ShortBooks Terms of Service

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    <h1 style="margin-bottom: 8px;">ShortBooks Terms of Service</h1>
    <p style="margin-top: 0; color: #666;">
        Effective Date: April 14, 2026
    </p>

    <p>
        These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of ShortBooks, including our website, reader tools,
        author tools, publishing features, subscription features, purchase flows, and related services
        (collectively, the “Service”). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.
        If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
    </p>

    <h2>1. Eligibility</h2>
    <p>
        You must be legally able to enter into a binding agreement to use the Service. If you are under 18,
        you may only use the Service with any required parent or legal guardian consent and approval.
        Minor accounts may be restricted, delayed, or denied until required approval is completed.
    </p>

    <h2>2. Account Registration</h2>
    <p>
        You may be required to create an account to access some features. You agree to provide accurate,
        current, and complete information and to keep your account information updated.
        You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity
        that occurs under your account.
    </p>
    <p>
        You may not share your account in a way that compromises account security, payment integrity,
        author rights, or platform operations.
    </p>

    <h2>3. Beta Access</h2>
    <p>
        ShortBooks may operate some or all features in beta, limited release, invite-only, or restricted-access form.
        We may approve, deny, revoke, limit, or suspend beta access at our discretion to protect platform quality,
        security, legal compliance, or operational stability.
    </p>
    <p>
        Beta features may change without notice, may contain errors, and may be modified, paused, or removed.
    </p>

    <h2>4. Reader and Author Roles</h2>
    <p>
        The Service may offer different account types, including reader/customer accounts and author accounts.
        Different policies, tools, responsibilities, financial terms, and content rules may apply depending on role.
        By selecting a role, you agree to any additional applicable agreements presented during registration or use.
    </p>

    <h2>5. Purchases, Payments, and Subscriptions</h2>
    <p>
        ShortBooks may offer one-time purchases, recurring subscriptions, author subscriptions, premium tools,
        and other paid services. By making a purchase, you authorize the applicable payment processor to charge
        the payment method you provide for the full amount due, including any applicable taxes and fees.
    </p>
    <p>
        Prices, features, subscription benefits, and billing structures may change from time to time.
        Except where required by law or expressly stated by us, digital purchases and subscription charges
        are generally non-refundable once access has been granted or the purchased digital benefit has been delivered.
    </p>
    <p>
        We may suspend or revoke access to paid features if payment is reversed, disputed, refunded, fraudulent,
        unauthorized, or otherwise invalid.
    </p>

    <h2>6. Author Content and Platform Rights</h2>
    <p>
        Authors may upload, create, submit, publish, or sell written works, comics, visual materials,
        descriptions, metadata, branding materials, and other content (“Author Content”).
        You retain ownership of your original content to the extent allowed by law, but you grant ShortBooks
        the rights needed to host, display, process, distribute, format, market, sell, moderate, and operate
        the Service in connection with that content.
    </p>
    <p>
        You represent and warrant that you have all rights needed to upload and exploit your content through the Service
        and that your content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate the rights of any third party.
    </p>

    <h2>7. Prohibited Conduct</h2>
    <p>You may not use the Service to:</p>
    <ul>
        <li>violate any law, regulation, or third-party right;</li>
        <li>upload infringing, stolen, fraudulent, deceptive, or unauthorized content;</li>
        <li>harass, threaten, impersonate, exploit, or abuse any person;</li>
        <li>upload malware, harmful code, or content intended to disrupt the platform;</li>
        <li>bypass platform restrictions, payment systems, security controls, moderation decisions, or access rules;</li>
        <li>scrape, copy, reproduce, resell, or exploit the Service or its content beyond permitted use;</li>
        <li>use the Service in a manner that creates legal, financial, operational, or reputational risk for ShortBooks.</li>
    </ul>

    <h2>8. Content Moderation and Enforcement</h2>
    <p>
        We may review, refuse, restrict, remove, demonetize, unpublish, suspend, or terminate content or accounts
        at our discretion where needed for safety, quality, legal compliance, rights protection,
        payment integrity, policy enforcement, or platform operations.
    </p>
    <p>
        We are not obligated to host, continue offering, or distribute any specific content, account, or feature.
    </p>

    <h2>9. Intellectual Property</h2>
    <p>
        The Service, excluding user-owned content where applicable, includes software, design, text, branding,
        workflows, layouts, graphics, compilations, and other materials that are owned by or licensed to ShortBooks
        and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, reverse engineer, modify, distribute,
        or exploit these materials except as expressly permitted.
    </p>

    <h2>10. Third-Party Services</h2>
    <p>
        The Service may rely on third-party providers, including payment processors, hosting providers,
        email services, analytics services, and other infrastructure vendors. We are not responsible for
        third-party systems, outages, policies, or actions beyond our reasonable control.
    </p>

    <h2>11. Availability and Changes</h2>
    <p>
        We may update, modify, suspend, restrict, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time.
        We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, compatibility, error-free operation, or permanent access
        to any feature, content, or account state.
    </p>

    <h2>12. Termination and Suspension</h2>
    <p>
        We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or access to the Service at any time if we believe you have:
    </p>
    <ul>
        <li>violated these Terms or any related policy;</li>
        <li>created legal, payment, fraud, abuse, or security risk;</li>
        <li>provided false information;</li>
        <li>misused platform tools, monetization systems, or content systems.</li>
    </ul>
    <p>
        You may stop using the Service at any time. Termination does not eliminate obligations incurred before termination.
    </p>

    <h2>13. Disclaimers</h2>
    <p>
        THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS.
        TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SHORTBOOKS DISCLAIMS WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND,
        WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
        FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND QUIET ENJOYMENT.
    </p>
    <p>
        We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or suitable for your needs.
    </p>

    <h2>14. Limitation of Liability</h2>
    <p>
        TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SHORTBOOKS AND ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, AFFILIATES,
        LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND REPRESENTATIVES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
        SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA,
        GOODWILL, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, OR PLATFORM ACCESS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE.
    </p>
    <p>
        TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF SHORTBOOKS FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF
        OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:
    </p>
    <ul>
        <li>the amount you paid to ShortBooks in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim; or</li>
        <li>$100 USD.</li>
    </ul>

    <h2>15. Indemnification</h2>
    <p>
        You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ShortBooks and its owners, operators, affiliates,
        contractors, service providers, and representatives from and against any claims, liabilities, damages,
        judgments, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to:
    </p>
    <ul>
        <li>your use of the Service;</li>
        <li>your content;</li>
        <li>your violation of these Terms or any applicable policy;</li>
        <li>your violation of any law or third-party right.</li>
    </ul>

    <h2>16. Governing Law</h2>
    <p>
        These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to conflict of law principles,
        except to the extent otherwise required by applicable law.
    </p>

    <h2>17. Dispute Resolution</h2>
    <p>
        Before filing a formal claim, you agree to first contact ShortBooks and attempt to resolve the issue informally.
        If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, ShortBooks may require the dispute to be resolved through binding arbitration
        or another legally enforceable dispute resolution process permitted by applicable law.
    </p>
    <p>
        If any part of this section is found unenforceable, the remaining portions will remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted.
    </p>

    <h2>18. Changes to These Terms</h2>
    <p>
        We may update these Terms from time to time. Updated versions may be posted through the Service.
        Continued use of the Service after updated Terms become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms,
        unless applicable law requires additional notice or consent.
    </p>

    <h2>19. Contact</h2>
    <p>
        If you need to contact ShortBooks regarding these Terms, use the support or contact methods made available through the platform.
    </p>
</section>