Important Notice
These Global Master Terms of Use (“Terms”) establish the general legal framework governing access to and use of EDinBOOK.
EDinBOOK is a global digital education, academic publishing, book discovery, distribution and learning platform serving users, authors, publishers, educational institutions, students, educators, organisations and customers across multiple jurisdictions.
These Terms are supplemented, where applicable, by additional agreements and policies governing specific EDinBOOK products, relationships and transactions.
These Terms do not, by themselves, constitute a publishing agreement, author agreement, institutional agreement, book-sale agreement, affiliate agreement, data-processing agreement or other specialised commercial agreement unless expressly stated otherwise.
1. About EDinBOOK
EDinBOOK is a technology-enabled education and publishing ecosystem that may provide, among other things:
- digital book publishing;
- academic publishing;
- educational content distribution;
- digital books and learning materials;
- hard-copy book sales and distribution;
- institutional publishing solutions;
- school, university and polytechnic services;
- author and publisher services;
- book discovery and marketplace services;
- payment and settlement services;
- affiliate and referral programmes;
- educational technology services; and
- other related products and services.
EDinBOOK may provide these Services directly or through subsidiaries, affiliates, authorised partners, contractors, publishers, distributors, technology providers and other service providers.
2. The EDinBOOK Agreement Framework
EDinBOOK uses a layered contractual framework.
Depending on the Services you use, one or more of the following documents may apply:
A. Global Master Terms of Use
These Terms govern general access to and use of EDinBOOK.
B. Privacy Policy
The Privacy Policy governs the collection, use, disclosure, retention and protection of personal data. It is published at https://edinbook.com/privacy.php
C. Author & Content Provider Agreement
This governs authors and other persons or entities submitting Content for publication or distribution.
D. Publisher Agreement
This governs commercial publishing, licensing and distribution relationships with publishers and publishing organisations. It is published at https://edinbook.com/publisher-agreement.php
E. Institutional Agreement
This governs relationships with schools, universities, polytechnics, colleges, university presses, educational organisations and other institutional customers.
F. Digital Content Terms
These govern the purchase and use of Digital Books and other digital products.
G. Physical Book Terms
These govern Hard-Copy Book purchases, fulfilment, delivery, returns and refunds.
H. Affiliate and Referral Terms
These govern affiliate, referral and commission arrangements.
I. Data Processing Agreement
Where applicable, this governs EDinBOOK’s processing of personal data on behalf of an institutional or enterprise customer.
J. Country- or Region-Specific Terms
EDinBOOK may publish additional terms where required by applicable law or where particular Services require jurisdiction-specific rules.
3. Contractual Hierarchy
Where more than one EDinBOOK agreement applies to the same User or transaction, the following hierarchy shall generally apply:
- mandatory applicable law;
- a transaction-specific agreement or legally required consumer protection;
- a specific written commercial agreement;
- applicable country- or region-specific terms;
- applicable product or Service terms;
- these Global Master Terms;
- other EDinBOOK policies incorporated by reference.
Where a specific agreement expressly states that it overrides a provision of these Terms, that specific agreement shall prevail only with respect to the relevant subject matter.
Nothing in this hierarchy permits an agreement to remove a right that cannot legally be waived.
4. Global Application
EDinBOOK is intended for use internationally.
Users may access EDinBOOK from different countries and jurisdictions. However, not every Service, Content item, payment method, price, feature or product will necessarily be available in every jurisdiction.
Availability may depend on:
- local laws;
- copyright and licensing restrictions;
- territorial distribution rights;
- tax requirements;
- payment availability;
- sanctions and trade restrictions;
- regulatory requirements;
- language;
- technical limitations; and
- commercial arrangements.
References to “global” or “worldwide” describe EDinBOOK’s intended international reach and do not guarantee availability in every country.
5. Contracting Entity
The EDinBOOK entity responsible for a particular User, transaction or Service may vary.
The applicable contracting entity may be identified:
- during registration;
- at checkout;
- in an applicable agreement;
- on an invoice;
- in an institutional contract; or
- through other transaction documentation.
EDinBOOK may operate through subsidiaries, affiliates or authorised entities in different jurisdictions.
Where a separate contracting entity is identified, that entity shall be the relevant contractual counterparty for the applicable Service or transaction.
6. Acceptance of These Terms
You accept these Terms when you:
- create an EDinBOOK Account;
- click an acceptance or confirmation button;
- purchase a product or Service;
- upload or publish Content;
- access restricted Services;
- use an EDinBOOK application or website; or
- otherwise use EDinBOOK where acceptance of these Terms is required.
If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the relevant Services.
7. Eligibility
You must have the legal capacity required to enter into the applicable agreement.
Certain EDinBOOK Services may have additional age or eligibility requirements.
Where a Service involves minors, students or persons who lack legal capacity to enter into a contract, EDinBOOK may require a parent, guardian, educational institution or other authorised person to provide consent or establish the relevant account.
Additional requirements may be established in product-specific or institutional terms.
8. User Accounts
You are responsible for maintaining accurate Account information and protecting your login credentials.
You must not:
- impersonate another person;
- create an Account using false information;
- use another person’s credentials without authorisation;
- permit unauthorised access to your Account;
- create Accounts for fraudulent purposes; or
- circumvent Account restrictions.
You must promptly notify EDinBOOK if you reasonably suspect unauthorised access or compromise of your Account.
9. User Responsibilities
You agree to use EDinBOOK lawfully and responsibly.
You must not use EDinBOOK to:
- violate applicable law;
- infringe intellectual-property rights;
- commit fraud;
- distribute malware;
- interfere with the platform;
- obtain unauthorised access;
- scrape or systematically extract data without permission;
- manipulate transactions;
- manipulate ratings or reviews;
- distribute spam;
- impersonate individuals or organisations;
- upload unlawful Content;
- circumvent security or access controls;
- abuse payment or refund mechanisms;
- engage in harassment or unlawful discrimination; or
- otherwise materially interfere with the rights, security or legitimate operation of EDinBOOK or its Users.
10. User Content
“User Content” means Content submitted, uploaded, transmitted or otherwise provided by a User.
User Content may include:
- books;
- manuscripts;
- articles;
- academic materials;
- educational resources;
- images;
- photographs;
- audio;
- video;
- advertisements;
- metadata;
- comments;
- reviews; and
- other materials.
The User who submits Content remains responsible for that Content, subject to the rights and obligations established under any applicable Author, Publisher or Institutional Agreement.
11. Ownership of User Content
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing:
Uploading Content to EDinBOOK does not transfer ownership of the underlying copyright or intellectual-property rights to EDinBOOK.
Authors, publishers, institutions and other lawful rights holders retain ownership of their Content.
EDinBOOK receives only the rights necessary to provide the relevant Services and any additional rights expressly granted under a separate agreement.
12. EDinBOOK’s Limited Platform Licence
When a User uploads Content, the User grants EDinBOOK a non-exclusive licence to use that Content only to the extent reasonably necessary to:
- host and store it;
- reproduce it for technical purposes;
- process and format it;
- display it through authorised Services;
- distribute it to authorised customers;
- create previews and thumbnails;
- generate or maintain metadata;
- provide search and discovery functionality;
- perform security and moderation;
- provide customer support;
- create accessibility formats where appropriate;
- promote the Content in accordance with applicable agreements; and
- otherwise operate the specific EDinBOOK Service selected by the User.
This licence does not, by itself, grant EDinBOOK ownership of the Content.
13. Commercial Publishing Rights Are Separate
Where EDinBOOK is engaged to publish, distribute, license, print, market or commercially exploit Content, those rights must be established in the applicable Author & Content Provider Agreement, Publisher Agreement, or other specific written agreement.
The general platform licence in Section 12 shall not be interpreted as granting EDinBOOK unlimited commercial exploitation rights.
A separate agreement may establish:
- territory;
- duration;
- exclusivity;
- formats;
- pricing;
- royalties;
- commissions;
- distribution channels;
- sublicensing;
- translation;
- print rights;
- audiobook rights;
- promotional rights;
- termination rights; and
- other commercial rights.
14. No Implied Transfer of Copyright
Except where expressly agreed in writing, nothing in these Terms transfers:
- copyright;
- trademark ownership;
- patent rights;
- moral rights;
- publishing rights;
- distribution rights; or
- other proprietary rights
from a User or rights holder to EDinBOOK.
15. Sublicensing and Service Providers
EDinBOOK may authorise third-party service providers to process or use Content to the extent reasonably necessary to provide the applicable Service.
This may include:
- cloud providers;
- hosting providers;
- payment processors;
- printing partners;
- logistics providers;
- content-delivery providers;
- security providers;
- analytics providers;
- customer-support providers; and
- authorised distributors.
Where a User grants EDinBOOK commercial distribution rights under a separate agreement, EDinBOOK may sublicense or appoint distributors as expressly permitted by that agreement.
16. AI, Automated Processing and Content
EDinBOOK may use automated technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and other computational systems, for legitimate platform functions such as:
- search;
- recommendations;
- categorisation;
- metadata generation;
- translation;
- accessibility;
- fraud detection;
- security;
- content moderation;
- technical processing; and
- service improvement.
Unless expressly authorised by the applicable Content rights holder or otherwise permitted by applicable law, EDinBOOK does not grant itself a general right under these Terms to use User Content to train a general-purpose generative AI model.
Any AI-related commercial rights involving User Content shall be governed by a specific agreement where applicable.
17. Digital Books
Digital Books are generally provided under a licence to access and use the Digital Book rather than a transfer of copyright ownership.
The permitted use of a Digital Book may depend upon:
- the applicable purchase terms;
- publisher restrictions;
- licensing arrangements;
- technological protection measures;
- territory;
- subscription status; and
- applicable law.
Unless expressly permitted, Users must not:
- redistribute Digital Books;
- commercially resell Digital Books;
- make Digital Books publicly available;
- upload Digital Books to unauthorised platforms;
- systematically reproduce Digital Books; or
- circumvent technical protection measures.
18. Hard-Copy Books
Hard-Copy Books may be supplied by EDinBOOK or authorised publishers, institutions, bookshops, printers, distributors or other suppliers.
Delivery, availability, returns, replacement and refund conditions shall be governed by the applicable Physical Book Terms and mandatory consumer law.
19. Prices and Payments
EDinBOOK may support multiple currencies and payment methods.
Prices may vary based on:
- country;
- currency;
- taxes;
- publisher pricing;
- exchange rates;
- delivery costs;
- payment-provider charges; and
- applicable commercial arrangements.
EDinBOOK may use third-party payment processors.
Users must provide accurate payment information and must not use fraudulent or unauthorised payment methods.
20. Author, Publisher and Institution Revenue
Where a User is entitled to revenue generated through EDinBOOK, the applicable revenue share, commission, deduction and settlement rules shall be determined by the relevant commercial agreement.
These may include:
- platform commissions;
- institution shares;
- publisher shares;
- author royalties;
- hard-copy charges;
- negotiated-book charges;
- affiliate commissions;
- referral commissions;
- payment-processing costs;
- applicable taxes;
- refunds;
- chargebacks; and
- other agreed deductions.
The general Terms do not themselves establish a particular royalty or commission rate unless expressly stated.
21. Taxes
Transactions may be subject to taxes, duties, withholding requirements or other governmental charges depending on the User’s jurisdiction and the nature of the transaction.
EDinBOOK may collect, withhold or remit taxes where legally required.
Authors, publishers, institutions, affiliates and other recipients remain responsible for their own tax obligations except where applicable law requires EDinBOOK to withhold, collect or remit taxes.
22. Refunds and Consumer Rights
Refunds and cancellations are governed by:
- applicable product terms;
- transaction terms;
- applicable law; and
- EDinBOOK’s refund policies, including the Cancellation, Refund and Payment Dispute Policy published at https://edinbook.com/refund-policy.php
Nothing in these Terms removes mandatory consumer rights.
Digital-content refunds may be subject to different rules from physical-product refunds.
23. Intellectual Property Owned by EDinBOOK
EDinBOOK owns or lawfully licenses its:
- software;
- platform architecture;
- databases;
- interface;
- trademarks;
- logos;
- branding;
- original platform content;
- design;
- compilation;
- proprietary technology; and
- other protected platform materials.
Users receive only the rights expressly granted under these Terms or an applicable agreement.
24. Copyright Complaints and Takedown
EDinBOOK may establish procedures for reporting alleged copyright or other intellectual-property infringement.
A valid complaint should provide sufficient information to identify:
- the protected work;
- the allegedly infringing Content;
- the location of the Content;
- the complainant;
- the complainant’s rights or authority; and
- contact information.
EDinBOOK may investigate, restrict, remove or restore Content in accordance with applicable law and its Content Governance Policy.
Where appropriate, affected Content providers may have an opportunity to submit a response or counter-notification.
25. Content Moderation and Appeals
EDinBOOK may review or moderate Content for:
- legal compliance;
- intellectual-property concerns;
- fraud;
- security;
- abuse;
- prohibited material;
- platform integrity; and
- other legitimate operational reasons.
Where appropriate, EDinBOOK may:
- reject Content;
- restrict visibility;
- temporarily disable access;
- remove Content;
- suspend an Account; or
- terminate an Account.
EDinBOOK may provide an appeal process for eligible moderation decisions.
26. Privacy and Data Protection
EDinBOOK processes personal information in accordance with applicable data-protection laws and its Privacy Policy.
Depending on the User and Service, EDinBOOK may act as:
- a data controller;
- a data processor;
- a service provider;
- or another legally recognised role.
Where EDinBOOK processes personal data on behalf of an institution or enterprise customer, a Data Processing Agreement may apply.
The Privacy Policy and applicable Data Processing Agreement govern the relevant data-processing relationship.
27. International Data Transfers
Because EDinBOOK operates globally, personal data may be processed in countries other than the country in which the User is located.
Where required by applicable law, EDinBOOK will implement appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.
Details shall be provided in the Privacy Policy and, where applicable, a Data Processing Agreement.
28. Children and Student Users
Certain EDinBOOK Services may be used in educational environments involving students and minors.
EDinBOOK may impose age restrictions, parental-consent requirements, institution-controlled accounts or other safeguards depending on the Service and applicable law.
Educational institutions remain responsible for complying with their own legal obligations concerning students and minors where they control the relevant relationship or data.
29. Third-Party Services
EDinBOOK may integrate with or depend upon third-party services.
Third-party services may have their own terms and privacy policies.
EDinBOOK is not responsible for matters exclusively controlled by an independent third-party provider, except to the extent applicable law or an agreement provides otherwise.
30. Platform Availability
EDinBOOK will use reasonable efforts to maintain its Services.
However, EDinBOOK does not guarantee uninterrupted availability.
Services may be modified, suspended or temporarily unavailable because of:
- maintenance;
- upgrades;
- security incidents;
- infrastructure failures;
- third-party outages;
- regulatory requirements;
- cyber incidents;
- force majeure; or
- other legitimate operational reasons.
31. Account Suspension and Termination
EDinBOOK may suspend or terminate an Account where reasonably necessary because of:
- material breach;
- fraud;
- unlawful activity;
- infringement;
- security threats;
- payment abuse;
- repeated violations;
- regulatory requirements; or
- conduct that materially threatens EDinBOOK or its Users.
Where reasonably practicable, EDinBOOK may provide notice and an opportunity to remedy the breach.
32. Effect of Termination
Termination does not automatically extinguish rights or obligations that accrued before termination.
The following may survive termination where applicable:
- payment obligations;
- intellectual-property provisions;
- confidentiality obligations;
- indemnification;
- limitation of liability;
- dispute-resolution provisions;
- legal-record retention obligations; and
- other provisions intended by their nature to survive.
The treatment of published Content, royalties, Digital Books and institutional data after termination shall be governed by the applicable specialised agreement and applicable law.
33. Confidentiality
Where a User and EDinBOOK exchange information expressly identified as confidential, or information that reasonably should be understood to be confidential, each party shall take reasonable measures to protect it.
Additional confidentiality obligations may be established in Author, Publisher, Institution, Enterprise or other commercial agreements.
34. Security
Users must not attempt to compromise the security of EDinBOOK.
EDinBOOK may employ reasonable technical and organisational safeguards, but no internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
35. Disclaimers
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Services are provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis.
EDinBOOK does not guarantee that:
- the Services will always be available;
- all Content will always remain available;
- third-party Content will always be accurate;
- all Services will be error-free;
- every transaction will be completed successfully; or
- third-party services will remain available.
Nothing in these Terms excludes a warranty, remedy or legal right that cannot lawfully be excluded.
36. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, EDinBOOK shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary losses arising from use of the Services.
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Where legally permitted, EDinBOOK’s aggregate liability arising from a specific transaction shall be limited to the amount paid by the relevant User for the Service giving rise to the claim, subject to any different limitation contained in an applicable commercial agreement.
Different liability provisions may apply to institutional, publisher, enterprise or other commercial relationships.
37. Indemnification
A User may be required to indemnify EDinBOOK against third-party claims arising directly from:
- the User’s unlawful conduct;
- material breach of these Terms;
- infringement caused by the User’s Content;
- fraud; or
- intentional misconduct.
The scope of indemnification for Authors, Publishers, Institutions, Affiliates and other commercial partners shall be governed by their applicable agreements.
No indemnity shall apply to the extent a claim results from EDinBOOK’s own conduct for which EDinBOOK is legally responsible.
38. Force Majeure
EDinBOOK shall not be liable for delay or failure caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, civil unrest, government action, infrastructure failure, telecommunications failure, widespread cyber incidents, strikes, epidemics or major payment-system failures.
39. Changes to These Terms
EDinBOOK may update these Terms from time to time.
Material changes may be communicated through:
- email;
- platform notices;
- Account notifications;
- website notices; or
- other reasonable electronic means.
Where required, Users will be provided with appropriate notice before material changes take effect.
Changes will not retroactively alter completed transactions unless required by law or expressly agreed.
40. Electronic Communications
Users consent to electronic communications relating to their use of EDinBOOK.
These may include:
- transaction confirmations;
- Account notifications;
- security alerts;
- legal notices;
- service announcements; and
- customer-support communications.
Electronic records may be used as evidence of transactions and communications to the extent permitted by applicable law.
41. Governing Law
The governing law applicable to a User or transaction shall be determined by the applicable contracting entity, specific agreement and mandatory applicable law.
Where a specific agreement identifies a governing law, that provision shall apply to the extent legally enforceable.
Where no specific governing law has been agreed, the law designated in EDinBOOK’s applicable jurisdiction-specific terms shall apply, subject always to mandatory consumer, privacy and other legal protections.
42. Dispute Resolution
EDinBOOK encourages Users to first contact EDinBOOK to resolve disputes informally.
Commercial disputes involving Authors, Publishers, Institutions, Affiliates or other business partners may be subject to mediation and/or arbitration under the applicable commercial agreement.
Consumer disputes shall remain subject to any mandatory dispute-resolution rights available under applicable law.
Nothing prevents a party from seeking urgent interim or protective relief from a court of competent jurisdiction where legally permitted.
43. Severability
If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary where legally permissible, and the remaining provisions shall remain effective.
44. No Waiver
Failure to enforce a provision does not constitute a waiver of the right to enforce that provision later.
45. Assignment
EDinBOOK may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring, corporate reorganisation or transfer of the relevant Services, subject to applicable law.
A User may not assign their contractual obligations without EDinBOOK’s consent except where permitted by law.
46. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with the applicable Privacy Policy, specialised agreements, product terms and jurisdiction-specific terms, constitute the contractual framework governing the relevant EDinBOOK relationship.
A specialised agreement governs its specific subject matter where it contains provisions applicable to that relationship.
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