TERMS OF USE

Last updated on : 25h August, 2023

We welcome you to Konistha and thank you for your support in making Konistha a leading storytelling platform. We sincerely encourage you to go through the below Terms of Service to understand the platform’s features and your responsibilities while using the platform. Do not hesitate to contact us for any queries.

TERMS OF SERVICE

These Terms of Service govern the access to and use of Konistha Publication’s (“Company” / “We”/ “Our”) ‘Konistha’ website (www.konistha.in) (“Website”), the ‘Konistha’ 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 authorized 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 authorized 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 authorized 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:

1. 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).

2. Confidentiality: To maintain confidentiality of the User’s account details and be responsible for any use of the Services through the User’s account.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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 ‘Konistha’, 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Personal Data: Company shall process the personal data of the Users submitted in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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:

1. Not be objectionable or unlawful: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs which are grossly harmful, infringing, harassing, blasphemous defamatory, obscene, pornographic, podophilic, 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.

2. Not be against national interest: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs that can threaten the unity, integrity, defiance, 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.

3. Protect minors: Do not publish Published Works/Inputs which can harm minors in any way.

4. 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.