DRAFT for legal review. This document has not been reviewed by a lawyer and is not final. Highlighted [bracketed] text is still to be filled in. Remove this banner (set draft: false in legal.js) only after review.
readode (the "Service") is a platform where people publish stories, poems and other writing as animated, shareable pages. It is operated by [Company legal name and place of registration] ("we", "us", "our"), of [Company postal address].
By creating an account, publishing, or otherwise using the Service you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy and our Copyright and Content Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. If you use the Service for an organisation, you confirm you can bind it.
You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live if that is higher, and able to form a binding contract. We do not knowingly allow children to hold accounts. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will close it. You must not use the Service if you are barred from doing so under the laws that apply to you or to us.
You sign up with an email address and a password. Keep your password secret and your details accurate. You are responsible for what happens under your account. Tell us at once if you think someone else has used it. One person, one account: do not create accounts to avoid a suspension.
As between you and us, you keep all ownership of, and all copyright and other rights in, the stories, poems, titles, text, images you upload, and anything else you create and post on the Service ("Your Content"). Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of Your Content to us. We do not edit your words: we only change how they are presented (see section 5).
To run the Service, we need your permission to use Your Content. By posting Your Content you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up, transferable and sub-licensable licence, for as long as Your Content is on the Service and for the further period described in section 14, to:
This licence does not let us sell Your Content to a third party as a product, publish it in print or as an e-book for sale, or adapt it into a different work (for example a film), without a separate written agreement with you.
Moral rights. You keep the right to be identified as the author, and we will show the name or handle on your account. In places where the law allows, you agree not to assert moral rights (for example the right to object to derogatory treatment) against us for the uses permitted above, including the way we format and present your writing. Where the law does not allow this, you agree we may do those things to the fullest extent permitted.
Copies already shared. If you delete Your Content, we will stop showing it on the Service, but the permission above continues for copies that are in backups, caches or logs until they are removed in the ordinary course, for content that other people have lawfully shared or quoted through the Service's own tools, and where we must keep it by law or to deal with a claim.
[Decision for the owner and lawyer: this is the recommended position.] We will not use Your Content to train generative artificial-intelligence models, and we will not give it to others to do so, unless you give us separate, clear permission. Automated tools may still process Your Content to run the Service (for example to detect spam, abuse or copied text, to work out a category, or to format a page). You must not use bots or scrapers to copy other people's writing from the Service for AI training or any other purpose without their permission and ours.
You promise, and are responsible for, the following:
If we are told your content infringes someone's rights, we may remove it and act as set out in the Copyright and Content Policy.
Do not post or do any of the following:
Fiction and poetry may deal with hard subjects. We judge context, but we may still remove content that crosses these lines.
Comments and reviews. Readers can comment on the pages of a published story and review it, with a name or, if they are not signed in, anonymously. These are public and count as Your Content, and the rules above apply to them. The writer of a story can remove comments on it, anyone can report a comment, and we may remove any comment or review, or limit posting, to keep the Service safe. Anonymous posts are limited by a one-way fingerprint described in the Privacy Policy.
Because you keep ownership and we only use Your Content within the permission in section 5:
Nothing in this section takes away rights that the law says cannot be given up, or stops you from bringing a claim that we have used Your Content beyond the permission you gave. Nothing here limits your right to complain to a regulator.
We (and our licensors) own the Service: its software, the templates, design directions, fonts we have licensed to ourselves, effects, layouts, generated artwork, name, logos and other branding, and all rights in them. We give you a limited, personal, revocable, non-exclusive licence to use the Service as these Terms allow. You may freely use the finished pages, covers and share images that the Service produces for your own writing to promote that writing, but you may not resell or extract our templates, code or designs on their own.
If you give us ideas or suggestions about the Service, we may use them without owing you anything.
The Service uses material and services from others, such as stock photographs (for example from Pixabay or Pexels), open-licensed fonts, hosting and content-delivery services. Photographs you choose carry the licence terms of the site they come from, and the Service shows their credit. If you upload your own image, you are responsible for having the right to do so.
Stories you publish are public: anyone with the link can read them, and they may appear in lists, feeds, profiles and search on the Service. Do not publish anything you want to keep private. Your public name or handle and your profile page are shown with your stories. We do not show your email address to other users.
People can report content to us (see the Copyright and Content Policy). We may, at our discretion and acting in good faith, remove or restrict content, suspend or close accounts, or refuse service, for example if we think these Terms are broken, if the law requires it, or to protect people or the Service. Where we reasonably can, we will tell you why and give you a way to respond. We are not required to monitor the Service, and if we do not act on something it does not mean we approve it.
You may delete your stories and close your account at any time. When you do, we will stop showing Your Content and delete or anonymise your personal data as described in the Privacy Policy; backups and cached copies may remain for a short period (generally up to [30 to 90 days]). We may suspend or close your account for the reasons in section 13. Sections that by their nature should continue (including 4, 5 (as to copies described), 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 and 18) will continue after your account ends.
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". We try to keep it running and your work safe, but we do not promise it will be uninterrupted, error-free or free of loss. Keep your own copy of everything you write. Unless the law says otherwise, we give no warranties, express or implied, including about quality, fitness for a particular purpose, or that anyone will read or like your work.
To the fullest extent the law allows, we and our directors, staff and suppliers are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive loss, or for lost profits, revenue, data or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability to you for all claims relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim (currently nothing, as the Service is free) and (b) [a modest fixed sum, to be decided with the lawyer]. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or rights that consumers have under mandatory laws where they live.
You agree to defend and compensate us (and our officers, staff and providers) against claims, losses and costs, including reasonable legal fees, that arise from Your Content, your breach of these Terms or of the law, or your breach of someone else's rights. This does not apply where the law forbids it for consumers. We will tell you promptly about a claim and give reasonable help at your cost.
[To be settled with the lawyer: the choice below is a suggestion.] These Terms, and any dispute about them or the Service, are governed by the laws of [governing law, e.g. the Federal Republic of Nigeria], without regard to conflict-of-law rules. We will try to settle any dispute informally first: write to [legal contact email]. If that fails, disputes will be decided by the courts of, or by arbitration seated in, [city and country where disputes are heard].
If you are a consumer in the European Union, the United Kingdom or another place with mandatory consumer or data-protection law, you keep the protection of that law and the right to bring a claim in your local courts. Nothing in this section stops you or us from asking a court for urgent relief to protect rights such as copyright, or limits your rights as a data subject.
We may update these Terms as the Service or the law changes. We will tell you about important changes (for example by email or when you next sign in) and, where required, ask you to accept the new version before you publish again. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept it. If you do not agree, stop using the Service and close your account.
These Terms, with the Privacy Policy and the Copyright and Content Policy, are the whole agreement between you and us about the Service. If a part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force. If we do not enforce a right straight away, we have not given it up. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms; we may transfer ours as part of a reorganisation or sale of the Service, and will tell you if that affects your data. We are not responsible for events beyond our reasonable control. You may read these Terms in this language; if they are translated, the English version prevails where the law allows.
Questions or notices: [legal contact email] · [Company legal name and place of registration], [Company postal address].
This document is a draft prepared to be reviewed by a qualified lawyer in each place where the Service operates. It is not legal advice.