Copyright & Intellectual Property

1. Ownership

The content and assets appearing on Read Pulse may belong to Read Pulse, to the respective authors, creators, rights holders or licensors, as the case may be.

The protected assets include:

• Stories and chapters;
• Characters, story worlds, plots and related content;
• Covers, illustrations and artwork;
• Audio content;
• The name, brand and identifying elements of Read Pulse;
• The interface, design and structure of the website;
• The software, source code and databases, to the extent the relevant rights apply;
• Gamification (AI-powered) scenarios, character configurations and related creative assets;
• Other assets protected by intellectual property rights.

The fact that content can be accessed publicly on Read Pulse does not mean that it is in the public domain, or that it may be copied, reused or exploited without limit.

1.1. User-generated content

Users keep the rights they hold in the content they create and post to Read Pulse, such as:

• Comments and replies;
• Reviews;
• Theories;
• Lore notes/Reader Pulse;
• Bios;
• Reading-list descriptions;
• Avatars or images the user has the right to post;
• Other supported community content.

When posting content to Read Pulse, users grant Read Pulse a non-exclusive, royalty-free right, to the extent necessary in order to:

• Store it;
• Display it;
• Format it;
• Back it up;
• Deliver the content through the features of the service;
• Carry out moderation;
• Handle reports or appeals;
• And operate Read Pulse.

Granting this right does not make Read Pulse the owner of the user’s content.

1.2. AI output

Gamification may generate responses based on the scenario, the characters, the story world and the content entered by the user.

To the extent permitted by law and by the rights of third parties, users may use the AI responses generated for their own session.

However, the fact that AI generated a response does not transfer to the user the ownership of pre-existing intellectual property, including characters, story universes, artwork, story titles, brands or assets belonging to Read Pulse or its licensors.

2. Permitted use

Read Pulse permits users to access and use content for personal, non-commercial purposes, in accordance with the Terms of Service and applicable law.

Users may:

• Read stories and chapters through Read Pulse;
• Share links to a story or chapter;
• Use the Share buttons provided by Read Pulse;
• Use the official Quote Image feature;
• Download a Quote Image created by the Read Pulse tool;
• Quote content within the scope supported by the official tools;
• Use content in those cases permitted by law without the rights holder’s consent.

Quote Image

Read Pulse allows users to create and share images containing a short extract through the official Quote Image tool.

The tool currently limits the extract to the scope supported by the system and automatically displays identifying information such as:

• The story title;
• The author’s name;
• The chapter;
• Read Pulse branding.

The right to use a Quote Image under this feature does not mean that a user may copy or republish an entire work.

If you wish to use content beyond what Read Pulse or the law permits, you need the permission of the relevant rights holder.

3. Prohibited use

Unless permitted by the rights holder or by applicable law, you must not:

• Copy or repost entire chapters;
• Copy or republish a substantial part of a story;
• Download content for the purpose of redistribution;
• Re-upload stories, chapters, artwork or other assets to another website, application or platform;
• Scrape, crawl or collect content in bulk;
• Use Read Pulse stories, chapters or content as a dataset;
• Use the content to train, fine-tune or build AI or machine-learning systems without permission;
• Translate, paraphrase, rewrite or adapt content in order to repost it as another work without the rights to do so;
• Sell, sub-license or commercially exploit content you do not own;
• Use covers, illustrations, artwork, characters or story universes for commercial purposes without permission;
• Remove, obscure or alter a copyright notice, attribution, watermark or rights information;
• Use endpoints, APIs or other technical means to circumvent the limits on content use.

The fact that content can be reached by technical means, an API or an endpoint does not of itself create a right to copy, collect or redistribute that content.

4. Licensed content and third-party content

Some content on Read Pulse may belong to:

• Authors;
• Artists;
• Publishers;
• Licensors;
• Content providers;
• Or other rights holders.

Read Pulse uses that content only within the scope of the corresponding rights, licences or lawful basis.

The appearance of third-party content on Read Pulse does not transfer ownership of that content to Read Pulse or to users.

Some software libraries, fonts, icons, technologies or technical assets used to operate Read Pulse may also be governed by their own third-party licences.

Where content carries attribution, a credit or its own rights information, you must not remove it or deliberately misrepresent it.

5. Reporting copyright or intellectual property infringement

If you believe that content on Read Pulse infringes your copyright, trade mark or intellectual property rights, you can:

• Use the Report function on Read Pulse where that function is available for the content concerned; or
• Send a notice directly to:

[email protected]

You do not need a Read Pulse account to send a notice by email.

So that we have enough information to review your request, please provide:

• Your contact details, such as your name and email address.
• A description of the protected work or asset that you believe you own or are authorised to represent.
• The location of the content complained of on Read Pulse, such as the URL of the story, chapter, image, profile or related content.
• A brief explanation of why you believe that the use of the content infringes your rights.
• Information or documents supporting your ownership or your authority to act, where appropriate.
• The statements of good faith and accuracy described in Section 6 below.
• Your full name, confirming the notice.

Submitting a notice does not guarantee that the content will automatically be removed. Read Pulse will review the information and the surrounding circumstances before deciding on the appropriate measure.

6. Statements of good faith, accuracy and authority

When submitting a notice of copyright or intellectual property infringement, you should confirm that:

• You believe in good faith that the use of the content complained of is not authorised by the rights holder, its agent or the law.

You should also confirm that:

• The information in the notice is accurate to the best of your knowledge, and that you are the rights holder or are authorised by the rights holder to submit the request.

Read Pulse may ask for further information if it needs to verify:

• The identity of the sender;
• Ownership;
• Authority to act;
• The content complained of;
• Or the basis of the request.

You must not knowingly submit a false notice, abuse the reporting process, or claim rights over content that you know you do not own and have no authority to represent.

7. Review and response process

On receiving a notice with sufficient information, Read Pulse will take appropriate steps, such as:

• Identifying the content complained of;
• Reviewing the information and evidence provided;
• Asking the sender for further information;
• Checking information about the source or the right to use the content, where necessary;
• Restricting or hiding the content while the review is in progress, where appropriate;
• Removing or disabling access to the content;
• Refusing the request if it is not sufficiently founded;
• Warning, restricting or suspending an account in the case of a serious or repeated infringement;
• Restoring content if an earlier decision is found to be no longer appropriate.

Where a moderation action is applied to a user’s content or account, Read Pulse may state the reason and provide an appeal mechanism in the cases the system supports.

Read Pulse may take into account:

• The content of the original notice;
• The rights holder’s information;
• The response of the person who posted the content;
• Additional evidence;
• The history of infringements;
• And the requirements of applicable law.

No fixed processing deadline

The review time may vary depending on:

• The complexity of the request;
• The type of right invoked;
• Whether the information provided is complete;
• The need for further verification;
• And the requirements of applicable law.

Read Pulse does not commit to a fixed processing deadline, unless applicable law requires a specific time limit.

Incomplete requests

If a notice does not contain enough information to identify:

• The content;
• The rights holder;
• The basis of the request;
• Or how to contact the sender,

Read Pulse may ask for further information before continuing to process it.

Contact

Any question, notice or request relating to copyright, trade marks or intellectual property can be sent to:

[email protected]