Terms And Conditions
These Terms of Service govern the access to and use of Rachayitha’s (“Company” / “We”/ “Our”) ‘Rachayitha’ website (www.rachayitha.com) (“Website”), the ‘Rachayitha’ application available on Android and iOS (together “Application”) by any person (“User”/“You”/“Your”).
Company, on its Website/Application, primarily facilitates a User to:
- upload and publish literary works (such as books, poems, articles, etc. and includes cover images/ other images used in each such work) (“Published Work(s)”) on the Website/Application in different languages and the User doing so is hereinafter referred to as an “Author”, and/or
- consume such Published Works as well as any such works published by Company itself (referred to as “Company Content”) on the Website/ Application and the User doing so is hereinafter referred to as a “Reader”.
Published Works and Company Content shall together be referred to as “Content”.
In order to enrich the User’s experience while utilizing the Website/Application, Company may offer ancillary features (“Features”) including but not limited to (i) submitting reviews on the Content, (ii) chat feature to communicate with other Users, (iii) setting a username, profile picture and entering other details on the User’s profile. All material uploaded by the User while using these ancillary features shall be referred to as (“Inputs”).
All the above features offered by the Company through its Website/Application shall be referred to as (“Services”).
By browsing through the Website/Application and availing the Services, You agree to be bound by these Terms of Service read along with the Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) and represent that You are above 18 (eighteen) years of age and have the authority to enter into a binding contract with Company. If You are under 18 (eighteen) years of age, You must obtain consent from Your parent(s) or authorised legal guardian(s) who will be responsible for your acceptance and compliance of these Terms of Service and such consent from Your parent(s) or authorised legal guardian(s) shall be forthwith furnished to the Company, if so required by the Company. If You do not have consent from Your parent(s) or authorised legal guardian(s), You must immediately stop using/accessing the Website/Application.
This is an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules there under. Therefore, no signature is required to make the Terms of Service binding on the User. These Terms of Service along with the Privacy Policy have been formulated as required under Rule 3 (1) (a) of the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
USER OBLIGATIONS
By using the Services, User agrees to abide by the below obligations:
Accuracy: To provide complete and accurate information while registering on the Website/Application and to contact and intimate the Company in writing (e-mails permitted), if there is any change in such information. Further, User must not impersonate any other person (whether living or dead). Confidentiality: To maintain confidentiality of the User’s account details and be responsible for any use of the Services through the User’s account. Ownership: User shall ensure that the copyrights in the Published Works uploaded are fully owned by the User or validly assigned/ licensed to, that the Published Works are original, and that the Published Works do not violate any rights of any third-party including without limitation the patent, trademark, copyright, other proprietary rights or any personal/personality rights of any third-party. Guidelines and Policies: To adhere to Content Guidelines (included herein below) and all other policies and guidelines published by the Company anywhere on the Website/Application including at the Policy and Safety guidelines with respect to the use of the Website/Application. Reproduction: To not reproduce any Content from the Website/Application and publish it on any other platform or medium without authority or prior written permission from the Company, whether for commercial gain or otherwise. Permissions: Allow the Company to do the following till the User’s account exists or till the User’s Published Works are published on the Website/Application, whichever is earlier:
a) publicly display their name/username to attribute the Published Works uploaded on the Website/Application; and
b) adapt, publish, reproduce, process, modify the Published Works, publicly perform and display the User’s Published Works and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with such Published Works, on a non-exclusive basis, for the purpose of distributing, disseminating, transmitting the Published Works and such derivatives on any mode, medium or through any distribution method worldwide, including those which may come into existence in the future in relation to the Website/Application/Services and for the marketing and promotion of the Services and/or Published Works through any social media handle and/or channel of the Company and/or through any third party channels. It is hereby clarified that the Company’s right to market and promote includes the right to create snippets of the Published Works and/or combine the Published Works and/or such snippets of the Published Works with works of other authors on the Website/Application and create and publish lists of top authors on the Website/Application in the manner as the Company deems fit.
7. Illegal Activities: Not use the Services to perform any illegal activities nor solicit the performance of any illegal or any activity which leads to violation of third party’s rights.
8. Virus: To not upload any material which contains software viruses, or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer resource used to provide the Services.
9. Non-Solicit: To not advertise or solicit any products or services, including offers with respect to a User’s Published Works in any manner on the Website/Application, including by publishing such messages as Published Works or through the Features available on the Website/Application.
10. Spam: To not approach or target Users with any communication in any manner, including in the form of Published Works or through the Features, which are in the nature of spamming and with an intention to cause the Users to remove their Published Works from the Website/Application or to on-board the Users and/or their Published Works onto other content platforms or to initiate conversation with Users for the foregoing.
11. Security:
a) Not probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Website/Application;
b)Not disrupt or breach the security or authentication measures or circumvent the navigational structure, with respect to the Website/Application or the network;
c)Not use any manual or automated software, devices or other processes to “crawl” or “spider” any part of the Website/Application;
d)Not to use cheats, exploits, automation, software, bots, hacks, or any unauthorized third-party software to modify or interfere with the Services or in any manner to gain undue advantage from the Services or features; and
e)Not place an unreasonable burden on the Company’s infrastructure.
12. Unfair Conduct: Not engage in any unfair conduct such as using unauthorized means to gain Earnings or My Coins or misuse any of the programs offered on the Website/Application or engage in any other fraudulent/wrongful activity on the Website/Application.
13. Access: To access and use the Services solely for the User’s personal and non-commercial purposes, except as allowed on the Website/Application, and to not access the Website/Application or obtain the Content through any means other than as permitted.
14. User Data: Not trace any information pertaining to another User or exploit any such information, including storing and collecting the same.
15. Trademark and Design: To not use, misuse or misappropriate the trademark ‘Pratilipi’, any logo or any design of the Website/Application, which are owned/used by the Company for any unauthorized purpose.
16. Non-disparagement: Not do any act which might bring the Company, the Website/Application into public disrepute.
RIGHTS OF THE COMPANY
User acknowledges the following rights of the Company:
Remove Content: Company has the right to remove any Published Works/Inputs which it deems objectionable or is infringing, as per its discretion or as required under law. Suspension/Termination: Company has the right to restrict/suspend/terminate the account of any User to access all or part of the Services, at its discretion, including for violation by the User of these Terms of Service. Intellectual Property: The Service and all components thereof including the Website/Application and all logos, trademarks, brand names, service marks, domain names, including designs, and graphics created by and developed by the Company on the Website/Application and other distinctive brand features of the Website/Application are exclusively owned by the Company and all intellectual property rights vested therein belong to the Company. Company Content: Any Company Content belongs to the Company or its licensors . No rights therein transfer to the Users except for the purpose of legitimate use of the Service in accordance with these Terms of Service. Personal Data: Company shall process the personal data of the Users submitted in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Payment: Company shall decide the terms and conditions associated with any features introduced on the Website/Application pertaining to issue of virtual currency on the Website/Application and the way they can be used by the Users. Such terms shall be as set forth herein or as communicated to the User via the Website/Application Legal disclosure: Company may disclose the details of any User or any other details regarding the Published Works/Inputs or take any other action as required under law or a lawful order by government agencies who are authorized to investigate any cyber security incidents.
Enhance security measures: Company may put in place enhanced security and technical measures from time to time to prevent and tackle violation of copyrights of Users or third parties, as suitable.
CONTENT GUIDELINES
Published Works/Inputs uploaded on the Website/Application must:
Not be objectionable or unlawful: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs which are grossly harmful, infringing, harassing, blasphemous defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically objectionable, disparaging, relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling, or otherwise unlawful in any manner whatsoever. Not be against national interest: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs that can threaten the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order or causes incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or prevents investigation of any offence or is insulting any other nation.
Protect minors: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs which can harm minors in any way. Not be misleading/ offensive: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs which deceive or mislead a reader about the origin of the Content or communicates any information which is grossly offensive or menacing in nature.
MONETIZATION
Monetization Plans: The Company has introduced various monetization plans for Authors and Content on the Application such as but not limited to a subscription to eligible Authors to gain early access to their Published Works, unlocking a chapter of an eligible Content, rewarding eligible Authors through virtual gifts, subscription to a paid section on the Application containing Company Content and eligible Published Works (“Premium Section”), etc. (each referred to as a "Monetization Plan").
a. My Coins based Monetization Plans:
i. My Coins: For certain Monetization Plans that a User opts to participate in, the User shall be required to redeem virtual currency that may be purchased and/or earned by the User (“My Coins”). My Coins do not hold any real-world value and may be utilized by the User solely as allowed on the Application.
The number of My Coins available for redemption shall reflect in the account of the User on the Application. The purchase price of My Coins, the number of My Coins required for accessing specific features/ Content on the Application or the various purposes for which My Coins can be used, shall be as determined by the Company from time to time and subject to any applicable policies of the Company.
ii. Withdrawal of My Coins: Payment towards purchase of My Coins cannot be withdrawn by the User at any time. My Coins is not a wallet (in the nature of Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) defined under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007) and cannot be redeemed otherwise against actual money.
iii. Bonus My Coins: Company may offer a User bonus My Coins based on the User’s use of the Application such as completion of specified reading challenges while using the Application or as part of any promotional activity (“Bonus My Coins”). Bonus My Coins shall be applied first when a User redeems the My Coins.
iv. User Warranty: If a User elects to purchase My Coins, he/she warrants that (i) he/she has the legal capacity (if the User is a minor, User’s parent or authorized legal guardian has granted their consent) to purchase and use My Coins on the Application (ii) his/her use of a credit card or other payment service on the Application is authorized, and (iii) all information that is submitted for the transactions are true and accurate.
b. Subscription based Monetization Plans:
i. Subscription: For certain Monetization Plans that a User opts to participate in, the User shall be required to pay subscription amounts (“Subscription Amounts”) at the desired frequencies and avail the various benefits linked to such Monetization Plans. The User can pay the Subscription Amounts through payment channels enabled on the Application at such frequencies that may be made available by the Company for each subscription based Monetization Plan.
2. Mode of Payment: A User may remit money to purchase My Coins and or to pay the Subscription Amounts using any of the options available on the Application including (a) through wallets linked with the Application; (b) debit/credit cards; (c) Unified Payment Interface; (d) Net banking; and (e) such other payment options as are made available on the Application from time to time. These payment gateways are managed solely by third party service providers and therefore the use of such payment gateways will be governed by the terms and conditions of such third-party service providers. The User agrees that his/her use of a third-party payment gateway is at their sole option and risk.
3. Earnings:
a. An Author and/or his/her Published Works shall become eligible to be a beneficiary under the Monetization Plans based on parameters and processes decided by the Company (“Eligible Author”) and the same shall reflect in the profile of such Eligible Author.
b. Specifically, an Eligible Author whose previously published Published Work becomes eligible to be part of Subscription based Monetization Plans shall be given the option to opt-in to the same and agree to have their eligible Published Work to be made available on the Premium Section through a separate ‘Terms of Consent’ document.
c. In addition, an Eligible Author’s ongoing Published Works (that exceed the minimum number of chapters as shall be determined by the Company) shall become eligible to be part of Subscription based Monetization Plans upon opting-in to the same and agree to have their eligible Published Work to be made available on the Premium Section.
d. An Eligible Author shall be entitled to 36% of total amounts received from the Users under any Monetization Plan in the form of My Coins and/or Subscription Amounts which are attributable to the Eligible Author’s Published Works (“Earnings”). The details of amounts payable to me will be reflected in the Earnings history within my Pratilipi Profile.
e. Encashing of Earnings: Within 20 (twenty) days of the end of each month, an Eligible Author shall be paid the full amount reflecting as Earnings in his/her User account provided the amount is above a threshold of INR 50/- (Indian Rupees Fifty only) or any other base amount determined by the Company in any applicable currency.
f. In order to be paid the Earnings, Eligible Authors will be required to link a valid bank account details to their User accounts on the Application. An Eligible Author shall be deemed to have full control on the bank account linked to his/her User account and the Company shall not have any further liability to verify the same and is only required to payments due hereunder. The Earnings shall be inclusive of applicable taxes and subject to withholding taxes. The bank account holder shall be responsible for any taxes or other charges associated with the receipt of such Earnings, without any recourse to the Company.
g. Company Content: To the extent that a Content which is part of a Monetization Plan is a Company Content, the Earnings shall be paid to the relevant Eligible Author based on above parameters regardless of the terms of the separate contracts executed between the Company and such Eligible Author.
4. Non-transferable: My Coins and/or Earnings of a User shall be solely to the benefit of such User and may not be transferred to any other person. Similarly, any features unlocked using My Coins or by paying Subscription Amounts may not be transferred to any other User. A User shall be fully responsible for all actions made through his/her User account, unless such User is a minor and in such a scenario the parent or the authorized legal guardian shall be fully responsible.
5. Other than the benefits determined by the Company under each Monetization Plan, no other rights such as right to transfer, resell or any ownership rights in any Content shall vest in the User
6. Forfeiture of My Coins and Earnings:
a. Upon termination and/or suspension of a User’s account for violation of the Terms of Service or for indulging in any unfair or fraudulent means to gain My Coins or Earnings, and if any My Coins are found to be wrongfully obtained, all applicable My Coins and Earnings available in his/her User account shall stand forfeited.
b. If a User remains inactive on the Application for a period of one (1) year, all My Coins in the User account shall stand forfeited; Provided that in the case of any Earnings which remain unpaid due to non-linking of bank account, the same shall be forfeited if despite Company contacting them through available communication channels for an additional three (3) months, the User fails to link their bank accounts to their User accounts at the end of such three (3) month period.
7. Refund: If Company discontinues the option of using My Coins on the Application at any time for any reason, the purchased My Coins may be refunded at Company’s discretion within a period of 7 to 14 days, subject to deduction of Google Payment service fees and/or other applicable deductions under any applicable laws.
8. Changes: If any changes are required to be made by Company in relation to the My Coins and/or Earnings features due to change in applicable law, the same shall be updated in Terms of Service from time to time.
9. Compatibility: Company shall determine from time-to-time whether to make available the My Coins and/or Earnings features on the Website or only on certain device types (in case of Application). A User may not be able to access these features on non-compatible platforms even if logged in through his/her own account.
COUPONS
The Company may, at its sole discretion, make available various coupons to Users subscribing to the Premium Section for the first time /repeat/upgrade usages, as determined by the Company from time to time (“Coupons”).
Coupon may be made available through the Application or through other third-party channels as determined by the Company.
Coupons may be in the form of discounts on the Subscription Amount or on third party services which the Company has tied up with.
The subscription to the Premium Section with use of Coupons will allow the User to access Content in all languages in the entire Premium Section regardless of initial choice of language.
The details of each Coupon such as validity, maximum discount amount, territory, etc. shall be mentioned in the specific coupon’s terms and conditions.
The Company reserves the right to cancel/ change/modify/add/delete the Coupon or any of the terms and conditions of the offer at any time without notice.
Users shall be entitled to discounts vide the Coupons only for the specific instance as per the specific coupon’s terms and conditions. Future purchases will be at actual prices offered by the Company at such time unless any other Coupon is made available at such time by the Company.
The Company reserves the right to deny honouring the Coupon on the grounds of suspicion or abuse of the offer by any User without providing any explanation thereof.
No refunds/redemptions of Coupons offered through the Application for cash will be allowed.
In no event shall the Company be liable for any abuse or misuse of the Coupon due to the negligence of the User.
COMPANY AN INTERMEDIARY
Users are in control of Published Works/Inputs: Company through its Website/Application receives, stores and transmits Published Works/Inputs solely on behalf of the Users in accordance with the permissions granted herein. Users remain the sole authors and owners of their Published Works/Inputs. Further, Company does not control or restrict the publishing or reading of the Published Works/Inputs nor modifies the same prior to upload of the same on the Website/Application or anytime thereafter subject to User’s written requests.
Company an ‘intermediary’ and no liability: Company is an ‘intermediary’ as defined under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its rules (as may be updated from time to time) and is not responsible for the Published Works/Inputs uploaded on the Website/Application.
Duty to act under law: Company, as an intermediary, has the duty to take necessary action against any Published Works/Inputs that violates the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its rules which is brought to its notice and the User shall abide by such actions taken by the Company.
LIABILITY
No warranty of any kind: All Services and Content offered on the Website/Application are offered on an "as is" basis without any warranty whatsoever, either expressed or implied. The Company/Website/Application does not implicitly or explicitly support or endorse any Content on the Website/Application. The Company/Website/Application does not warrant that the functions and Services contained on the Website/Application will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the Website/Application or its server will be free of viruses or other harmful components, and the User hereby expressly accepts any and all associated risks involved with the User's use of the Website/Application.
User liable for breach: You are solely responsible to the Company and to any third party for any breach of Your obligations under the Terms of Service and for the consequences (including any loss or damage which the Company or its affiliates or its Users may suffer for any such breach).
Indemnity: User shall indemnify and shall keep indemnified, save, defend and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates and their respective directors, employees, successors and assigns from and against any and all losses, liabilities, expenses, damages (whether or not resulting from third party claims), arising from the Company’s legitimate use of any Published Works published on the Website/Application by the User and/or breach by the User of these Terms of Service or any other policies/guidelines issued by the Company from time-to-time. The Company reserves its right to defend itself in any such legal disputes that may arise, and recover the costs incurred in such proceedings from the User.
No Indirect Liability: Company disclaims any and all special, incidental, indirect, consequential or punitive damages, losses costs towards any User or third party arising from the provision of Services or use of the Website/Application by others. The User acknowledges that notwithstanding anything stated hereinabove, the overall aggregate liability of the Company for any and all damages, losses, expenses suffered or incurred by the User in relation to the usage of the Services which is directly attributable to the Company shall be limited to INR 0/-.
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
If any User is affected by any Content which violates these Term of Use, including the Content Guidelines, User can write their concerns to Aman Kumar, Grievance Officer at support@rachayitha.com with the following details. Company shall resolve the concerns within fifteen (15) days.
- The complainant’s name and contact details such as address, telephone number and valid email address
- Description of the Content which are violating the Terms of Service
- The nature of complaint against the Content
- The details of the URL where such Content is hosted
- Supporting documents/sources, if applicable, to substantiate the complaint
- Complaint document to be duly signed physically or by electronic signature
MISCELLANEOUS
Modification: The Company reserves the sole and exclusive right to unilaterally amend or modify these Terms of Service and such amendments or modifications shall come into effect immediately. The User has a duty to periodically check the terms and stay updated on its requirements. If the User continues to use the Website/Application following such a change, the User will be deemed to have consented to any and all amendments/modifications made to the Terms of Service.
Disputes: The Users expressly agree that the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and any other agreements entered between the Company and User(s) are governed by the laws, rules and regulations of India, and that the Courts at Bangalore shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising between the Parties.
Conflict: In case of any conflict arising in the interpretation of the Terms of Service in English and any other language as it may be made available in on the Website/Application, the terms of the English version shall prevail.
Assignment: The rights and obligations under these Terms of Service are granted only to You and shall not be assigned to any third party without our consent. However, We are permitted to assign our rights and obligations under these Terms of Service to other party including Our affiliates. This can happen in situations including without limitation when, for example, We enter into a merger with another company and/or creates a new company.
