Pens and Pages :: Celebrating the Written Word

TERMS OF SERVICE

1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

Welcome to Pens and Pages! Pens and Pages provides its service to you, subject to the following Terms of Service ("TOS"), which may be updated by us from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting to the main page of the site and sending a notice to the mailing lists but we are not liable for failure to note changes to the TOS. You can review the most current version of the TOS at any time by clicking on TOS in your author profile. Failure to accept these terms will deny you the right to post content to Pens and Pages by not allowing you to create a member account. Failure to observe the TOS is grounds for deletion of your writing, forum posts and in some cases will lead to the termination and black listing of your member account.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE

Pens and Pages provides writers and readers with a place to post their material and make it available for others to read/view/use their material, and receive reviews. Unless explicitly stated, all new features shall fall under the terms of the TOS.

In order to use the Service, you must obtain access to the World Wide Web.

Please be aware that some contributions to Pens and Pages contain adult content. Stories that contain mature content require a statement that you are of age to legally read the material if an author appropriately rates their piece. It is your obligation to leave areas that are not policed, incorrectly rated or allow adult content if you are not of the legal age of consent in your area. Pens and Pages is not responsible for the incorrect rating of adult oriented content but will remove content if the incorrect rating is brought to the attention of Pens and Pages staff.

Please be aware that some contributions to Pens and Pages contain illegal and copyrighted material. Pens and Pages staff will make every effort to remove said material from Pens and Pages’ web site. If you run across said material, the staff of Pens and Pages requests that you alert them via e-mail so that appropriate action can be taken. Please see "Section Nine: Copyrights and Copyright Holders" and "Section Ten: Domestic Copyrights" for more information on reporting copyright violations.

3. YOUR REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS

In consideration of your use of the Service, you agree to: (a) abide by the rules that are posted for different sections such as but not only the posting rules; (b) uphold the locals laws as applicable to your actions when viewing and posting of content to the site; (c) honor the requests made by Pens and Pages agents such as forum and mailing list moderators, etc. as applicable to your actions on the site; (d) honestly verify your age of consent when going through the NC-17 notification page and (e) check for updates and update notices of the rules and the TOS on the main page and within pages on Pens and Pages.

4. USER ACCOUNT, PASSWORD AND SECURITY

You will attain the ability to upload your writing to Pens and Pages through your User Account upon completing the Pens and Pages User Registration process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to (i) immediately notify Pens and Pages of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security by e-mailing the Pens and Pages administrators, and (ii) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session if your computer will be used by others. Pens and Pages cannot and will not be liable for your failure to comply with this Section.

You give Pens and Pages the non-exclusive rights to publish your uploaded writing at Pens and Pages. The non-exclusive publishing rights end when you remove your writing.

5. USER CONDUCT

You understand that all information, text, images or other materials ("Content") are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means that you, not Pens and Pages, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, transmit or otherwise make available via Pens and Pages. Pens and Pages does not control the Content posted via the Service and does not guarantee the quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Pens and Pages be liable in any way for any Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service.

You agree not to use the service to:

(a) upload, post or otherwise make available make available any Content that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, or otherwise objectionable;

(b) impersonate any person or entity;

(d) upload, post or otherwise make available material that is unsolicited advertisements, promotional material, spam, etc;

(e) disrupt the flow of normal dialogue or negatively affect the ability of others to chat in real time;

(f) interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service;

(g) intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law;

(h) stalk or otherwise harrass other users;

(i) upload another user's materials without prior permission from the parties appearing in the story.

You acknowledge that Pens and Pages does not pre-screen Content, but that Pens and Pages and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or move any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Pens and Pages administrators shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable.

You acknowledge and agree that Pens and Pages may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Pens and Pages, Pens and Pages staff, its users and the public.

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Service, including your Content, may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. These changes will be done with out notification based on the software and/or hardware. The user is advised to check the formatting of their piece.

6. MODIFICATIONS TO SERVICE

Pens and Pages reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that Pens and Pages shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.

7. TERMINATION

You agree that Pens and Pages, in its sole discretion, may terminate your account and remove and discard any Content, for any reason if Pens and Pages believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of the TOS. Pens and Pages may also in its sole discretion and at any time discontinue providing the Service, or any part thereof, with or without notice. You agree that any termination of your access to the Service under any provision of this TOS may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that Pens and Pages may immediately deactivate or delete your User Account, suspend chatting and posting privileges and bar any further access to Pens and Pages. Further, you agree that Pens and pages shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Service. See Section Six for information on Pens and Pages termination.

8. LINKS

The Service may provide links to other World Wide Web sites. Because Pens and Pages has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Pens and Pages is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that Pens and Pages shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.

You understand that while Pens and Pages makes an effort to verify links on the site, Pens and Pages is not responsible if links to other World Wide Web sites are bad. If links are bad in the Links section of Pens and Pages or contain inappropriate content, Pens and Pages and its administrators request that users notify the administrators of this problem by e-mailing them.

9. COPYRIGHTS and COPYRIGHT AGENTS

Pens and Pages respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, there are two methods of recourse depending on the nature of the infraction. If you have a copyright abuse complaint based on theft of your piece by other fan author(s), please see Section Ten: Domestic Copyrights. Else, please provide Pens and Pages with the following information:

(1) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;

(2) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;

(3) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;

(4) your address, telephone number, and email address;

(5) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

(6) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

After this has been received, Pens and Pages administrators will seek to determine if the piece in question is in violation of your copyright and then respond accordingly.

10. DOMESTIC COPYRIGHTS

Pens and Pages respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. If you feel that another writer on Pens and Pages copied without permission, and in violation of your copyright your writing, please provide Pens and Pages administrators with the following information via e-mail:

(1) User name and e-mail address.

(2) Contact information for the user you feel is violating your copyright. This information should include the user's name, e-mail address, and user profile url.

(3) The url of the piece that you have the copyright for, the date that the story was posted, and the title of the piece.

(4) The url of the piece that you feel is in violation of your copyright, the date the alleged infringed piece was written and the title the alleged infringed piece.

(5) Supporting and collaborative evidence that demonstrates copyright infringement.

(6) A short message detailing the nature of the copyright infringement.

After this has been received, Pens and Pages administrators will seek to determine if the piece in question is in violation of your copyright and then respond accordingly.

11. VIOLATIONS

Please report any violations of the TOS to Pens and Pages administrators by e-mailing them to editorinchief@pensandpages.net.