Terms of service

1. Legal Agreement and Contractual Parties

These Terms of Use represent a binding legal contract between the individual user (referred to as "the User" or "the Customer") and Tashkeel, a cultural and artistic institution registered in mainland Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with primary facilities at Nad Al Sheba 1, Al Fahidi, and Alserkal Avenue (referred to as "Tashkeel" or "the Organization"). Accessing, browsing, creating an account, or purchasing items on tashkeel.org or shop.tashkeel.org indicates the User's unreserved agreement to comply with these terms and all applicable federal and local laws of the United Arab Emirates.

2. Commercial Eligibility and Account Security

Pursuant to UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2023 on Trading through Modern Technology, commercial transactions are restricted to individuals who possess full legal capacity under UAE law (18 years of age or older).

Account Obligation: If the User establishes a personal account on the platform, the User is entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their credentials, username, and password.
Immediate Notification: The User must notify the platform immediately at tashkeel@tashkeel.org of any unauthorized access or breach of security. The platform is not liable for financial or data losses resulting from the User's failure to protect their access details.

3. Intellectual Property Rights and Brand Protection

The digital platforms, design assets, software code, graphic interfaces, typographic elements, photographic representations, and textual content are the exclusive proprietary assets of Tashkeel or are licensed under express agreements from participating artists and design partners.

Proprietary Category	Description of Protected Assets	Legal Framework	Authorized Use Parameters
Artistic Designs & Products	Custom objects and furniture from the Tanween and Gerbou design cohorts, and original contemporary artworks.	UAE Federal Law on Copyrights and Neighboring Rights.	View only. Any commercial reproduction, copying, distribution, or manufacturing imitation is strictly prohibited.
Brand Trademarks	The name "Tashkeel", logo designs, custom exhibition headers (such as "Made in Tashkeel" or "Unfolding"), and marketing slogans.	UAE Federal Intellectual Property and Trademark Laws.	Absolute prohibition of use, replication, or registration of identical or confusingly similar marks.
Publications & Media	Catalogues, reference books (such as Reference Point: A History of Tashkeel and UAE Art), and educational documentation.	International and Federal Copyright Treaties.	Personal, non-commercial educational reading only. Digital scraping or systematic extraction is forbidden.

4. Pricing, Payments, and Statutory Surcharge Prohibitions

Denomination and Display: In compliance with Article 5 of the Consumer Protection Executive Regulations (Cabinet Decision No. 66 of 2023), all product and workshop prices displayed on the platform are denominated in United Arab Emirates Dirhams (AED) and represent the complete, final transaction price inclusive of all standard service fees. Applicable VAT is displayed transparently at the checkout screen.
Credit Card Surcharge Prohibition: In accordance with Article 5 of the Executive Regulations, the platform is strictly prohibited from charging additional processing fees or transactional surcharges to customers who pay by credit or debit card. The final price remains uniform regardless of the payment instrument selected by the Customer.

5. Limitation of Liability and Platform Availability

While the organization employs advanced security protocols to protect its digital systems, the platform is provided on an "as-is" and "as-available" basis. Tashkeel, its directors, employees, and licensors shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from digital platform downtime, database connection failures, server interruptions, transactional delays, or the transmission of unauthorized malicious software via third-party systems.

6. Governing Law and Forum Selection

These Terms of Use, along with all transactions executed on the platform, are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the federal laws of the United Arab Emirates and the local laws of the Emirate of Dubai.

Amicable Resolution: In the event of a dispute, the parties shall first attempt to reach an amicable settlement through formal administrative channels, filing the claim with the Consumer Protection Department of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).
Judicial Jurisdiction: If a settlement is not achieved, disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Emirate of Dubai. Under UAE law, digital commercial claims exceeding AED 50,000 may be escalated to the specialized small claims court or resolved via binding electronic arbitration under modern e-commerce provisions.

Returns, Refunds, and Cancellation Policy

1. Legal Classifications of Commercial Returns

In strict conformity with UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, this Policy establishes a clear distinction between returns initiated due to a "change of mind" and returns mandated by "manufacturing defects or product non-conformity". Blanket "no-refund" or "no-exchange" terms are legally void when applied to defective, faulty, or misdescribed products, but are fully enforceable for change-of-mind transactions.

Return Classification	Statutory Validity Under UAE Law	Return Notification Window	Product Eligibility Conditions	Shipping & Handling Cost Allocation	Remedy Options
Change of Mind	Permitted solely at the discretion of the merchant.	Strictly within 7 calendar days from the physical delivery date.	Pristine, unused condition, with all tags and original packaging fully intact.	Entirely borne by the Customer.	Product exchange or store credit of equal value. No cash refunds.
Manufacturing Defect or Non-Conformity	Mandatory statutory consumer right under Article 10.	Must be reported within 2 calendar days of delivery for transit damage; statutory claim up to 30 days.	Structural damage, manufacturing fault, or failure to match advertised product specifications.	Entirely borne by Tashkeel.	Product repair, replacement, or full refund to original payment method.
Product Unavailability	Automatic order cancellation.	Immediate processing upon inventory system notification.	Physical inventory cannot fulfill purchase post-checkout.	No cost to Customer.	Full, prompt refund to original payment method.

2. Operational Rules for Change-of-Mind Exchanges

If a Customer returns a non-defective product because of a change of preference, the transaction is governed by the following strict provisions:

Store Credit or Product Exchange Only: Tashkeel does not offer cash, cheque, or credit card refunds for change-of-mind transactions. The transaction is settled exclusively through a product exchange or by issuing a non-transferable store credit of equal value.
Condition of the Product: The item must remain completely unused, unwashed, and in its pristine, original condition, with all labels, certificates of authenticity, and packaging fully intact.
Exclusions: Due to their highly sensitive archival nature and the risk of physical degradation, original contemporary artworks, limited-edition photographic prints, and bespoke customized furniture designs are strictly excluded from change-of-mind exchanges.
Availability: All exchanges are subject to product availability. If the requested item is out of stock, the Customer will be issued store credit.

3. Operational Rules for Defective, Faulty, or Damaged Items

In accordance with the consumer protection laws of the United Arab Emirates, if an item is delivered with a verified manufacturing defect, or has sustained physical damage during third-party shipping, the Customer is legally entitled to immediate remedy.

Immediate Notification Window: The Customer must notify the Customer Service team at tashkeel@tashkeel.org or +971 4 336 3313 within 2 calendar days of receipt of the item, providing clear, high-resolution photographic and video evidence of the identified defect or transit damage.
Mandatory Remedies: Upon technical verification of the defect, Tashkeel will, at the Customer’s choosing, coordinate one of the following remedies at no cost to the Customer:
- Repair: The defect will be repaired free of charge. In accordance with UAE Law, if a repair exceeds 7 calendar days, the platform must provide the Customer with a temporary substitute product at no cost.
- Replacement: The item will be replaced with an identical, non-defective product of equal value, subject to stock availability.
- Full Refund: The purchase price will be refunded to the original payment card, processed within a reasonable timeframe subject to banking system delays.
Recurrence Clause: If the same product defect occurs three times within the first year of purchase, a full financial refund or direct product replacement is legally mandatory under the UAE Executive Regulations.

4. Cancellation Due to Platform Product Unavailability

Tashkeel reserves the right to cancel an order post-checkout if subsequent stock evaluations reveal that the item is unavailable or unfit for shipment. In such events, the Customer will be notified promptly via email or phone. A full, unrestricted refund of all payments will be issued to the original credit card or payment account, processed within standard banking timelines.