Terms of Service and Sale

Effective as of July 8, 2026

Preamble

The GeoGarage platform is a streaming service for digital nautical charts, published and operated by Magic Instinct Software. It gives recreational sailors subscription-based access to sets of official marine charts issued by national hydrographic offices and partner chart publishers, through compatible third-party mobile applications.

These Terms of Service and Sale (the "Terms") govern the subscription to and use of GeoGarage subscriptions. The Terms are drawn up in French; this English translation is provided for convenience only, and in case of discrepancy the French version prevails.

Article 1 — Service publisher

The service is published by Magic Instinct Software ("MIS"), a French limited liability company (SARL) with a share capital of €75,900, registered with the Nantes Trade and Companies Register under number 431 453 521, whose registered office is at 10 rue Traversière, 44300 Nantes, France.
Phone: +33 (0)7 75 73 20 62 — Email: contact@geogarage.com
EU VAT number: FR44 431 453 521

Article 2 — Definitions

  • "Platform": the GeoGarage digital nautical chart streaming infrastructure operated by MIS, accessible in particular through geogarage.com.
  • "Services": subscription-based access to the Charts distributed by the Platform, together with the associated services (customer account, subscription management area).
  • "Charts": the digital (raster) nautical charts distributed by the Platform, derived from material licensed to MIS by national hydrographic offices and chart publishers.
  • "Compatible Application": any third-party application approved by MIS for displaying the Charts. The up-to-date list of Compatible Applications is available at: geogarage.com.
  • "Subscriber" (or "you"): any natural person acting for purposes outside the scope of their commercial, industrial, craft, liberal or agricultural activity, who holds a subscription to the Services.

Article 3 — Purpose and acceptance

These Terms set out the conditions under which MIS provides the Services to the Subscriber, and the rights and obligations of each party.

Subscribing requires express acceptance of the Terms, evidenced by a checkbox at the time of the online order. The applicable version of the Terms is the one in force on the day of subscription and, for each renewed period, the one in force on the renewal date, subject to the prior-notice requirement of Article 15.

These Terms are intended exclusively for consumers. Any use of the Services for professional or commercial purposes (including resale or integration into a third-party product or service) requires a specific written agreement with MIS.

Article 4 — Description of the Services

The subscription provides access, for its duration, to the Chart set(s) corresponding to the plan subscribed (coverage area(s) described at the time of ordering), through a Compatible Application.

Charts are updated according to the publications of the relevant hydrographic offices and MIS's licence agreements. MIS does not guarantee any specific update frequency, which depends on the data providers; indicative frequencies are given on the Hydrographic licenses page.

Charts may be cached on the Subscriber's personal devices (smartphone, tablet, computer) for offline use, under the conditions of Article 9.

The chart coverage offered may change during the subscription period, in particular if the agreements between MIS and the hydrographic offices change. Should an area included in the Subscriber's plan cease to be available to a substantial extent, the Subscriber may terminate the subscription and obtain a pro-rata refund of the remaining period.

Article 5 — Customer account and subscription

Subscribing requires the creation of a customer account on the Platform. The Subscriber agrees to provide accurate information and to keep it up to date.

Login credentials are personal and confidential. Each account is associated with a unique customer identifier used by Compatible Applications to access the Services; any use of this identifier by an unauthorised third party is prohibited. The Subscriber shall inform MIS without delay of any unauthorised use of their account.

A subscription is intended for the personal use of a single end user, on their own devices.

Article 6 — Prices and payment

Subscription prices are shown in euros, inclusive of all taxes (VAT at the applicable rate), before the order is confirmed.

Payment is made online by bank card through the secure payment provider Stripe. Bank card details are collected and processed directly by Stripe and never pass through MIS's servers.

The subscription is invoiced in full, in advance, on the first day of each billing period (quarterly or annual, depending on the plan chosen). An invoice is made available to the Subscriber.

If a payment fails at renewal, MIS (through Stripe) makes further collection attempts and informs the Subscriber. Failing regularisation, the subscription is not renewed and access to the Services ends.

MIS may change its prices. A new price only applies to a current subscription as from the next renewal, and the Subscriber is informed in advance — at the latest in the renewal reminder provided for in Article 7 — so that they may freely choose not to renew.

Article 7 — Term, automatic renewal and cancellation

The subscription is entered into for the term of the plan chosen at the time of ordering — three (3) months or one (1) year depending on the area and the offer. It is then automatically renewed for successive periods of the same duration, unless cancelled by the Subscriber or not renewed under the conditions below.

In accordance with Article L215-1 of the French Consumer Code, MIS informs the Subscriber by dedicated email, no earlier than three (3) months and no later than one (1) month before the end of the current period, of the possibility not to renew the subscription, stating the non-renewal deadline in a prominent box.

The Subscriber may cancel the subscription at any time, free of charge and without giving any reason, from their customer area (online cancellation feature in accordance with Article L215-1-1 of the French Consumer Code) or by email to contact@geogarage.com. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current period: access to the Services is maintained until that date, and no pro-rata refund of the current period is due (without prejudice to the right of withdrawal in Article 8 and the refund cases provided for in Articles 4 and 13).

Article L215-1 of the French Consumer Code (unofficial translation; the French statutory text prevails) provides in substance that, for fixed-term service contracts with an automatic renewal clause, the professional must inform the consumer in writing, by dedicated letter or email, no earlier than three months and no later than one month before the end of the period during which renewal can be declined, of the possibility not to renew the contract, stating the non-renewal deadline in a prominent box. Where this information has not been provided, the consumer may terminate the contract free of charge at any time from the renewal date, and any advance payments made after the last renewal date must be refunded within thirty days of termination, less the amounts corresponding to the performance of the contract up to that date.

In accordance with Article L241-3 of the same code, where the professional has failed to make the refund under the conditions of Article L215-1, the amounts due bear interest at the legal rate.

Article 8 — Right of withdrawal

The Subscriber has fourteen (14) days from the online subscription to exercise their right of withdrawal, without having to give any reason.

Since access to the Services is opened immediately after payment at the Subscriber's request, Article L221-25 of the French Consumer Code would allow MIS to retain an amount proportional to the service already provided. MIS applies a more favourable rule: in case of withdrawal within the fourteen-day period, the subscription is refunded in full, even if the Subscriber has used the Services during that period.

To exercise this right, simply send MIS, before the deadline, an unambiguous statement — by email to contact@geogarage.com or by post to the registered office — using, if you wish, the model form reproduced in the appendix.

The refund is made within a maximum of fourteen (14) days of receipt of the request, using the payment method used for the order.

Article 9 — Subscriber obligations and prohibited uses

The Subscriber agrees to use the Services in accordance with these Terms, the applicable regulations and the Chart providers' licences. In particular, it is prohibited:

  • to set up any proxy, mirror or redistribution mechanism for the Charts, whether free of charge or for consideration;
  • to perform bulk downloads for purposes other than building the personal offline cache provided for in Article 4 — each device must fill its cache through direct requests to the Platform, and the content of a cache may only be used by the Subscriber themselves;
  • to extract, digitise or produce derived vector datasets from the Charts, for commercial or non-commercial purposes;
  • to copy, lend, rent, sub-license, sell, assign or distribute the Charts, in electronic or printed form, beyond the authorised use; printing is tolerated for strictly personal use, up to A3 format, and must not be used for navigation;
  • to circumvent, disable or tamper with the Platform's technical protection or metering mechanisms, or to decompile or reverse-engineer its software;
  • to remove proprietary notices or identification labels from the Charts;
  • to share one's account or customer identifier, or to use a third party's identifier;
  • to use the Services in any way that could damage, overload or disrupt them, or infringe the rights of third parties.

Failure to comply with these obligations may result in suspension or termination of the account under the conditions of Article 13, without prejudice to any damages.

Article 10 — Navigation warning

The Charts distributed by the Platform are raster charts intended as an aid to passage planning and recreational navigation. They do not replace the official, up-to-date nautical documents required by the regulations.

In particular:

  • the Charts do not satisfy the chart carriage requirements of vessels subject to the SOLAS Convention nor, more generally, the regulatory carriage requirements applicable to the flag and navigation category of the Subscriber's vessel: it is the Subscriber's responsibility to comply with them by their own means;
  • no information contained in the Charts has been verified by MIS; discrepancies may exist between the Charts and reality (accuracy of old surveys, changes not yet published, georeferencing offsets); the accuracy of a modern positioning system (GPS/GNSS) may exceed that of the chart;
  • the Subscriber shall consult the Notices to Mariners published by the relevant hydrographic offices and exercise, in all circumstances, the judgement of a prudent mariner. The skipper remains solely responsible for the conduct of their vessel.

Article 11 — Intellectual property

The Services, the Platform and the Charts are protected by intellectual property law. The Charts remain the exclusive property of the licensor hydrographic offices and chart publishers, whose notices and specific conditions appear on the Hydrographic licenses page, which forms an integral part of these Terms.

The subscription grants the Subscriber a personal, non-exclusive, non-assignable and non-transferable right to use the Charts, limited to the duration of the subscription and to the uses authorised herein. No ownership right is transferred to the Subscriber. This right of use ends automatically at the end of the subscription or upon termination for breach.

Article 12 — Service availability and liability

MIS undertakes to provide the Services with diligence and in accordance with best practices, under a best-efforts obligation. The Platform is accessible 24/7, except for maintenance operations, technical incidents or force majeure. MIS endeavours to limit the duration of scheduled interruptions and, where possible, to inform Subscribers in advance.

MIS is liable as of right towards the Subscriber for the proper performance of the obligations resulting from the distance contract, under the conditions of Article L221-15 of the French Consumer Code. MIS shall not, however, be held liable for damage resulting from:

  • use of the Services not in accordance with these Terms, in particular with the warning in Article 10 (use of the Charts as a primary means of navigation);
  • the Subscriber's own actions, the unforeseeable and insurmountable act of a third party unrelated to the provision of the Services, or force majeure;
  • the Compatible Applications, which are published by third parties under their own responsibility and governed by their own terms of use.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes MIS's liability in the event of personal injury, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, nor deprives the Subscriber of the statutory guarantees and rights arising from mandatory provisions of French law.

Article 13 — Suspension and termination by MIS

In the event of a breach of these Terms by the Subscriber, MIS may suspend access to the Services after formal notice sent by email has remained without effect for seven (7) days. In the event of a serious breach (in particular redistribution of the Charts, circumvention of protections, payment fraud), suspension may be immediate, the Subscriber being informed at the same time. If the breach persists, MIS may terminate the subscription as of right, without refund of the current period and without prejudice to any damages.

If MIS decides to permanently discontinue the Services (or the Subscriber's subscription) absent any breach by the Subscriber, it shall inform the Subscriber with at least thirty (30) days' notice and refund the portion of the subscription corresponding to the unused period, pro rata.

The Subscriber is informed that data cached on their devices ceases to be usable at the end of the subscription, and must then be destroyed.

Article 14 — Personal data

The processing of the Subscriber's personal data (account, billing, technical logs) is described in the Privacy Policy, which sets out the purposes, legal bases, retention periods, processors (in particular Stripe and Scaleway) and how the Subscriber can exercise their rights.

Article 15 — Changes to the Terms

MIS may amend these Terms. Amended Terms are published on the Site with a new version date and notified by email to current Subscribers at least thirty (30) days before taking effect with respect to them. If the Subscriber refuses the new terms, they may cancel their subscription under the conditions of Article 7; failing cancellation, the new Terms apply as from the renewal following their entry into force.

Article 16 — Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by French law.

In the event of any difficulty, the Subscriber is invited to first contact MIS customer service (contact@geogarage.com), which will endeavour to find an amicable solution.

Failing an amicable resolution, the dispute may be brought before the competent courts under ordinary law. The Subscriber may bring proceedings, at their choice, before one of the courts having territorial jurisdiction under the French Code of Civil Procedure, or before the court of the place where they resided when the contract was concluded or when the harmful event occurred (Article R631-3 of the French Consumer Code).

Appendix — Model withdrawal form

(Please complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.)

To the attention of Magic Instinct Software, 10 rue Traversière, 44300 Nantes, France — contact@geogarage.com:

I hereby give notice that I withdraw from the contract for the provision of the following service:

  • Subscription taken out on: ______________________
  • Name of consumer: ______________________
  • Address of consumer: ______________________
  • GeoGarage account email: ______________________
  • Signature of consumer (only if this form is notified on paper): ______________________
  • Date: ______________________