These present General Terms of Use / General Terms of Sale ("GTU/GTS") describe the conditions under which the company VASCA ("VASCA"), with its registered office at 11 bis, Rue de Moscou, 75008 Paris, France, and registered at the Paris Register of Commerce under the number 513 544 924 ("the Company"), provides promotional and online publishing services to the authors of original works ("Authors") for an online audience ("Readers") on the website www.upblisher.com (the "Service" or "Website").
Access to this service is subject to compliance with the General Terms of Use / General Terms of Sale. Before accessing the service, Internet users, readers, authors or visitors must read and agree to respect the General Terms of Use / General Terms of Sale.
The following definitions apply to these GTU/GTS:
"UPblisher" or the "Website" refers to the website www.upblisher.com and all services provided on the website.
"Services" refers to all services, functions and applications provided by the Company and available on the Website.
"The Company" refers to the company operating the Website www.upblisher.com.
"User" refers to any website user, including regular or occasional users, registered members, authors, readers or visitors.
"Author" refers to a creator of original literary works who wishes to make his or her unpublished or non broadcast work available on the Website.
"Account" refers to the individual account created by each member author or reader when registering with the Website.
"Content" refers to any content published or broadcast on the Website by the Company, users, or third parties. It includes text, words, information, images, videos, sound, data or hypertext links.
"Terms and conditions" refers to the General Terms of Use / General Terms of Sale contained in the present document.
The following Terms and Conditions of Use control access to and use of the Website by users.
These terms and conditions apply to all users, whether visitors or members.
Additional terms and conditions may determine access to specific services.
By using these services, you acknowledge that:
You agree to follow the terms of GTU/GTS. Authors also must agree to the UPblisher-Vasca Member Agreement.
Any use of "UPblisher" not in accordance with GTU/GTS or the UPblisher-Vasca Member Agreement (for authors) is prohibited.
Ticking the box "I accept the GTU/GTS", constitutes your acceptance of all of the rules below. In case of disagreement with these provisions, you are advised to not use the Service.
THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY TO ALL USERS OF THE WEBSITE. BEFORE USING THE WEBSITE, MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU MUST NOT USE THE SERVICE. USE OF THE WEBSITE CONSTITUTES UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
"UPblisher" is an Internet-based service. To access the service, all Authors, Readers and Visitors must have an Internet connection. Authors, Readers and Visitors must bear the cost of all telephone and Internet connection charges. The Company does not provide users with any Internet connection support, including telephone installation, terminals, software or subscription services.
The Company provides users with a non-exclusive and non-transferable limited license to access and use the Service and its Content. Any disrespect of the rules set out on the GTU/GTS will result in this license being revoked.
To access the Service, the user must create an account ("Account").
The Company reserves the right to restrict or suspend access to part or all of the Website and some or all of its Services for operational or maintenance reasons at any time. The Company also reserves the right to modify, suspend or delete the Website and remove it from the Internet. In these situations, users will not be entitled to compensation.
The Company does not guarantee that the Website will operate in a continuous or error-free manner.
The Company will not be held liable should the Website become unavailable, be interrupted or malfunction for any reason whatsoever. This includes because of failures on the part of its Internet provider or web hosting service provider, third party intrusions or force majeure.
The Company will not be held liable for any damage or inconveniences caused in the course of regular Internet use, including damage caused by computer viruses or spyware.
The Company and its subsidiaries offer subscriptions to the following services (this list is not exhaustive):
To create an Account, you must be a natural person of at least eighteen (18) years of age or an adult in your country of residence, or, if you are a minor, you must have obtained permission from your legal representative (your parents or guardian).
The Account is a user account, which is accessed by an Account name and password.
The Account remains the property of the Company. You are only entitled to access the Service using the Account made available to you.
To create an Account, you must provide the following information:
| Authors | Readers |
|---|---|
| Title* [Check box] | Title * [Check box] |
| Surname * [Input] | Surname * [Input] |
| First name* [Input] | First name * [Input] |
| User name [Input] – Default value: « First name & Surname » | E-mail address * [Input] – Verification of valid e-mail format |
| E-mail address* [Input] – Verification of valid e-mail format | Password * [Input] |
| Password* [Input] | Confirmation of password * [Input] |
| Confirmation of password * [Input] | User name [Input] – Default value: « First name & Surname » |
| Post code* [Input] | Reading preferences |
| Town* [Input] | |
| Country* [Input] | |
| Date of birth* [Calendar] | |
| Number of completed texts [Input] | |
| Number of texts in progress [Input] | |
| Writing language* [Drop-down menu] | |
| Type of test* [Drop-down menu] | |
| Form of text* [Drop-down menu] | |
| Has any of your books already been published? * [Checklist Yes/No] |
To manage your Account and personal information, you must click on "My Account" tab (Homepage).
An Account name (or login name) and password are required to access the Service.
The following rules apply when creating an account:
Your Account name must meet the following rules at least:
The same rules apply when creating your user name.
To ensure the security of your account and to avoid the theft of an account known as "Hacking an account", you agree:
The security of your account is solely your responsibility and the Company shall not be liable for damage that may result to the Account or your computer after losing or sharing your Account login information.
The Company shall not in any way be held responsible in the case of account theft or any changes that may result to the Account.
You also acknowledge that you are presumed to be the user of your Account and as such responsible for actions taken through the use of your Account and on your Account.
You acknowledge that you, and not the Company, are responsible for all electronic communications and content sent from your computer and you must only use the Service in compliance with the law.
Memberships are activated as quickly as possible, within a maximum delay of 1 (one) working day following the user's on-line subscription.
If your membership is not activated within 1 (one) working day, your membership subscription can be cancelled by sending a letter by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt to the Customer Service Centre.
Your membership subscription fee will be refunded in the 30 days following postage of the registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. You will not be entitled to any other form of compensation or damages.
Your on-line membership is activated when you receive an email with your access codes. This is regardless of the method of subscription or the method of payment, unless otherwise specified in the membership offer terms and conditions.
Under Article L 121-20 of the French Code de la consommation (Consumer Code), all non-professionals who take out subscriptions have a right of withdrawal. You therefore have 7 (seven) clear days from the date of subscription to withdraw from the Service. Any requests to withdraw must be made in writing to UPblisher Customer Service - VASCA, 11 bis rue de Moscou, 75008 Paris, France.
Your membership subscription fee will be refunded in the 30 days following postage of the letter.
You may not exercise your right to withdraw if you have consulted or used the information you paid for within the 7 days following your subscription.
In principle, fixed-term subscriptions cannot be cancelled, by the subscriber or the Company (or its subsidiaries), but must be left to run to full term.
However, French or foreign non-professional subscribers may cancel their fixed-term subscription before term by sending a letter by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt to the Company. A notice period of 15 days applies. Subscribers must supply a valid reason and supporting documents. Examples of valid reasons include unemployment, imprisonment, long-term hospitalisation, excessive debt, death, blindness or personal bankruptcy
Advance cancellation is only open to subscribers who are private individuals and supply a valid reason. Advance cancellation is not open to professionals or legal entities. Subscriptions by professionals and legal entities will not be reimbursed by the editor or any other professional concerned.
Fixed-term subscriptions will not be automatically renewed. Unless the subscriber renews the subscription, it will terminate at the end of the subscription period.
Permanent subscriptions can be cancelled at any time, by the subscriber or by the Company (or its subsidiaries). A notice period of 1 (one) month applies. Subscribers may cancel their subscriptions by sending a letter, a fax or an e-mail to the Customer Service Centre.
In case of serious breach of these obligations, the Company or the subscriber can formally request for appropriate action to be taken by sending a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the other party. If, within 30 (thirty) days, no action has been taken, the Company or the subscriber can cancel the subscription. In this situation, the subscriber should contact the Customer Service Centre
Neither the subscriber nor the Company (or its subsidiaries) will be held responsible for any breaches or delays in the fulfilment of this membership subscription caused by force majeure, as understood under French law.
In situations of force majeure, all obligations under the membership subscription are suspended. However, if after 72 consecutive hours the situation has not been resolved, the subscriber may cancel the subscription by sending a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the Customer Service Centre. The subscriber will not be entitled to a refund.
If the subscriber's subscription is terminated for any of the above reasons, she/he will no longer be able to access her/his account.
Memberships are activated as quickly as possible, within a maximum delay of 1 (one) working day following the user's on-line subscription.
Unless otherwise indicated, prices are in Euros and tax inclusive. They do not take into account variations in exchange rates and/or fees for using a particular method of payment.
Prices are subject to change without notice. However, when the payment method involves a delay (for example, if you choose to pay by cheque), the price payable will be the price charged on the day you created your membership. This is conditional on your payment being received within 5 (five) working days.
You agree that all payments made on the Website, for yourself or any other person you represent, are made with the consent of the card or bank account holder.
The Company offers several methods of payment, some of which are managed by third parties. This can include financial intermediaries. The Company will not be held responsible for any problems that may arise in the case of involvement by third parties.
You agree to absolve the Company of all responsibility for fraudulent payments made on the Website, regardless of the method of payment used. If you make a fraudulent payment (any payment without consent from the cardholder or bank account holder), the Company reserves the right to cancel your membership definitively and initiate judicial proceedings against you. These sanctions will also apply if you give your login information to third parties who subsequently make fraudulent payments.
If you have an overdue account that remains unpaid even after a reminder letter has been sent, the Company has the right to suspend your subscription immediately pending payment. Overdue accounts may give rise to interest or penalties. The Company may also request damages for all losses sustained as a result of overdue accounts.
The user agrees, before creating an account, to make all declarations and to obtain any necessary authorisations in accordance with the conditions required by the law. The user agrees to ensure that all contents of the space of the user and all comments conform to current French laws and regulations and where necessary to those of the country in which he publishes content.
The user particularly agrees to ensure that none of the content posted is paedophilic (paedo-pornographic). Should the company become aware of paedophilic material on the space hosted by the company, this material shall be immediately deleted and the details of the user shall be passed on to the appropriate authorities.
The user is reminded that he has sole responsibility for all content he publishes on the Internet and in his user space and that in no case may the company be considered liable for content generated by the user. The user agrees to ensure that his content does not breach the rights of third parties and, in particular:
In accordance with the obligation of surveillance of clearly illicit content, as presented in the Law no. 2004-575 of the 21st January 2004 concerning confidence in the digital economy, the Company, once alerted via the "Report abuse" contact form available online, may investigate the content and messages published by a user.
The user agrees to ensure that he is aware of all rules and limitations concerning liberty of expression before any publication. Liberty of expression allows for criticism and reporting of verified and proven information, but does not permit denigration or defamation. Any denigration, defamation or allegation based on incorrect or deliberately withheld information may lead to proceedings against the author.
Liberty of expression allows for criticism under the condition that the criticism is objective, reasoned and based on fact.
UPblisher being registered in France, the design and each of the elements, including, trademarks, logos and domain names, appearing on the Site are protected by French and international law on copyright and intellectual property and belong to the Company or to the authors of the Company or require authorisation for use. You cannot use these elements without obtaining prior written permission from the Company.
No element of the Site may be copied, reproduced, modified, republished, downloaded, altered, transmitted or distributed in any way, partially or in entirety, without prior written permission from the company, except for the strict needs of the press and under the reserve of the respect of intellectual property rights and any other property rights mentioned.
You therefore have no right to hire, sell, distribute or create derived works inspired by the site or from site content without prior written permission from the Company or the authors of the Company.
All trademarks appearing on the Site and in author spaces are registered or pending trademarks of the Company and/or the authors. These trademarks cannot be used without prior written permission from the Company. You are not authorised to use meta-tags or other forms of 'hidden text' using names and trademarks of the Company without prior written permission from the Company. The other trademarks on the Site which do not belong to the Company belong to their respective owners.
Any wrongful use violates the authorisation or licence accorded by the Company. Any total or partial reproduction of the site of any kind without the express permission of the Company is forbidden and would constitute an illegal imitation, sanctioned by articles L.335-2 and onwards of the Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle (intellectual property code). The Company reserves the right to take legal action following any breach of its intellectual property rights.
Only private usage copies are authorised for personal, private, and non-commercial use. The following notice must appear on all authorised copies of all or part of the content of the Site: "COPYRIGHT UPBLISHER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED". All authorised use of elements found on the Site must be without any deterioration, change, modification or alteration of any kind.
No person or organisation may contact one or more authors to offer payment or any other compensation in exchange for an advertising service in the author space of the author. No such request may be made unless specifically authorised by the Company.
The user shall in no case offer the sale, gift or exchange of stolen goods, or goods acquired by embezzlement, fraud, abuse of confidence or any other penal offence. Any person discovering or suspecting that sales made by a user are not legal must inform the Company immediately, via the "Report abuse" contact form available on the site.
The user agrees never to conclude any agreement with an advertising agency which is not an affiliate or a partner of the Company. The user agrees never to post advertising material (particularly, but not limited to, text, images, videos, and links) issued from or proposed by an advertising agency which is not an affiliate or a partner of the company.
The user agrees never to include in the personal space of the user (content, biography, message space, etc.) any advertisement(s) advertising or promoting, in any way, a website or company which business competes in any way with that of www.upblisher.com.
The user declares to be aware that any advertising material provided by an advertising agency which is not an affiliate or a partner of the Company, and any advertisement considered as abusive by the Company, may be removed or replaced by the Company as soon as the Company becomes aware of the existence of the advertisement.
The user-author authorises the Company to reference the space of the user-author in any way and by any means of communication, particularly by the insertion of links to and from the space of the user-author, the profile of the user-author or the work(s) of the user-author in the indexing tools of the website www.upblisher.com. The Company cannot be considered liable for any loss or damage connected to this referencing.
The Company will make every effort to ensure the proper running of the Service and provide the services 24 (twenty-four) hours per day, 7 (seven) days per week.
However, the Company has only a best-effort obligation with regard to access to and use of the Service. The Company cannot guarantee that the functions provided by the Service will always be available and without typographical, technical or any other errors, that the faults will be corrected or that the Services and servers hosting the Services will always be exempt from viruses and bugs.
For the maintenance, testing, repair, or any other purposes linked to the improvement and running of the Service, the Service may be interrupted temporarily by the Company without the Company being held liable for it in any way. The Company alone shall decide whether to grant compensation in the case of interruption of the Service or not.
The Company cannot be held liable in cases of force majeure as laid out in French law and as defined by the jurisprudence of French courts and tribunals. Force majeure includes, without being limited to, interruption, suspension, reduction or failure of the electric power supply, or any interruption of telecommunications networks.
The Company cannot be held liable for the content on sites (personal sites, blogs, either internal or external to UPblisher, etc.) or personal pages of the user (be they internal or external to UPblisher). The user accepts and recognises to be solely liable for any information, text, image, video, data, file, or program posted on the space, the Site, or the page of the user.
The user accepts personal responsibility and agrees to release the Company from any liability, loss, litigation, damage or expense, including legal and defence costs, demanded by a third party or another user relating to the Site of the user (all personal content published online by the user) or the personal page of the user.
The Company has a better-effort obligation within the framework of these GTU/GTS and cannot in any case be held responsible for any direct or indirect loss or damage of any kind resulting from management, use, interruption, or malfunction of the Service.
The Company cannot be held liable for the content, management and functioning of external Sites or for access to those Sites. The Company does not approve and is not liable for content, ideas, opinions or products and services sold on such external Sites.
The user accepts full responsibility for hypertext links and Internet addresses included on the Site or personal page of the user and guarantees the company, its subsidiaries, officers, managers and employees against any litigation or claim relating to such links.
The Company does not guarantee against and cannot be considered liable for the loss or alteration of files of data transferred by the user to the site of the user.
The user accepts to transfer these data and files knowingly and under the sole responsibility of the user. The user is responsible for undertaking any protective measures considered necessary.
The Company does not guarantee a minimum level of traffic to the space of the user, nor does the Company guarantee a certain turnover or profit to the author.
The Company cannot be considered liable in the following cases (non exclusive):
The Company will not disclose your information to third parties and will make every effort to prevent the dissemination thereof, unless specifically authorised by you. The Company reserves the right to prosecute anyone attempting to access personal information that does not concern them.
In conformance with Law no. 78-17 of the 6th January 1978 relating to information technology, files and liberties, the automated processing of personal data made by the web site www.upblisher.com has been declared to the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL, the French data protection authority).
In accordance with the Law no. 78-17 of the 6th January 1978, you may access any personal data concerning you held by the Company, and demand the modification or deletion of said data. According to articles 36, 39 and 40 of Law no. 78-17 of the 6th January 1978, you have the sole right to access, modify or delete your personal information. You can exercise this right via Support, contactable by email at data-management@upblisher.com, or by post at UPBLISHER - VASCA - Data management Service, 11 bis, rue de Moscou 75008 Paris France, indicating your name, address, email and home addresses, and providing proof of identity.
The Company has no obligation to provide information relating to a specific Account, even if a user requests the information, except to appropriate authorities in the context of a judicial enquiry.
Data concerning the user may be kept after the closure of the account for future information.
In order to improve service quality and to better respond to the expectations of the users, the Company may collect personal information about the user, particularly using cookies. Accepting cookies is obligatory for all subscriptions.
The Company also reserves the right to collect certain information: - linked to your computer (IP, Internet Service Provider, hardware configuration, software configuration) - linked to the service (log and history of all data transfers, log and history of logins).
In case of violation of one or more of the dispositions of these GTU/GTS, of the UPblisher-Vasca Member Agreement, or of any other document issued by the Company, the Company reserves the right to terminate or restrict your use of and block access to the service, to your Account, and to all the Sites of the Company without prior warning and at its discretion.
The penalties are linked to the seriousness of the violation. They may include, without limitation, the following actions:
The Company reserves the right to impose any penalty on an Account, given the gravity of the violation, without first giving notice of or applying a penalty of shorter duration in advance. You agree that sanctions are final and you cannot in any way challenge the decisions taken by the Company.
In addition to the penalties described above, the Company will take appropriate sanctions, including civil prosecution and criminal proceedings against the offender.
Except as otherwise provided in these GTU/GTS or through an exceptional arrangement with the Company, no reimbursement will be granted if the Account is cancelled before the end of the subscription period.
The Company reserves the right to modify the terms and conditions at any time.
Each modification, update versions of terms will come into effect as soon as it is put online on the Website. The Company agrees to give prior warning of modification to members by email or by display on the Website. In case of refusal of the modification, the user must cease to use the Website or the Services concerned by the modification, and the account of the user may be deleted without the user being entitled to any sort of compensation. Any use of the site after the modification has been put online is considered to be an acceptation of updated version of terms.
Each service may have specific conditions.
The Company is free to add and remove services from the Website and/or modify the characteristics, terms of use and other specific conditions of said services. The Company shall inform the members of such modifications by email or by display on the Website.
The user may have to, through the use of the Website or via the intermediary of the Website, use services or content provided by third parties. The Company declines all liability concerning said third party services and content, the third party providing the service or content having sole liability regarding the user.
In no case may the Company be held responsible for any loss caused in the course of exchanges made away from the site, even between members.
The General Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with French law and French language.
In case of litigation or claims on the part of the user, the Company, or a third party, only the version of these GTU/GTS available on the site www.upblisher.com shall be binding between the parties, regardless of the date of the incident concerned by the litigation.
Should an amiable resolution not be found, in case of any potential litigation between the parties referring to the elaboration, the execution, the interpretation or the termination-resolution of the Contract, the dispute shall be referred to the French Courts (courts of Paris) including cases of summary, request, and multiple defendants.
The English version of Terms and conditions is for information only and the French version alone shall be binding.
