We’re updating our terms and conditions to save our customers time, give peace of mind
At Mixpanel, we’ve made progress on our mission to streamline the purchasing process for customers by posting our pricing publicly and making it easier to purchase any plan (up to 1B events monthly) online.
While those efforts have clearly created efficiencies on the front end of the purchasing process, we recognized that to truly reduce friction, we had to address the step that’s notorious for taking customers and their lawyers sometimes weeks or months to process: contracting. Today, we are rolling out a standardized set of terms and conditions (or “Ts & Cs”) that are clearer, more comprehensive, and provide a novel approach to liability—all elements we believe will streamline the review process.
We have them posted online as our Terms of Use, they automatically apply to all of our online plans, and we expect them to be leveraged by the vast majority of our customers. For subscription plans larger than what can be purchased online, please work with your Mixpanel Account Executive to address any customized requests.
Our new Terms of Use reduce ambiguity
Let’s face it, reviewing contracts can be taxing, and evaluating contracts that aren’t clear and concise can be even more arduous. We’ve been there, and we want to change that purchasing experience for our customers. Consequently, we’ve undergone an extensive review of the most asked contract questions posed by our customers and have modified our terms to address those areas of ambiguity. We’ve also made it easier to obtain information from Mixpanel. For example, instead of having to ask for our subprocessor list and technical and organizational measures, they are now provided in our online Data Processing Addendum (which is incorporated by reference in the Terms of Use). We fully anticipate that these initiatives will provide more clarity and will expedite the contracting process for all parties.
We now provide customers with enterprise-level vendor commitments, irrespective of price point
In the new Terms of Use, we increase our legal commitments to customers, irrespective of the dollars committed or the subscription plan that is purchased. On the data security and privacy front, we expanded our commitments around compliance with data security and privacy laws and regulations to ensure our customers are confident in how we handle and process their information. With respect to termination rights, customers will now have the ability to terminate for uncured material breaches by Mixpanel. Such commitments are often made in large enterprise contracts but are rarely seen in online terms of service.
Additionally, our updated Terms of Use include enterprise-level contractual assurances (otherwise known as “reps and warranties”) that should provide customers with the comfort of knowing that Mixpanel has the legal authority to enter into agreements with customers and will ensure that the features and functionality of the services will perform the material functions described in the documentation provided by Mixpanel.
We offer Intellectual Property Indemnity to all of our customers
We understand that customers want assurances that Mixpanel will have their back in case their use of our services, in accordance with the obligations and restrictions in the agreement, cause a third party to sue them for intellectual property infringement. This is typically referred to as “IP Indemnity,” and while it is common in most enterprise-level agreements, it is not a commitment often provided at lower spend levels. At Mixpanel, however, we stand by our services and will defend our customers’ use against third-party IP infringement claims.
Higher liability cap: The more you spend, the more you get
The liability clause in a contract is often the most contested and negotiated provision. Each party wants to ensure that if the counterparty breaches a contractual obligation, they will get paid for any losses it has or will incur. As a starting point, many companies will either disclaim all liability in their contract or limit their liability to fees paid or payable within a specified time frame. At Mixpanel, we’ve historically done the latter: We’ve capped our liability at fees paid or payable by customer for the services in the 12 months preceding a claim (the “Fees Paid”). While this is a customary position to take in our industry, many customers require a higher cap on liability, and quite frankly, we think most companies can afford to offer more.
Negotiating a liability clause is never easy and it often entails multiple cycles of back-and-forth negotiations. However, in keeping in tune with our cultural value of Customer Focus and to eliminate the need to negotiate this clause, Mixpanel will now provide the following:
- For customers on our Free Plan, who ordinarily would not be entitled to any damages under Mixpanel historical contracts because there are no fees paid or payable to Mixpanel, we will now offer a $1,000 cap on liability.
- For customers who commit to spend more than $60,000 dollars for the Application Services in a 12 month subscription term, Mixpanel will now provide two times the Fees Paid for claims related to Mixpanel’s (i) IP Indemnity obligations, (ii) breach of its confidentiality obligations, and (iii) breach of the technical and organizational measures described in Mixpanel’s Data Privacy Addendum that result in the unauthorized use or loss of Personal Information.
We believe this novel approach to Mixpanel’s limitation of liability clause will foster confidence that Mixpanel is providing the best valued services and not skirting its responsibilities with respect to liability.
A new way of doing business
For Mixpanel, our primary objective is to enable our customers to build and grow great products and businesses. Our transparent pricing and updated Terms of Use are all about reducing friction to get our customers to that point. We can’t wait to see what great things you’ll do with the extra time you’ll get back from our streamlined purchasing process!