Terms of Service
Last updated: April 2026
1. Acceptance
By accessing or using Festgate (operated by Muse Layer LLC, 5203 Juan Tabo Blvd, Ste 2B, Albuquerque, NM 87111, USA), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.
2. Service description
Festgate is a platform for managing creative festivals, contests and competitions. We facilitate:
- Submission of creative works (film, art, music, photography, scripts, AI projects, etc.)
- Festival management for organizers (judges, evaluations, awards, diplomas)
- Payment processing for submission fees via Stripe
- Diploma and laurel generation
- Public listing of festivals
3. Account types
- Creators — submit projects to festivals.
- Organizers — create and manage festivals.
- Judges — accounts created by organizers to evaluate submissions.
Multiple accounts per person are not permitted. We reserve the right to suspend duplicate or fraudulent accounts.
4. User obligations
- Provide accurate information during registration.
- Keep your password secure. You are responsible for all activity under your account.
- Submit only works to which you hold the necessary rights.
- Do not upload content that is illegal, infringes copyrights, contains malware, or violates anyone's privacy.
- Do not abuse the platform (spam, scraping, mass downloads, etc.).
5. Intellectual property of submitted works
You retain all rights to the works you submit. By submitting:
- You grant the festival organizer(s) the right to view, evaluate and screen your work for the purposes of the festival.
- You grant Festgate a limited license to host, display thumbnails and process your work to deliver the service.
- If you win or are selected, the organizer may publicly mention your work as part of their results announcement (within reasonable expectations of the festival format).
6. Submission fees and refunds
- Fees vary per festival, deadline and category. Set by the organizer (marketplace events) or by Festgate (platform-owned events).
- All sales are final. Refunds are at the discretion of the festival organizer.
- Currency conversions may apply when paying in a currency different from the festival default.
7. Festival organizers — additional obligations
- Provide accurate festival information (dates, fees, rules).
- Evaluate submissions fairly and within the announced timeline.
- Notify entrants of their final status (Selected, Not Selected, Winner, etc.) by the announcement date.
- Comply with the Data Processing Agreement in Section 12 of these Terms.
- If charging fees, configure Stripe Connect to receive payments directly. Festgate will not process payments to organizers without an active Stripe Connect account.
- Festgate retains a platform commission on marketplace events (default 8%, configurable per event).
8. Platform-owned events
Some festivals are operated directly by Muse Layer LLC (e.g. AI Visual Awards). For these, Muse Layer LLC is the sole organizer, Merchant of Record and Data Controller. All payments are processed by Muse Layer LLC and receipts are issued in our name.
9. Account suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate accounts that:
- Violate these Terms or applicable laws
- Engage in fraud, spam or abuse
- Upload illegal or rights-infringing content
- Fail to pay outstanding fees
Users may delete their account at any time from their profile settings. Some data may be retained as required by law (tax records, etc.).
10. Limitation of liability
Festgate is provided "as is". To the maximum extent permitted by law, Muse Layer LLC is not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages. Our total liability shall not exceed the fees paid by you in the 12 months prior to the claim.
11. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico, USA. Any disputes shall be resolved exclusively in the courts of Bernalillo County, New Mexico. EU users retain consumer rights under their local law where applicable.
12. Data Processing Agreement (Art. 28 GDPR) — for Festival Organizers
This section forms an integral part of the Terms of Service and applies whenever a third-party Organizer uses Festgate to receive submissions. The Organizer ("Controller") and Muse Layer LLC d/b/a Festgate ("Processor") agree to the following terms in compliance with Art. 28 of GDPR (Regulation 2016/679).
12.1. Subject and duration
Festgate processes personal data of Submitters on behalf of the Organizer for the purpose of:
- Receiving, storing and displaying submissions
- Facilitating evaluation by judges
- Sending status notifications to Submitters
- Issuing diplomas and laurels
This processing lasts as long as the Organizer maintains an active account or the festival remains active.
12.2. Categories of data subjects and personal data
- Submitters: name, email, country, project title, synopsis, technical credits, uploaded files
- Judges: name, email, evaluations
12.3. Obligations of the Processor (Festgate)
- Process data only on documented instructions from the Organizer (use of the platform constitutes such instruction)
- Ensure persons authorized to process the data are bound by confidentiality
- Implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures (Art. 32 GDPR)
- Engage sub-processors only with prior general authorization (current sub-processors: Stripe, hosting provider, email service provider)
- Assist the Organizer in fulfilling data subject rights requests (Art. 15-22)
- Notify the Organizer of any personal data breach without undue delay
- At the end of the service, delete or return all personal data, unless retention is required by law
- Make available all information necessary to demonstrate compliance
12.4. Obligations of the Controller (Organizer)
- Use Submitter data ONLY for the purposes of evaluating and managing their festival
- NOT use Submitter contact information for marketing or unsolicited communications
- NOT share Submitter data with third parties without explicit consent from the Submitter
- Respond to data subject requests within legal deadlines
- Maintain confidentiality of Submitter information
- Comply with applicable data protection laws in their jurisdiction
12.5. International transfers
The Organizer acknowledges that data may be processed and stored in the United States. By accepting these Terms, the Organizer authorizes such transfer.
12.6. Liability
Each party is responsible for its own data protection compliance. Festgate is not liable for misuse of Submitter data by the Organizer beyond the platform.
12.7. Sub-processors
Current authorized sub-processors:
- Stripe Inc. — payment processing
- Cloudflare R2 / Plesk-hosted infrastructure — file and database hosting
- Email service provider — transactional email delivery
Festgate will inform Organizers of any new sub-processor with reasonable notice.
13. Contact
For Terms of Service questions: hello@festgate.com
For Data Protection / GDPR questions: privacy@festgate.com