Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose and scope

This policy governs access to and use of the Urban Choices website, subscription areas, catalogues, data services, AskBrian experiences and related tools (together, the “Platform”). It applies whether you browse publicly, create an account, subscribe, submit content or use Platform information in your work.

Urban Choices supports the South African furniture industry by organising product, supplier, material and professional knowledge. By using the Platform, you agree to this policy and applicable South African law, including POPIA, ECTA and copyright law.

2. Permitted use

You may use the Platform for lawful personal, research and professional purposes connected to furniture, design, specification, procurement, manufacturing, sales and related services. Subject to your access level, you may:

• browse, search and compare information;
• use reasonable extracts in internal proposals or client work, with appropriate attribution and without removing source notices;
• submit genuine enquiries, corrections, content or supply requests;
• use Platform tools and generated outputs as decision support, after checking material facts with the relevant supplier or professional.

3. Prohibited use

You may not use the Platform to:

• break the law, infringe rights, deceive, harass or harm another person or organisation;
• misrepresent your identity, authority, qualifications, affiliation or commercial relationship;
• gain or attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems, data or restricted areas;
• introduce malware, overload services, bypass technical controls, probe vulnerabilities without written authorisation, or interfere with other users;
• scrape, harvest, bulk-download, reproduce or build a competing database from a substantial part of the Platform without written permission;
• use automated access in a way that ignores published controls, creates unreasonable load or circumvents subscription limits;
• alter, suppress or misrepresent product, supplier, attribution or provenance information;
• send spam, unrelated promotions or fraudulent enquiries;
• use Platform content or outputs as the sole basis for safety-critical, legal, financial or procurement decisions.

4. Content and intellectual property

Urban Choices owns or licenses the Platform design, structure, original writing, software and branding. Product names, trademarks, imagery and supplier materials remain the property of their respective owners. A reference on the Platform does not transfer ownership or imply endorsement.

If you submit content, you confirm that you have authority to provide it and permit Urban Choices to store, format, display and use it for the service and related industry communication. More detail appears in the Data Governance & Content Policy.

5. Accuracy and user responsibility

Urban Choices works to present useful and current information, but catalogue data, prices, availability, lead times, specifications and supplier terms can change. The Platform and any AI-assisted output are provided as information and decision support, not a guarantee or professional instruction.

You remain responsible for checking important details directly with the relevant manufacturer, supplier or qualified adviser before specifying, quoting, ordering, installing or representing a product.

6. Enforcement

Where reasonably necessary, Urban Choices may investigate suspected misuse, limit or suspend access, remove content or requests, preserve relevant records, and cooperate with lawful requests from authorities. We will consider the seriousness, risk, context and recurrence of the conduct. Where appropriate, we may give notice and an opportunity to correct the issue.

7. Reporting and policy changes

We may update this policy as the Platform, law or our operations develop. The current version and effective date will remain published here. Material changes may also be communicated to registered users.