Terms & Conditions | Black Silo

Terms & Conditions

Black Silo Commodity Consulting Limited and Black Silo SRL

Version: 2.0

1. About these Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") form a binding contract between you and Black Silo Commodity Consulting Limited (registered in Ireland at Annagharvey, Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland) and its Romanian subsidiary, Black Silo SRL (together, "Black Silo," "we," "our," or "us"). They govern your access to and use of our website at https://black-silo.com (the "Site") and the subscription services and content available through it (the "Service").

By registering for, accessing, or using the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and accepted these Terms. If you do not accept them, you must not use the Service.

Personal data is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which form part of these Terms by reference.

2. Business-Use Only

The Service is provided exclusively to businesses and to individuals acting in a business or professional capacity (including sole traders, self-employed professionals, and other natural persons acting for purposes related to their trade, profession, or commercial activity).

By registering for the Service, you represent and warrant that:

(a) you are acting in a business or professional capacity for purposes related to your trade, profession, or commercial activity;
(b) if you are registering on behalf of a legal entity, you have full authority to bind that entity to these Terms;
(c) you are not a "consumer" within the meaning of EU Directive 2011/83/EU or any equivalent law in your jurisdiction; and
(d) you are at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, if higher).

You acknowledge that this representation is material to Black Silo's decision to provide the Service to you and that Black Silo may immediately terminate your access if it is or becomes untrue.

The Service is not directed at consumers and we do not offer it to consumers. If you are a consumer, please do not register for or use the Service.

3. Registration and Access

3.1 Approval-based access

Registration for the Service is subject to our approval. We may, at our sole discretion and without obligation to give reasons, decline any registration request, including in order to protect the integrity of the Service or to prevent access by competitors, persons engaged in unauthorised redistribution, or persons we reasonably suspect of acting in bad faith.

3.2 Accuracy of information

You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information at registration and to keep it updated. We may verify the information you provide, including by requesting documentary evidence of your business identity (such as a VAT number or company registration number).

3.3 Account credentials

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password, and for all activity under your account. You must notify us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect any unauthorised access. We may suspend access to investigate suspected misuse.

3.4 Authorised users

Each subscription identifies one or more named authorised users. Access to the Service is granted only to those named individuals. Sharing credentials with any other person — including colleagues, affiliates, or contractors — is strictly prohibited and constitutes a material breach of these Terms (see clause 11).

3.5 Free trials

Where we offer a free trial, access is granted at our discretion to qualifying prospects. We reserve the right to refuse, suspend, or terminate any free trial at any time and without notice. These Terms apply to free trials in full, except that fees are not payable for the duration of the trial.

4. The Service and the Content

4.1 What we provide

The Service consists of subscription access to market intelligence, research, analysis, reports, data, commentary, and related materials (the "Content") relating to commodity markets, prepared and curated by Black Silo. The specific scope, frequency, and depth of Content depend on your subscription plan.

4.2 Updates and changes

We may from time to time add to, modify, suspend, or discontinue features of the Service or particular elements of the Content. We will not materially reduce the core Content during a paid subscription term without offering an appropriate adjustment.

4.3 Third-party content

The Content may incorporate, reference, or cite data and analysis from third-party sources. Such third-party material is provided "as is," and Black Silo does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any third-party data. Where required by our licences with third parties, such material is attributed.

4.4 No financial, investment, legal, or tax advice

The Content is for general business information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute, and must not be relied upon as, financial advice, investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, or transact in any commodity, security, derivative, or other financial instrument.

You acknowledge that:

(a) commodity markets are inherently volatile and unpredictable;
(b) any decisions you make in reliance on the Content are made at your own risk and with your own due diligence;
(c) past performance, forecasts, or analyses do not guarantee future results; and
(d) you should obtain independent professional advice before making any material commercial, financial, or trading decisions.

5. Fees and Payment

5.1 Fees

Fees for the Service are as set out in the applicable order form, quotation, invoice, or as otherwise communicated to you in writing at the time of purchase. All fees are exclusive of VAT and other applicable taxes unless expressly stated otherwise.

5.2 Subscription terms

The Service is offered on the following subscription terms:

Quarterly subscriptions — billed in advance for a three-month period
Annual subscriptions — billed in advance for a twelve-month period

Other terms may be offered or agreed in writing on a case-by-case basis.

5.3 Invoicing and payment

Subscription fees are payable in advance against an invoice issued by Black Silo. Payment is due within the period specified on the invoice (typically 30 days from the invoice date) by bank transfer or other agreed method.

5.4 Late payment

If payment is not received by the due date, we may, without prejudice to any other remedy:

(a) suspend access to the Service until payment is received;
(b) charge interest at the rate provided by the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (as amended), being the European Central Bank reference rate plus 8 percentage points;
(c) recover reasonable costs of recovery, including legal fees, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

5.5 Renewals

Subscriptions are fixed-term and do not auto-renew. To continue access beyond the end of your subscription term, you must affirmatively confirm renewal and pay the renewal invoice issued by us. We will normally contact you in advance of the term end to facilitate this.

5.6 Grace period

If a renewal is not confirmed and paid by the term end, the Service will continue to be accessible for a grace period of 7 days after the term end, after which access will be suspended. The grace period is provided as a courtesy and does not extend the subscription term itself.

5.7 Refunds

Subscription fees are non-refundable once paid. Black Silo may, at its sole and absolute discretion and in exceptional circumstances, issue partial or full refunds. The exercise or non-exercise of that discretion in any case does not create any obligation or expectation in any other case. Where granted, a refund is the sole and exclusive remedy of the customer in respect of the matter giving rise to it.

This clause 5.7 does not exclude or limit a refund of unused, prepaid fees on a pro-rata basis where Black Silo materially breaches these Terms and you exercise your right to terminate under clause 12.2.

5.8 Fee changes

We may change fees for future subscription terms by notifying you at least 30 days in advance of the renewal date. Changes do not apply to the current paid term.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree that you will not, and will not permit your authorised users or any third party to:

(a) use the Service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purpose;
(b) interfere with, disrupt, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service or any related system or network;
(c) introduce any virus, malware, or other harmful code into the Service;
(d) use any automated tool (including bots, scrapers, spiders, crawlers, or data-mining tools) to access, copy, monitor, or extract any part of the Service or the Content, except for routine search-engine indexing of publicly accessible pages;
(e) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source code of any part of the Service;
(f) circumvent or attempt to circumvent any access control, security measure, watermark, fingerprint, or technical limitation of the Service;
(g) impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
(h) submit knowingly false, misleading, or defamatory information through the Service;
(i) use the Service in a way that could harm Black Silo's reputation, infringe third-party rights, or breach applicable law.

Breach of this clause constitutes a material breach of these Terms.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our content is ours

All rights, title, and interest in and to the Service, the Content, and all related materials — including text, data, analysis, reports, methodologies, models, forecasts, visualisations, charts, software, design, structure, selection, arrangement, "look and feel," trademarks, logos, and any updates, modifications, or derivative works — are owned by Black Silo or licensed to Black Silo. These Terms do not transfer any ownership rights to you.

7.2 Limited licence to use

Subject to your continued compliance with these Terms and timely payment of all applicable fees, Black Silo grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable licence to access and view the Service and the Content solely for the internal business purposes of the named subscribing entity and its named authorised users. No other use is permitted.

7.3 Prohibited uses of the Content

You shall not, and shall ensure that your authorised users shall not, directly or indirectly:

(a) copy, reproduce, transmit, forward, share, distribute, publish, display, or otherwise disclose any Content, in whole or in part, to any third party — including affiliates, parent companies, subsidiaries, partners, suppliers, customers, advisors, journalists, or members of the public — in any medium, whether electronic, print, oral, or otherwise;
(b) post, upload, or share any Content on any social media platform, public forum, blog, message board, intranet accessible to non-authorised users, or any other public or shared platform;
(c) include any Content in derivative reports, presentations, newsletters, briefings, or commercial products that are shared, distributed, or made available outside the named subscribing entity;
(d) permit any non-authorised user to view, hear, or otherwise access the Content, including by screen-sharing, screenshot, presentation, projection, or verbal disclosure;
(e) share, transfer, sell, lease, lend, or permit the use of access credentials by any other person;
(f) use the Service or Content for the benefit of any third party, including in providing consulting, advisory, brokerage, or other services to clients of the subscribing entity;
(g) use the Service or any Content for the purpose of training, fine-tuning, validating, evaluating, or otherwise developing any machine-learning or artificial-intelligence model, system, or service, whether commercial or non-commercial, including (without limitation) large language models, generative AI systems, recommendation systems, or automated data-mining systems. This restriction applies regardless of any text-and-data mining exception under Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/790 (the "DSM Directive") or any analogous provision under applicable law, the benefit of which Black Silo expressly reserves under Article 4(3) DSM Directive. Licences for AI-training use may be available on commercial terms by contacting [email protected];
(h) circumvent or attempt to circumvent any technical or contractual restriction on use, access, or distribution of the Content, including any watermarking, fingerprinting, or access-control mechanism.

7.4 Audit right

On not less than 14 days' written notice, and not more than once in any 12-month period (save where Black Silo reasonably suspects a material breach of clause 7.3, in which case this restriction does not apply), you will provide such reasonable information and assistance as Black Silo may request to verify your compliance with this clause 7. This includes confirming the identity of authorised users, the systems on which the Content is accessed, and any internal controls in place to prevent unauthorised redistribution.

7.5 Consequences of breach

Breach of clause 7.3 constitutes a material breach of these Terms. Without prejudice to any other remedy, Black Silo may:

(a) immediately suspend or terminate the subscription without refund;
(b) revoke all access credentials;
(c) require you to identify all third parties who have received Content, the date and means of disclosure, and to use reasonable efforts to procure the return or destruction of the Content;
(d) require you to indemnify Black Silo against any loss arising from the unauthorised disclosure (subject to clause 9.4); and
(e) seek injunctive relief from any court of competent jurisdiction without the need to post bond or prove damages.

You acknowledge that monetary damages may be inadequate to remedy unauthorised disclosure of the Content and that injunctive relief is an appropriate remedy.

7.6 Feedback

If you provide us with feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, worldwide licence to use them without restriction or obligation to you. This applies only to feedback about the Service, not to any personal or business information.

8. Community Features (Reserved)

Black Silo may, at its sole discretion and in the future, introduce community features within the Service (including but not limited to forums, discussion boards, chat functions, or member-to-member messaging). If and when such features are introduced, additional or separate terms of use will apply and will be made available to you at that time. Use of any community features will be subject to your acceptance of those additional terms. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right to access or use community features in advance of their formal launch.

9. Warranties, Disclaimers and Liability

9.1 Limited warranties

Black Silo warrants that it will provide the Service with reasonable care and skill in accordance with generally accepted industry standards.

9.2 Disclaimer of other warranties

Except as expressly set out in clause 9.1, the Service and the Content are provided "as is" and "as available." To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Black Silo disclaims all other warranties, conditions, representations, and terms — whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise — including any implied warranty or condition of merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, non-infringement, or uninterrupted or error-free operation.

Without limitation, Black Silo does not warrant that the Content will be accurate, complete, current, reliable, or suitable for any particular purpose, including any trading, investment, hedging, or commercial decision.

9.3 Excluded losses

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Black Silo shall not be liable to you (whether in contract, tort including negligence, statutory duty, or otherwise) for any:

(a) loss of profits, revenue, savings, business, opportunity, contracts, goodwill, or reputation;
(b) trading, hedging, or investment losses, or the loss of any anticipated gain;
(c) loss or corruption of data;
(d) indirect, consequential, special, incidental, or exemplary loss or damage;

even if Black Silo was aware (or ought to have been aware) of the possibility of such loss.

9.4 Aggregate liability cap

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Black Silo's total aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with these Terms, the Service, or the Content — whether in contract, tort including negligence, statutory duty, or otherwise — shall not exceed the lesser of:

(a) the total fees paid by you to Black Silo under your subscription in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the liability; or
(b) €50,000.

This cap applies to all claims in the aggregate, not separately to each claim.

9.5 Non-excludable matters

Nothing in these Terms shall exclude or limit Black Silo's liability for:

(a) death or personal injury caused by Black Silo's negligence;
(b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
(c) gross negligence or wilful misconduct; or
(d) any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under applicable law.

The limitations in clauses 9.2, 9.3, and 9.4 apply only to liabilities that may lawfully be limited, and the inclusion of clauses 9.2 to 9.4 is conditional on the express preservation of the non-excludable matters set out in this clause 9.5.

9.6 Reasonableness

You acknowledge that the limitations and exclusions in this clause 9 are reasonable in light of the nature and price of the Service, the inherent risks of commodity markets, the availability of independent advice and verification, and the allocation of risk that the parties have negotiated. You acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to obtain independent advice on these Terms.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Black Silo, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any third-party claim, demand, action, proceeding, loss, damage, cost, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

(a) your breach of clause 6 (Acceptable Use) or clause 7 (Intellectual Property);
(b) any unauthorised disclosure of the Content by you or your authorised users; or
(c) your violation of any applicable law in connection with your use of the Service.

You will not settle any such claim without Black Silo's prior written consent. Black Silo may, at its option, assume control of the defence at your expense.

11. Confidentiality

To the extent that either party discloses confidential business information to the other (including, in Black Silo's case, the Content and the methodologies and analytical approaches reflected in it), the receiving party will use such information only for the purposes of these Terms, will protect it with at least the same care as it uses for its own confidential information (and in any event no less than reasonable care), and will not disclose it to any third party except to its own employees, advisors, and contractors who need to know and who are bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.

This clause does not apply to information that is or becomes publicly available without breach, was independently developed without use of the disclosed information, or is required to be disclosed by law (in which case the receiving party will, where lawful, notify the disclosing party in advance).

12. Term, Suspension and Termination

12.1 Term

These Terms apply for as long as you have an active subscription or account on the Service.

12.2 Termination by you

You may terminate the subscription at the end of any subscription term by not renewing. You may terminate immediately by written notice if Black Silo materially breaches these Terms and does not remedy the breach within 30 days of receiving written notice (where the breach is capable of remedy). In that case, you are entitled to a pro-rata refund of unused, prepaid fees.

12.3 Termination by us for breach

We may suspend or terminate your access immediately, without refund, if you:

(a) materially breach these Terms (including clauses 5 (non-payment), 6 (acceptable use), or 7 (intellectual property));
(b) provide false or misleading information at registration or fail to maintain the accuracy of your account information;
(c) become insolvent, enter administration, liquidation, or analogous proceedings; or
(d) take any action that, in our reasonable opinion, may bring Black Silo or the Service into disrepute, infringe third-party rights, or breach applicable law.

12.4 Termination by us for convenience

We may also terminate the subscription at the end of any subscription term, or at any other time on 30 days' prior written notice for any reason. In that case, we will refund any unused, prepaid fees on a pro-rata basis.

12.5 Effect of termination

On termination:

(a) your access to the Service ends (after the grace period under clause 5.6, where applicable);
(b) you must immediately cease all use of the Content and, on Black Silo's request, certify in writing that all Content in your possession or control has been deleted or destroyed (subject to your right to retain copies as required by applicable law or your good-faith records-retention policy, where access is restricted);
(c) accrued rights and obligations survive, including clauses 4.4, 5.4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14.

13. Disputes

13.1 Good-faith negotiation

If a dispute arises out of or in connection with these Terms, the party raising the dispute will notify the other party in writing. The parties will then attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute through direct negotiation between their commercial leads for 30 days. If unresolved, the dispute will be escalated to a senior executive of each party (in Black Silo's case, a director of the company) for a further 14 days of good-faith discussion.

Only after expiry of this combined period may either party commence court proceedings. This clause does not prevent either party from seeking urgent injunctive or equitable relief at any time.

13.2 Class action waiver

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, each party agrees that any claim, dispute, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be brought solely on an individual basis and not as part of any class, collective, consolidated, mass, or representative action. The parties expressly waive any right to participate in any such proceeding against the other.

13.3 Governing law

These Terms and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland, without regard to its conflict of laws rules.

13.4 Jurisdiction

Subject to clause 13.1, the courts of Ireland have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with these Terms or their subject matter or formation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Black Silo may bring proceedings to enforce its intellectual property rights or to seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.

14. General

14.1 Entire agreement

These Terms (together with the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy, and any applicable order form) constitute the entire agreement between you and Black Silo in relation to the Service and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings.

14.2 Order of precedence

In the event of conflict between these Terms and any applicable order form, the order form prevails to the extent of the conflict (other than in relation to clauses 7, 9, 10, and 13, which prevail unless expressly amended in writing signed by both parties).

14.3 Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms by giving you at least 30 days' notice in advance of the next renewal. Amendments take effect from the start of the next subscription term. If you do not accept the amendments, your only remedy is not to renew. For changes required by law or regulation, we may apply changes on shorter notice as required.

14.4 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or, if not possible, severed; the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

14.5 No waiver

A failure or delay by either party to exercise any right does not operate as a waiver of that right. A single or partial exercise does not preclude further exercise.

14.6 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights under them without our prior written consent. We may assign or transfer these Terms (in whole or in part) to a member of our corporate group or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, on notice to you.

14.7 Notices

Notices to Black Silo should be sent in writing to [email protected], with a copy to Black Silo Commodity Consulting Limited, Annagharvey, Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland. Notices to you may be sent to the email address registered on your account.

14.8 Force majeure

Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, government action, pandemic, natural disaster, internet or telecommunications failure, or third-party action. Payment obligations are not excused by force majeure.

14.9 Independent contractors

Nothing in these Terms creates any partnership, joint venture, agency, fiduciary, or employment relationship between the parties.

14.10 Third-party rights

No person who is not a party to these Terms has any right to enforce them, except that the affiliates of Black Silo within its corporate group may rely on and enforce clauses 7, 9, 10, and 11 against you.

14.11 Counterparts; electronic acceptance

These Terms may be accepted electronically (including by clicking "I agree" at registration), and such acceptance is binding and equivalent to a signed written contract.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to:

Black Silo Commodity Consulting Limited
Annagharvey, Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland
Email: [email protected]

For licensing enquiries (including AI-training licences): [email protected]

These Terms and Conditions are provided in English. Any translation is for convenience only and the English version prevails in case of inconsistency.

These Terms are provided for informational purposes alongside our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Black Silo recommends review by a qualified solicitor in your jurisdiction before binding action is taken in reliance on them.