Terms of Use | ESSENCE Instruments


Terms of Use

ESSENCE INSTRUMENTS LTD

Last updated: 13 October 2026

These terms govern your use of essence-in.com, our portal, and any instruments or licences you buy from us. By using the site or creating an account, you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not use the site.

1. About us

essence-in.com is operated by ESSENCE INSTRUMENTS LTD, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15527320, with its registered office at Brookfield Court, Selby Road, Leeds, LS25 1NB (“we”, “us”, “our”).

Contact: support@essence-in.com or via our Contact Us page.

2. Other terms that apply

These terms should be read together with:

  • our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal data;
  • our Cookie Policy / cookie settings;
  • any licence terms shown on an instrument’s product page or supplied with it (for example, specific conditions set by the instrument’s authors);
  • for organisations storing respondent data in the portal, our Data Processing Agreement.

If an instrument’s specific licence terms conflict with these terms, the specific licence terms apply to that instrument.

3. Who can use the site

The site and instruments are intended for healthcare, research and educational professionals and the organisations they work for. To create an account you must:

  • be at least 18 years old;
  • give accurate, complete and current information;
  • where you buy on behalf of an organisation, have authority to bind it to these terms (“you” then includes that organisation).

Some instruments (for example the 5-15R) may only be bought and used by people who meet specific qualifications and ethical standards. We may ask for evidence of your qualifications and may refuse or cancel an order if you do not meet them.

Use outside the UK. Our instruments are used in the UK, the European Union and internationally. If you use them outside the UK, you are responsible for making sure your use complies with the laws, professional rules and ethical requirements of your country, including any rules on health data, research ethics approval and the use of screening tools. Not every instrument is available or validated in every language or country; check the product page before you buy.

4. Your account

  • You need an account to buy instruments and use the portal.
  • Keep your password and login links confidential. Do not share your account; each licensed user needs their own.
  • You are responsible for all activity under your account. Tell us at once at support@essence-in.com if you suspect unauthorised use.
  • We may suspend or close an account that breaches these terms, is used fraudulently, or has been inactive for more than 24 months (we will email you first).

5. Buying instruments and licences

Orders. Your order is an offer to buy. A contract is formed only when we email you an order confirmation. We may decline an order, for example if a product is unavailable, a price is wrong, or eligibility requirements are not met; if so, we will refund anything you have paid.

Prices and payment. Prices are shown on the site in pounds sterling (GBP). If you pay in another currency, your bank or card provider may charge conversion fees. We are not currently registered for UK VAT, so no UK VAT is added to our prices. If we are required to charge VAT or a similar tax in your country (for example EU VAT on sales to consumers), it will be shown at checkout. Business customers outside the UK are responsible for accounting for any local taxes under their own country’s rules (for example the EU reverse charge). Payment is taken at checkout through our payment provider [name]. Organisations may pay by invoice where we agree in writing; invoices are due within 30 days.

What you receive. Depending on the product, you receive a licence to use an instrument digitally through the portal, to download it, or to use a related service such as a 5-15.org single-respondent licence. The product page states the number of uses, users and licence period.

Cancellation and refunds.

  • Business and professional customers: orders cannot be cancelled once access to the instrument has been provided, except where we are at fault.
  • Consumers (buying outside a trade or profession): you normally have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 or, if you live in the EU, the equivalent law of your country. For digital content, you agree at checkout that access starts immediately and that you lose this right once access or download begins.
  • If an instrument is faulty or not as described, contact us and we will fix it, replace it or refund you. This does not affect your statutory rights.

Licence period. Licences that are time-limited end automatically at the end of the period unless renewed. Unused uses do not carry over unless the product page says otherwise.

6. Intellectual property and your licence

The site, portal, software, instruments, scoring algorithms, translations, reports and content are owned by us or by the instruments’ authors and licensors (including the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre), and are protected by copyright and other rights. Nothing in these terms transfers ownership to you.

When you buy an instrument, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use it for the purpose, number of uses, users and period stated on the product page, for your own professional clinical, research or educational work.

Unless the licence expressly allows it, you must not:

  • copy, reproduce, translate, adapt or create derivative versions of any instrument;
  • share, resell, sublicense or publish an instrument, its items or its scoring rules;
  • use an instrument beyond the uses, users or period you paid for;
  • remove copyright notices or attributions;
  • use instruments for commercial redistribution or to build a competing product.

Researchers wishing to publish results or reproduce instrument items in publications must cite the instrument correctly and contact us for permission where items are reproduced.

7. Acceptable use

You must not:

  • use the site unlawfully, fraudulently or in breach of anyone’s rights, including data protection rights;
  • attempt to gain unauthorised access to the site, portal, servers or other users’ accounts;
  • introduce viruses or harmful code, or interfere with the site’s operation;
  • scrape, data-mine or extract content by automated means;
  • upload respondent data without a lawful basis, required consent or authority from the respondent or their parent or guardian.

Respondent data. If you use the portal to collect or store information about patients, participants or pupils, you are the controller of that data and responsible for having a lawful basis, giving respondents appropriate privacy information, and obtaining any necessary consent. We process that data as your processor under our Data Processing Agreement.

8. Clinical disclaimer

Our instruments are screening and assessment aids, not diagnostic tests. Scores, cut-off values and flags indicate that further evaluation may be needed; they do not establish or rule out a diagnosis. All results must be interpreted by a suitably qualified professional, alongside clinical judgement and other information. Information on the site is general and is not medical advice. If you are worried about your own or someone else’s health, consult a qualified healthcare professional.

9. Availability of the site

We aim to keep the site and portal available and accurate but do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access. We may suspend the site for maintenance, security or reasons outside our control, and may change or withdraw content or products. Where a change materially affects a licence you have paid for, we will give you reasonable notice and, where appropriate, a pro-rata refund.

10. Our liability

  • Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be limited under English law.
  • Business and professional customers: we are not liable for loss of profits, revenue, business, data or goodwill, or any indirect or consequential loss. Our total liability arising from or in connection with these terms is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.
  • Consumers: we are responsible for loss you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss that was not foreseeable, or for business losses.
  • We are not responsible for clinical, research or educational decisions made using our instruments, which remain the responsibility of the professional user.
  • We are not responsible for third-party websites we link to, including social media.

11. Indemnity

If you are a business or professional customer, you agree to compensate us for claims, losses and costs arising from your breach of these terms, misuse of an instrument, or processing of respondent data without a lawful basis.

12. Data protection

We handle personal data in line with our Privacy Policy. Where we store respondent data for you in the portal, the Data Processing Agreement applies.

13. Suspension and termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us. We may suspend or terminate your access immediately if you materially breach these terms, including the licence and acceptable-use sections. On termination, your licences end and you must stop using the instruments. Sections that by their nature should survive (including 6, 8, 10, 11 and 15) continue to apply.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date shows the current version. Changes apply to orders placed after they are published; we will email account holders about significant changes.

15. General

  • Transfer: we may transfer our rights under these terms to another organisation; you may not transfer yours without our written consent.
  • Severance: if any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
  • No waiver: if we delay enforcing these terms, we can still enforce them later.
  • Third parties: no one other than you and us has rights under these terms, under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
  • Entire agreement (business customers): these terms and the documents in section 2 are the whole agreement between us about their subject matter.

16. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Business and professional customers, wherever they are based, agree that the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts. If you are a consumer living in the EU or another country, you also keep the protection of any mandatory consumer laws of your country of residence, and you may bring proceedings in your local courts where that law allows.

17. Contact us

ESSENCE INSTRUMENTS LTD, Brookfield Court, Selby Road, Leeds, LS25 1NB

Company number 15527320 · Email: support@essence-in.com