Privacy Policy, which is part of these terms.

I want this site to be usable by everyone, and I check it for accessibility as it changes. If anything here is hard for you to use, email carter@carterative.com and I will fix it or get you the content another way.

Talk to me first. If you have a claim relating to this site, email carter@carterative.com describing it and give me thirty days to resolve it before taking any formal step. Most things get sorted in one reply.

If it cannot be resolved that way, you and Carter Stoddard LLC agree that any dispute arising out of this site or these terms will be settled by binding arbitration in Orange County, California, administered by the American Arbitration Association under its rules, rather than in court, except that either side may bring an individual claim in small claims court. Claims are brought on an individual basis only: no class actions, no representative actions, and no consolidating claims with anyone else's. Any claim must be brought within one year of when it arose, or it is waived.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Where a matter goes to court despite the Disputes section, it will be heard in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, California, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. These terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and Carter Stoddard LLC about use of this site.

Questions about these terms: carter@carterative.com. Carter Stoddard LLC, California, United States.