The agreement designates California law as the governing law for all disputes, without regard to conflict of law provisions, and designates federal or state courts in San Francisco, California as the exclusive venue for any legal proceedings.
This analysis describes what OpenRouter's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes the legal framework and forum for all disputes not subject to arbitration. The California governing law designation engages California consumer protection statutes, including the CCPA, as potentially applicable to all users regardless of their geographic location.
The updated terms establish that users are responsible for all account activity and charges occurring under their API credentials, with the exception of activity directly caused by OpenRouter's breach of the terms. Users are required to promptly notify OpenRouter of any actual or suspected compromise or unauthorized use of API credentials. OpenRouter reserves the right to suspend, revoke, or limit API credentials or account access if OpenRouter reasonably believes doing so is necessary to protect the service, the user, OpenRouter, or any third party. Additionally, promotional credits provided by OpenRouter have no cash value, cannot be refunded or exchanged except under specific conditions, are non-transferable between accounts, and expire on dates specified at issuance or in accordance with the terms. You can manage your API credentials through your account settings and should promptly contact OpenRouter if you suspect unauthorized access.
View change record →The updated terms clarify that enabling prompt logging automatically activates chat logging as well, and grant OpenRouter a perpetual, worldwide license to use your content for service provision and commercial purposes. This includes the explicit right to license or sell your user content in anonymized form. Users accessing Stealth Program models must now also agree to a separate End User License Agreement. You can disable prompt logging in your account settings if you do not wish to grant these permissions.
View change record →This new provision establishes California jurisdiction and San Francisco venue, binding all disputes to a specific forum.
View full change record →Under this clause, all disputes arising from the agreement are governed by California law and must be brought in San Francisco federal or state courts, to the extent they are not subject to arbitration. Users located outside California may face practical constraints in pursuing non-arbitrable claims in this designated venue.
How other platforms handle this
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of laws rules, and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the arbitration venue set forth in Section 9, or if arbitration does not apply, then the state and fe...
In the EU and EEA, the choice of Texas governing law shall not apply only where a mandatory consumer protection law explicitly prohibits such choice of law provisions.
For any claims that are not subject to arbitration...U.S. Residents: Delaware law; venue exclusively in the state or federal courts in New Castle County, Delaware
"These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any legal action or proceeding arising under these Terms will be brought exclusively in the federal or state courts located in San Francisco, California.Excerpt from OpenRouter's Terms of Service
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: California law governs the agreement, which engages the CCPA for California residents and may also apply California consumer protection statutes to disputes involving non-California users.
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This provision establishes the legal framework and forum for all disputes not subject to arbitration. The California governing law designation engages California consumer protection statutes, including the CCPA, as potentially applicable to all users regardless of their geographic location.
Under this clause, all disputes arising from the agreement are governed by California law and must be brought in San Francisco federal or state courts, to the extent they are not subject to arbitration. Users located outside California may face practical constraints in pursuing non-arbitrable claims in this designated venue.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 267 platforms. See the full comparison.
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