Terms of Service

The websites located at www.bookbub.com and www.chirpbooks.com, and our mobile applications (“Applications”) (collectively, the “Sites”) are a copyrighted work belonging to Pubmark Inc. d/b/a BookBub (“Company”, “us”, “our”, and “we”). Certain features of the Sites and online services (“Services”) may be subject to additional guidelines, terms, or rules, which will be posted on the Sites in connection with such features. All such additional terms, guidelines, and rules are incorporated by reference into these Terms.

THESE TERMS OF USE (THESE “TERMS”) SET FORTH THE LEGALLY BINDING TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE SITES. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITES, YOU ARE ACCEPTING THESE TERMS (ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR THE ENTITY THAT YOU REPRESENT), AND YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT, AUTHORITY, AND CAPACITY TO ENTER INTO THESE TERMS (ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR THE ENTITY THAT YOU REPRESENT). IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THE PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS, DO NOT ACCESS AND/OR USE THE SITES.

WE WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE TERMS INCLUDE PROVISIONS GOVERNING HOW TO RESOLVE DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND US. AMONG OTHER THINGS, SECTION 11 INCLUDES AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WHICH WILL, WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS, REQUIRE DISPUTES BETWEEN US TO BE RESOLVED BY BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION.

UNLESS YOU OPT OUT OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WITHIN 30 DAYS: (1) YOU WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO PURSUE DISPUTES OR CLAIMS AND SEEK RELIEF AGAINST US ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION; AND (2) YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO PURSUE DISPUTES OR CLAIMS AND SEEK RELIEF IN A COURT OF LAW AND TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL. PLEASE READ SECTION 11 CAREFULLY.

As part of the Services, Company allows you to purchase audio content sold by the Company, and related services (“Chirp Service”).

1. Accounts

1.1. Account Creation. In order to use certain features of the Sites, you must register for an account (“Account”) and provide certain information about yourself as prompted by the account registration form. You represent and warrant that: (a) all required registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information. You may delete your Account at any time, for any reason, by following the instructions on the Sites. Company may suspend or terminate your Account in accordance with Section 9.

1.2. Account Responsibilities. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account login information and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your Account. You agree to immediately notify Company of any unauthorized use, or suspected unauthorized use of your Account or any other breach of security. Company cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the above requirements.

2. Access to the Sites

2.1. License. Subject to these Terms, Company grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, limited license to use and access the Sites and Services, solely for your own personal, noncommercial use.

2.2. Certain Restrictions. The rights granted to you in these Terms are subject to the following restrictions: (a) you shall not license, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, distribute, host, or otherwise commercially exploit the Sites or Services, whether in whole or in part, or any content displayed on the Sites; (b) you shall not modify, make derivative works of, disassemble, reverse compile or reverse engineer any part of the Sites; (c) you shall not access the Sites in order to build a similar or competitive website, product, or service; and (d) except as expressly stated herein, no part of the Sites may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means. Unless otherwise indicated, any future release, update, or other addition to functionality of the Sites shall be subject to these Terms. All copyright and other proprietary notices on the Sites (or on any content displayed on the Sites) must be retained on all copies thereof.

2.3. Chirp Restrictions. In addition, users of the Chirp Service agree that they will not: (a) use the Service or its content to reproduce copyrighted materials; (b) copy, store, edit, change, prepare any derivative work of or alter in any way the Chirp Service or its content; (c) stream or download content by means other than the Chirp Service proprietary software; (d) make the Chirp Service or its content available over a network (other than the Site) where it could be used by others; (e) share audio content purchased through the Site with another person; or (f) rent, lease or sublicense, sell, transfer, distribute or publicly perform the audio content purchased through the Site in any manner, or exploit it commercially.

2.4. Modification. Company reserves the right, at any time, to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Sites (in whole or in part) with or without notice to you. You agree that Company will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Sites or any part thereof.

2.5. No Support or Maintenance. You acknowledge and agree that Company will have no obligation to provide you with any support or maintenance in connection with the Sites.

2.6. Ownership. Excluding any User Content that you may provide (defined below), you acknowledge that between you and the Company, all the intellectual property rights, including copyrights, patents, trade marks, and trade secrets, in the Sites and its content are owned by Company or Company’s suppliers. Neither these Terms (nor your access to the Sites) transfers to you or any third party any rights, title or interest in or to such intellectual property rights, except for the limited access rights expressly set forth in Section 2.1. Company and its suppliers reserve all rights not granted in these Terms. There are no implied licenses granted under these Terms.

3. User Content

3.1. User Content. “User Content” means any and all information and content that a user submits to, or uses with, the Sites (e.g., content in the user’s profile or postings). You are solely responsible for your User Content. You assume all risks associated with use of your User Content, including any reliance on its accuracy, completeness or usefulness by others, or any disclosure of your User Content that personally identifies you or any third party. You hereby represent and warrant that your User Content does not violate our Acceptable Use Policy (defined in Section 3.3). You may not represent or imply to others that your User Content is in any way provided, sponsored or endorsed by Company. Because you alone are responsible for your User Content, you may expose yourself to liability if, for example, your User Content violates the Acceptable Use Policy. Company is not obligated to backup any User Content, and your User Content may be deleted at any time without prior notice. You are solely responsible for creating and maintaining your own backup copies of your User Content if you desire.

3.2. License. You hereby grant (and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant) to Company an irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free and fully paid, worldwide license to reproduce, distribute, publicly display and perform, prepare derivative works of, incorporate into other works, and otherwise use and exploit your User Content, and to grant sublicenses of the foregoing rights, solely for the purposes of including your User Content in the Sites. You hereby irrevocably waive (and agree to cause to be waived) any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to your User Content.

3.3. Acceptable Use Policy. The following terms constitute our “Acceptable Use Policy”:

(a) You agree not to use the Sites to collect, upload, transmit, display, or distribute any User Content (i) that violates any third-party right, including any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; (ii) that is unlawful, harassing, abusive, tortious, threatening, harmful, invasive of another’s privacy, vulgar, defamatory, false, intentionally misleading, trade libelous, pornographic, obscene, patently offensive, promotes racism, bigotry, hatred, or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual or is otherwise objectionable; (iii) that is harmful to minors in any way; (iv) that is in violation of any law, regulation, or obligations or restrictions imposed by any third party; or (v) that violates BookBub’s Community Guidelines.

(b) In addition, you agree not to: (i) upload, transmit, or distribute to or through the Sites any computer viruses, worms, or any software intended to damage or alter a computer system or data; (ii) send through the Sites unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of duplicative or unsolicited messages, whether commercial or otherwise; (iii) use the Sites to harvest, collect, gather or assemble information or data regarding other users, including email addresses, without their consent; (iv) interfere with, disrupt, or create an undue burden on servers or networks connected to the Sites, or violate the regulations, policies or procedures of such networks; (v) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Sites (or to other computer systems or networks connected to or used together with the Sites), whether through password mining or any other means; (vi) harass or interfere with any other user’s use and enjoyment of the Sites; or (vi) use software or automated agents or scripts to produce multiple accounts on the Sites, or to generate automated searches, requests, or queries to (or to strip, scrape, or mine data from) the Sites (provided, however, that we conditionally grant to the operators of public search engines revocable permission to use spiders to copy materials from the Sites for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials, subject to the parameters set forth in our robots.txt file).

3.4. Enforcement. We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to review any User Content, and to investigate and/or take appropriate action against you in our sole discretion if you violate the Acceptable Use Policy or any other provision of these Terms or otherwise create liability for us or any other person. Such action may include removing or modifying your User Content, terminating your Account in accordance with Section 9, and/or reporting you to law enforcement authorities.

3.5. Feedback. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged. If you provide Company with any feedback or suggestions regarding the Sites (“Feedback”), you hereby assign to Company all rights in such Feedback and agree that Company shall have the right to use and fully exploit such Feedback and related information in any manner it deems appropriate. Company will treat any Feedback you provide to Company as non-confidential and non-proprietary. You agree that you will not submit to Company any information or ideas that you consider to be confidential or proprietary.

4. Purchases and Fees

Fees for purchased content and other services will be stated at the time of your purchase or registration, as applicable. Once we have made purchased content available to you for download, we encourage you to download the content promptly after purchase. Fees may be subject to tax and are subject to the applicable refund policies.

5. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Company (and its officers, employees, and agents) harmless, including costs and attorneys’ fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of (a) your use of the Sites and Services, (b) your violation of these Terms, (c) your violation of applicable laws or regulations or (d) your User Content. Company reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You agree not to settle any matter without the prior written consent of Company. Company will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action or proceeding upon becoming aware of it.

6. Third-Party Links & Ads; Other Users

6.1. Third-Party Links & Ads. The Sites may contain links to third-party websites and services, and/or display advertisements for third parties (collectively, “Third-Party Links & Ads”). Such Third-Party Links & Ads are not under the control of Company, and Company is not responsible for any Third-Party Links & Ads. Company provides access to these Third-Party Links & Ads only as a convenience to you, and does not review, approve, monitor, endorse, warrant, or make any representations with respect to Third-Party Links & Ads. You use all Third-Party Links & Ads at your own risk, and should apply a suitable level of caution and discretion in doing so. When you click on any of the Third-Party Links & Ads, the applicable third party’s terms and policies apply, including the third party’s privacy and data gathering practices. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any transaction in connection with such Third-Party Links & Ads. Furthermore, you acknowledge that the Sites may list certain offers, deals, and other incentives (such as listings for free and discounted digital books) on behalf of third parties. You acknowledge we do not have any control over such offers, deals and incentives, and we do not guarantee that any third-party offer, deal or incentive we publish will be made available or fulfilled by the provider.

6.2. Other Users. Each Site user is solely responsible for any and all of its own User Content. Because we do not control User Content, you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for any User Content, whether provided by you or by others. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy, currency, suitability, or quality of any User Content. Your interactions with other Site users are solely between you and such users. You agree that Company will not be responsible for any loss or damage incurred as the result of any such interactions. If there is a dispute between you and any Site user, we are under no obligation to become involved.

6.3. Mature Content. Some of the sections of the Sites, such as “Dark Romance & Erotica,” may include mature subject matter or content that may not be appropriate for children under 18 years of age. If you are under 18 years of age you are not permitted to access such content.

6.4. Release. You hereby release and forever discharge the Company (and our officers, employees, agents, successors, and assigns) from, and hereby waive and relinquish, each and every past, present and future dispute, claim, controversy, demand, right, obligation, liability, action and cause of action of every kind and nature (including personal injuries, death, and property damage), that has arisen or arises directly or indirectly out of, or that relates directly or indirectly to, the Sites (including any interactions with, or act or omission of, other Site users or any Third-Party Links & Ads). IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, YOU HEREBY WAIVE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE SECTION 1542 IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOREGOING, WHICH STATES: “A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR.”

7. Disclaimers

THE SITES AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS-IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND COMPANY (AND OUR SUPPLIERS) EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE (AND OUR SUPPLIERS) MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITES OR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, WILL BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS, OR WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL CODE, COMPLETE, LEGAL, OR SAFE. IF APPLICABLE LAW REQUIRES ANY WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SITES, ALL SUCH WARRANTIES ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO NINETY (90) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF FIRST USE.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

8. Limitation on Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL COMPANY (OR OUR SUPPLIERS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS, OR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITES OR SERVICES, EVEN IF COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ACCESS TO, AND USE OF, THE SITES IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR DEVICE OR COMPUTER SYSTEM, OR LOSS OF DATA RESULTING THEREFROM.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, OUR LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT (FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION), WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF FIFTY US DOLLARS (U.S. $50). THE EXISTENCE OF MORE THAN ONE CLAIM WILL NOT ENLARGE THIS LIMIT. YOU AGREE THAT OUR SUPPLIERS WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

9. Term and Termination

Subject to this Section, these Terms will remain in full force and effect while you use the Sites. We may suspend or terminate your rights to use the Sites (including your Account) at any time for any reason at our sole discretion, including for any use of the Sites in violation of these Terms. Upon termination of your rights under these Terms, your Account and right to access and use the Sites will terminate immediately. You understand that any termination of your Account may involve deletion of your User Content associated with your Account from our live databases. Company will not have any liability whatsoever to you for any termination of your rights under these Terms, including for termination of your Account or deletion of your User Content. Even after your rights under these Terms are terminated, the following provisions of these Terms will remain in effect: Sections 2.2 through 2.6, Section 3 and Sections 4 through 12.

10. Copyright Policy

Company respects the intellectual property of others and asks that users of our Sites do the same. In connection with our Sites, we have adopted and implemented a policy respecting copyright law that provides for the removal of any infringing materials and for the termination, in appropriate circumstances, of users of our online Sites who are repeat infringers of intellectual property rights, including copyrights. If you believe that one of our users is, through the use of our Sites, unlawfully infringing the copyright(s) in a work, and wish to have the allegedly infringing material removed, the following information in the form of a written notification (pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)) must be provided to our designated Copyright Agent:

1. your physical or electronic signature;
2. identification of the copyrighted work(s) that you claim to have been infringed;
3. identification of the material on our services that you claim is infringing and that you request us to remove;
4. sufficient information to permit us to locate such material;
5. your address, telephone number, and email address;
6. a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the objectionable material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or under the law; and
7. a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are either the owner of the copyright that has allegedly been infringed or that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Please note that, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), any misrepresentation of material fact (falsities) in a written notification automatically subjects the complaining party to liability for any damages, costs and attorney’s fees incurred by us in connection with the written notification and allegation of copyright infringement.

The designated Copyright Agent for Company is:
Pubmark Inc.
One Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02142
Telephone: 617-475-0782
Email: [email protected]

11. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration Agreement

Please read the following arbitration agreement in this Section (“Arbitration Agreement”) carefully. It requires you to arbitrate disputes with Company and limits the manner in which you can seek relief from us.

11.1. Applicability of Arbitration Agreement. Subject to the terms of this Arbitration Agreement, you and Company agree that any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of the Sites, to any products sold or distributed through the Sites, including the Chirp Service, or to any aspect of your relationship with Company, including any Communications you receive, (each, a “Dispute”) will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that: (1) you or Company may assert claims or seek relief in small claims court if your claims qualify and remain in small claims court; and (2) you or Company may seek equitable relief in court for infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights (such as trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents). For purposes of this Arbitration Agreement, “Dispute” will also include disputes that arose or involve facts occurring before the existence of this or any prior versions of the Terms as well as claims that may arise after the termination of these Terms.

11.2. Informal Dispute Resolution. There might be instances when a Dispute arises between you and Company. If that occurs, Company is committed to working with you to reach a reasonable resolution. You and Company agree that good faith informal efforts to resolve Disputes can result in a prompt, low‐cost and mutually beneficial outcome. You and Company therefore agree that before either party commences arbitration against the other (or initiates an action in small claims court if a party so elects), we will personally meet and confer telephonically or via videoconference, in a good faith effort to resolve informally any Dispute covered by this Arbitration Agreement (“Informal Dispute Resolution Conference”). If you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference.

The party initiating a Dispute must give notice to the other party in writing of its intent to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference (“Notice”), which shall occur within 45 days after the other party receives such Notice, unless an extension is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notice to Company that you intend to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference should be sent to our registered agent via email to [email protected]. The Notice must include: (1) your name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address associated with your account (if you have one); (2) the name, telephone number, mailing address and email address of your counsel, if any; and (3) a description of your Dispute.

The Informal Dispute Resolution Conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same Informal Dispute Resolution Conference unless all parties agree. In the time between a party receiving the Notice and the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference, nothing in this Arbitration Agreement shall prohibit the parties from engaging in informal communications to resolve the initiating party’s Dispute. Engaging in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference is a condition precedent and requirement that must be fulfilled before commencing arbitration. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference process required by this section.

11.3. Rules and Forum. The Terms evidence a transaction involving interstate commerce; and notwithstanding any other provision herein with respect to the applicable substantive law, the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement and any arbitration proceedings. If the Informal Dispute Resolution Process described above does not resolve satisfactorily within sixty (60) days after receipt of your Notice, you and Company agree that either party shall have the right to finally resolve the Dispute through binding arbitration.

The arbitration shall be administered by JAMS, an established alternative dispute resolution provider. Disputes involving claims and counterclaims under $250,000, not inclusive of attorneys’ fees and interest, shall be subject to JAMS’s most current version of the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and procedures currently available at http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/. All other claims shall be subject to JAMS’s most current version of the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures, available at http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-comprehensive-arbitration/. JAMS’s rules are also available at www.jamsadr.com or by calling JAMS at 800-352-5267.

Any arbitration hearing will be conducted by videoconference to the extent possible, but if the arbitrator determines that a hearing should be conducted in person, the place shall be the county where you reside or at another agreed upon locale, unless the Batch Arbitration process discussed below applies in which case the arbitrator will determine the locale.

11.4. Notice and Process. A party who wishes to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a request for arbitration (the “Request”). The Request must be sent to our registered agent: Pubmark Inc., One Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142. The Request must include: (1) the name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address of the party seeking arbitration, as well as the email address associated with any applicable account; (2) a statement of the legal claims being asserted and the factual bases of those claims; (3) a description of the remedy sought and an accurate, good‐faith calculation of the amount in controversy in United States Dollars; (4) a statement certifying completion of the Informal Dispute Resolution process as described above; and (5) evidence that the requesting party has paid any necessary filing fees in connection with such arbitration.

If the party requesting arbitration is represented by counsel, the Request shall also include counsel’s name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. Such counsel must also sign the Request. By signing the Request, counsel certifies to the best of counsel’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, that: (1) the Request is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of dispute resolution; (2) the claims, defenses and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; and (3) the factual and damages contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.

If JAMS is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. The arbitrator may direct a limited and reasonable exchange of information between the parties, consistent with the streamlined nature of the arbitration. You and Company agree that all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings shall be kept confidential and shall not be shared with anyone except the parties’ attorneys, accountants, or business advisors, and then subject to the condition that they agree to keep all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings confidential. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by you or Company must not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator makes a final decision and award, if any.

11.5. Authority of Arbitrator. The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Massachusetts and will be selected by the parties from JAMS’ roster of Neutrals. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within thirty-five (35) days of delivery of the Request, then JAMS will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the applicable JAMS Rules, provided that if the Batch Arbitration process under subsection 11.9 is triggered, JAMS will appoint the arbitrator for each batch.

The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to resolve any Dispute, including, without limitation, disputes arising out of or related to the interpretation or application of the Arbitration Agreement, except for the following: (1) all Disputes arising out of or relating to the subsection entitled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief,” including any claim that all or part of the subsection entitled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief” is unenforceable, illegal, void or voidable, or that such subsection entitled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief” has been breached, shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (2) except as expressly contemplated in the subsection entitled “Batch Arbitration,” all Disputes about the payment of arbitration fees shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (3) all Disputes about whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; and (4) all Disputes about which version of the Arbitration Agreement applies shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. The arbitration proceeding will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties, except as expressly provided in the subsection entitled “Batch Arbitration.” The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any Dispute.

The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any claim. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award monetary damages and to grant any non-monetary remedy or relief available to an individual under applicable law, the arbitral forum’s rules, and the Agreement (including the Arbitration Agreement). The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and us. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

11.6. Waiver of Jury Trial. YOU AND COMPANY HEREBY WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Company are instead electing that all claims and disputes shall be resolved by arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, except as specified in the subsection entitled “Applicability of Arbitration Agreement” above. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.

11.7. Waiver of Class or Other Non-Individualized Relief. YOU AND COMPANY AGREE THAT, EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN THE SUBSECTION ENTITLED “BATCH ARBITRATION”, EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BE BROUGHT, HEARD, ADMINISTERED, RESOLVED, OR ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, REPRESENTATIVE, OR MASS ACTION BASIS. ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE, AND DISPUTES OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. Subject to this Arbitration Agreement, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the party’s individual claim. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to, nor shall it, affect the terms and conditions under the subsection entitled “Batch Arbitration.” Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Arbitration Agreement, if a final decision, not subject to any further appeal or recourse, determines that the limitations of this subsection, “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief,” are invalid or unenforceable as to a particular claim or request for relief (such as a request for public injunctive relief), you and Company agree that that that particular claim or request for relief (and only that particular claim or request for relief) shall be severed from the arbitration and may be litigated in the state or federal courts located in the State of Delaware. All other Disputes shall be arbitrated or litigated in small claims court. This subsection does not prevent you or Company from participating in a class-wide settlement of claims.

11.8. Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. The parties shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs in arbitration unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of the Dispute or the relief sought in the Request was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)).

11.9. Batch Arbitration. To increase the efficiency of administration and resolution of arbitrations, you and Company agree that in the event that there are ten (10) or more individual Requests of a substantially similar nature filed against Company by or with the assistance of the same law firm, group of law firms, or organizations, within a ninety (90) day period (or as soon as possible thereafter), JAMS shall (1) administer the arbitration demands in batches of up to one hundred (100) Requests per batch (plus, to the extent there are less than one hundred (100) Requests left over after the batching described above, a final batch consisting of the remaining Requests); (2) appoint one arbitrator for each batch; and (3) provide for the resolution of each batch as a single consolidated arbitration with one set of filing and administrative fees due per side per batch, one procedural calendar, one hearing (if any) in a place to be determined by the arbitrator, and one final award (“Batch Arbitration”).

All parties agree that Requests are of a “substantially similar nature” if they arise out of or relate to the same event or factual scenario and raise the same or similar legal issues and seek the same or similar relief. To the extent the parties disagree on the application of the Batch Arbitration process, the disagreeing party shall advise JAMS, and JAMS shall appoint a sole standing arbitrator to determine the applicability of the Batch Arbitration process (“Administrative Arbitrator”). In an effort to expedite resolution of any such dispute by the Administrative Arbitrator, the parties agree the Administrative Arbitrator may set forth such procedures as are necessary to resolve any disputes promptly. The Administrative Arbitrator’s fees shall be paid by Company.

You and Company agree to cooperate in good faith with JAMS to implement the Batch Arbitration process including the payment of single filing and administrative fees for batches of Requests, as well as any steps to minimize the time and costs of arbitration, which may include: (1) the appointment of a discovery special master to assist the arbitrator in the resolution of discovery disputes; and (2) the adoption of an expedited calendar of the arbitration proceedings. This Batch Arbitration provision shall in no way be interpreted as authorizing a class, collective and/or mass arbitration or action of any kind, or arbitration involving joint or consolidated claims under any circumstances, except as expressly set forth in this provision.

11.10. 30-Day Right to Opt Out. You have the right to opt out of the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to the following address: Pubmark Inc., One Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142, within 30 days after first becoming subject to this Arbitration Agreement. You may also submit your decision via email to (BookBub, Chirp). Your notice must include your name and address, the email address you used to set up your account (if you have one), and an unequivocal statement that you want to opt out of this Arbitration Agreement. If you opt out of this Arbitration Agreement, all other parts of these Terms will continue to apply to you. Opting out of this Arbitration Agreement has no effect on any other arbitration agreements that you may currently have, or may enter in the future, with us.

11.11. Invalidity, Expiration. Except as provided in the subsection entitled “Waiver of Class or Other Non-Individualized Relief”, if any part or parts of this Arbitration Agreement are found under the law to be invalid or unenforceable, then such specific part or parts shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. You further agree that any Dispute that you have with Company as detailed in this Arbitration Agreement must be initiated via arbitration within the applicable statute of limitation for that claim or controversy, or it will be forever time barred. Likewise, you agree that all applicable statutes of limitation will apply to such arbitration in the same manner as those statutes of limitation would apply in the applicable court of competent jurisdiction.

11.12. Survival of Agreement. This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Company.

11.13. Modification. Notwithstanding any provision in these Terms to the contrary, we agree that if Company makes any future material change to this Arbitration Agreement, you may reject that change within thirty (30) days of such change becoming effective by writing to Company at the following address: Pubmark Inc., One Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142. However, your continued access to or use of the Sites or of the Services following the posting of changes to this Arbitration Agreement constitutes your acceptance of any such changes. Changes to this Arbitration Agreement do not provide you with a new opportunity to opt out of the Arbitration Agreement if you have previously agreed to a version of these Terms and did not validly opt out of arbitration. If you reject any change or update to this Arbitration Agreement, and you were bound by an existing agreement to arbitrate Disputes arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of the Sites or of the Services, any Communications you receive, any products sold or distributed through the Sites, the Services, or these Terms, the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement as of the date you first accepted the Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms) remain in full force and effect. Company will continue to honor any valid opt outs of the Arbitration Agreement that you made to a prior version of these Terms.

12. General

12.1. Changes. These Terms are subject to occasional revision. We will notify you of any changes to our Terms by posting the new Terms on this page. The date the Terms were last revised is identified at the beginning of these Terms. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Sites and the Terms to check for any changes. Continued use of our Sites following notice of such changes shall indicate your acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes.

12.2. Export. The Sites may be subject to U.S. export control laws and may be subject to export or import regulations in other countries. You agree not to export, reexport, or transfer, directly or indirectly, any U.S. technical data acquired from Company, or any products utilizing such data, in violation of the United States export laws or regulations.

12.3. Disclosures. Company is located at the address in Section 12.7. If you are a California resident, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Product of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by contacting them in writing at 400 R Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.

12.4. Electronic Communications. The communications between you and Company use electronic means, whether you use the Sites or send us emails, or whether Company posts notices on the Sites or communicates with you via email. For contractual purposes, you (a) consent to receive communications from Company in an electronic form; and (b) agree that all terms and conditions, agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that Company provides to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if it were be in a hardcopy writing. The foregoing does not affect your non-waivable rights.

12.5. Entire Terms. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Sites. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. The word “including” means “including without limitation”. If any provision of these Terms is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions of these Terms will be unimpaired and the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed modified so that it is valid and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by law. Your relationship to Company is that of an independent contractor, and neither party is an agent or partner of the other. These Terms, and your rights and obligations herein, may not be assigned, subcontracted, delegated, or otherwise transferred by you without Company’s prior written consent, and any attempted assignment, subcontract, delegation, or transfer in violation of the foregoing will be null and void. Company may freely assign these Terms. The terms and conditions set forth in these Terms shall be binding upon assignees.

12.6. Copyright/Trademark Information. Copyright © 2012–2023 Pubmark Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks, logos and service marks (“Marks”) displayed on the Sites are our property or the property of other third parties. You are not permitted to use these Marks without our prior written consent or the consent of such third party which may own the Marks.