Terms of Use
General terms governing the use of services offered by Horizon-Cumulus (9322-8310 Québec inc.).
1. Preamble
These general terms of use (hereinafter the "Terms") govern all services provided by Horizon-Cumulus, a division of 9322-8310 Québec inc., a company incorporated under the laws of Quebec, with its registered office located in Joliette (Quebec), Canada.
By accessing or using our services, the Client acknowledges having read, understood, and accepted these Terms in their entirety. If the Client does not accept these Terms, they must immediately stop using our services.
These Terms take effect from the date of first use of the services and remain in force for the entire duration of the business relationship between the Client and Horizon-Cumulus.
2. Definitions
In these Terms, the following terms have the meanings assigned to them below:
- "Client" means any individual or legal entity that has subscribed to one or more services offered by Horizon-Cumulus through the client portal or by direct agreement.
- "Services" means all services offered by Horizon-Cumulus, including but not limited to web hosting, domain registration, custom development, email services, and security solutions.
- "Infrastructure" means all servers, networks, software, and equipment used by Horizon-Cumulus to deliver the Services, including resources from our data center partners.
- "Client Content" means all data, files, databases, images, text, and any other content uploaded, stored, or processed by the Client on the Infrastructure in connection with the use of the Services.
- "Personal Information" means any information relating to an identifiable individual within the meaning of the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Quebec) and Quebec Law 25.
- "Reseller Partner" means any individual or legal entity participating in the Horizon-Cumulus partner program and offering the Services to their own clients under their brand or that of Horizon-Cumulus.
3. Services Offered
Horizon-Cumulus offers a range of services designed for businesses and professionals, including:
- Managed web hosting (WordPress, Laravel, Node.js, Python applications)
- Domain name registration and management
- Managed DNS, global CDN, and Shield protection (WAF)
- Professional email and transactional email (SMTP)
- Custom development (websites, applications, plugins, themes)
- AI-accelerated prototyping
- DMARC monitoring and CSP management
- Security audits and penetration testing
- Consulting and support for Quebec Law 25 compliance
The details, features, and limitations of each service are described on the corresponding service pages of the Horizon-Cumulus website and in the order confirmations sent to the Client.
4. Registration and Account
To access the Services, the Client must create an account through the Horizon-Cumulus client portal (WHMCS). The Client represents and warrants that:
- They are at least 18 years of age or have the legal capacity to enter into a contract on behalf of their business.
- The information provided during registration is accurate, complete, and up to date. The Client undertakes to update it promptly in the event of any change.
- They are solely responsible for the confidentiality of their login credentials and for all activity conducted under their account.
The Client must notify Horizon-Cumulus without delay of any unauthorized use of their account or any breach of the security of their credentials. Horizon-Cumulus shall not be held liable for any losses resulting from unauthorized access to the Client's account.
5. Pricing and Payment
5.1 Prices and Currency
All prices are listed in Canadian dollars (CAD) and do not include applicable taxes (GST/QST), unless otherwise stated. The rates in effect are those displayed at the time of order or renewal.
5.2 Payment Methods
Horizon-Cumulus accepts the following payment methods: credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), bank transfer, and cheque. Cryptocurrency payments are not accepted.
5.3 Automatic Renewal
All subscribed services are automatically renewed on their due date at the rates then in effect. It is the Client's responsibility to cancel any service they do not wish to renew, through the client portal, before the renewal date.
5.4 Late Payments
Any amount remaining unpaid after thirty (30) days from the invoice date is subject to a late fee of two percent (2%) per month, calculated on the outstanding balance. Horizon-Cumulus reserves the right to suspend the Services in the event of persistent non-payment.
5.5 Satisfaction Guarantee
New clients benefit from a thirty (30) day satisfaction guarantee starting from the initial service activation date. During this period, the Client may request a full refund. This guarantee applies only to hosting services and does not cover domains, SSL certificates, or custom development work.
5.6 Partner Credits
Under the partner program, credits earned by a Reseller Partner are adjusted in the event of service cancellation by a referred client, in accordance with the program terms.
6. Acceptable Use Policy
The Client agrees to use the Services responsibly and in compliance with applicable laws. The following activities are strictly prohibited:
- Hosting, storing, or distributing illegal, defamatory, hateful, obscene, or rights-infringing content.
- Sending unsolicited email (spam), whether directly or through automated scripts.
- Using the Infrastructure for cryptocurrency mining, blockchain processing, or any similar resource-intensive activity.
- Excessively consuming shared resources (CPU, memory, bandwidth) in a manner that compromises the performance of other clients.
- Attempting unauthorized access to the Infrastructure, other clients' accounts, or any third-party system through our services.
- Hosting malware, phishing tools, or scripts designed to compromise the security of computer systems.
- Violating intellectual property laws, including the distribution of pirated or counterfeit content.
- Using the Services for illegal gambling, fraud, or money laundering activities.
Horizon-Cumulus reserves the right to choose its clients and to refuse or terminate the provision of services at its sole discretion, particularly in the event of a violation of this policy. Upon detection of a violation, Horizon-Cumulus may suspend or terminate the Services immediately, without notice or refund.
7. Intellectual Property
7.1 Client Content
The Client retains all intellectual property rights in the Client Content hosted or processed through the Services. Horizon-Cumulus acquires no rights in such content.
7.2 Custom Development
For custom development work (websites, applications, plugins, themes), full ownership of the source code and copyright is transferred to the Client upon full payment of all invoices related to the project. Until full payment has been received, the developed code remains the property of Horizon-Cumulus.
7.3 Generic Components
Libraries, generic components, tools, and methodologies developed or used by Horizon-Cumulus across its operations remain the exclusive property of Horizon-Cumulus. The Client receives a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use these components within the scope of their project.
7.4 Horizon-Cumulus Property
The website, brand, logo, client portal interface, and all content produced by Horizon-Cumulus for its own purposes remain its exclusive property.
8. Use of Artificial Intelligence
Horizon-Cumulus integrates artificial intelligence tools (including Anthropic's Claude and GitHub Copilot) into its development processes. These tools are used as productivity accelerators and quality assurance instruments.
All outputs generated by artificial intelligence are systematically reviewed and validated by human developers before being integrated into any client deliverable. AI does not replace the professional judgment of our team.
As part of the AI-accelerated prototyping service, the Client is informed that their project descriptions are processed by artificial intelligence models to produce preliminary analyses and recommendations.
The online brief generator processes project descriptions submitted by the Client using artificial intelligence. A summary, the Client's contact details, and the AI-generated analysis are forwarded to our team for commercial follow-up. By using this tool, the Client consents to this processing.
9. Backups and Data
Horizon-Cumulus performs daily backups of Client Content hosted on its Infrastructure as a courtesy service. These backups follow best practices but do not constitute a guarantee of complete data restoration.
The Client is solely and ultimately responsible for the preservation of their data. It is the Client's responsibility to maintain their own backup copies of Client Content, independently of the backups performed by Horizon-Cumulus.
In the event of data loss, Horizon-Cumulus's liability is limited to a reasonable recovery effort from available backups, with no guarantee of outcome. Horizon-Cumulus shall not be held liable for any data loss, regardless of cause.
10. Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Horizon-Cumulus strives to maintain a target availability of 99.9% for its hosting services. This availability rate represents a best-effort objective and not a guaranteed contractual commitment.
Service availability depends in part on our data center providers, particularly OVH and GT HOST, whose own service commitments apply at their infrastructure level.
Planned maintenance windows are communicated to the Client by email or through the client portal with reasonable advance notice, except in emergencies requiring immediate intervention.
Clients with higher availability requirements or needing a formal contractual commitment (guaranteed SLA) may take advantage of our advanced plans or custom agreements. Contact our team to discuss.
11. Termination
11.1 Termination by the Client
The Client may terminate their services at any time through the client portal. Services end at the expiration of the already-paid period, without pro-rata refund of amounts paid, except under the satisfaction guarantee provided in section 5.5.
11.2 Non-Renewal
In the event of non-renewal, a grace period of thirty (30) days is granted during which the Client's data is retained. After this period, data may be permanently deleted with no possibility of recovery.
11.3 Data Export
The Client may request the export of their data at any time during the active service period or during the grace period. Source code developed as part of custom projects is delivered to the Client subject to full payment of all associated invoices.
11.4 Termination by Horizon-Cumulus
Horizon-Cumulus reserves the right to terminate a service immediately in the event of a breach of these Terms, including a violation of the acceptable use policy, persistent non-payment, or abusive behavior toward our staff.
12. Partner Program
Reseller Partners participating in the Horizon-Cumulus partner program are subject to these Terms in addition to the program-specific terms.
The Reseller Partner is responsible for billing and first-level support for their own clients. They remain, however, responsible for payment of services to Horizon-Cumulus, regardless of payments received from their clients.
To ensure service continuity for hosted clients, Horizon-Cumulus reserves the right, in the event of a Reseller Partner's payment default, to contact the affected clients directly and offer them a migration of their services to a direct account with Horizon-Cumulus. This measure is taken as a last resort and solely in the interest of service continuity.
13. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Horizon-Cumulus shall not be held liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to:
- Loss of revenue, profits, or business opportunities.
- Loss of data beyond the reasonable recovery efforts described in section 9.
- Interruption of the Client's business operations.
- Any damage resulting from force majeure events, including natural disasters, network outages, cyberattacks, or government actions.
Horizon-Cumulus's total liability to the Client, for all causes combined, is limited to the total amount of fees actually paid by the Client during the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
The Client is solely responsible for their Client Content, for compliance with laws applicable to their activities, and for the collection, processing, and protection of the personal information of their own users.
14. Indemnification
The Client agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Horizon-Cumulus, its officers, employees, and subcontractors against any claim, demand, action, damage, cost, or expense (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from or related to:
- Client Content hosted or processed through the Services.
- The Client's or their end users' use of the Services.
- The Client's violation of these Terms or of any applicable law.
- Any infringement of third-party intellectual property rights resulting from Client Content.
15. Amendments to the Terms
Horizon-Cumulus reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time. In the event of a change, Clients will be notified by email at least thirty (30) days before the new terms take effect.
Continued use of the Services after the expiration of the notice period constitutes acceptance of the amended terms. If the Client does not accept the amendments, they may terminate their services in accordance with section 11 before the new terms take effect.
16. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws in force in the Province of Quebec and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.
Any dispute arising from these Terms or from the use of the Services shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the judicial district of Joliette, Province of Quebec.
17. Contact
For any questions regarding these Terms or the Services, the Client may contact Horizon-Cumulus at the following coordinates:
Horizon-Cumulus (9322-8310 Québec inc.)
CP 254 succ. Joliette
Joliette (QC) J6E 3Z6
Canada
1 877 966-4225
assistance@horizon-cumulus.ca
Last updated: April 2025