Terms of Service

1. Eligibility

• You must be at least 16 years old to use Readlink.
• By signing up, you confirm that you meet this age requirement.
• In jurisdictions where the age of majority is higher than 16, your continued use of the Service confirms that a parent or legal guardian has reviewed and accepts these Terms on your behalf where required by local law.
• We do not knowingly permit anyone under 16 to create an account. If we become aware that an account has been created by someone under 16, we will close the account and delete associated personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

2. Account Registration

• You may need an account (via Clerk) to access some features.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity on your account.
• One person, one account. Automated account creation is prohibited.

3. Your Content: Categories and Rights

Readlink hosts and processes several different kinds of content. Different rules apply to each, so please read this section carefully.

3.1 What you upload, in plain terms

When you use Readlink, you may contribute four broad kinds of content:

• (a) Creative content: your reviews, posts, comments, photos you take yourself, and notes you choose to publish.
• (b) Private notes and annotations: notes you mark as private, intended only for yourself.
• (c) Functional book metadata: corrections or additions to factual book information (titles, authors, ISBNs, page counts, publication dates, edition data, table of contents structure, and similar structural information).
• (d) OCR text fragments: short text excerpts you capture from physical books using our OCR feature, where you select a region of a page and Readlink extracts the text. Source photos are discarded; only the text you select is retained.

3.2 Ownership

You retain ownership of all content you contribute, in every category above. Readlink does not claim ownership of your work.

3.3 License to Readlink: Creative Content (Category a)

For creative content, you grant Readlink a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce, distribute, and create derived previews of your content, solely for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the Service. This license includes the right to sublicense to our service providers (e.g., hosting providers) to the extent necessary to operate the Service.

This license terminates when you delete the content or your account, except: (i) for reasonable backup retention periods, (ii) where the content has been reshared, embedded, or quoted by other users (in which case the secondary uses persist), and (iii) for aggregated or anonymized data that no longer identifies you or your work.

3.4 Treatment of Private Notes and Annotations (Category b)

Private notes and annotations remain yours. We do not display them to other users, do not use them to train models, and do not include them in any public dataset. We process them only as necessary to provide the Service to you (for example, to display them back to you, sync across devices, or back them up).

3.5 License to Readlink: Functional Book Metadata (Category c)

Functional book metadata is, by its nature, factual information that benefits every reader on the platform. To maintain a clean, accurate, shared book catalog, you grant Readlink a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, modify, combine, distribute, and incorporate your metadata contributions into the Readlink Dataset, including for use after you delete your account.

This applies only to the factual and structural layer of book information. It does not apply to your reviews, opinions, or creative writing about books, which fall under Section 3.3.

You represent and warrant that your contribution of functional metadata is consistent with applicable doctrines of fair use, right of quotation (including under Art. 25 of the Swiss Federal Copyright Act), fair dealing, or equivalent informational-use principles in your jurisdiction. Functional bibliographic data (titles, authors, ISBNs, publication dates, page counts, and structural elements such as tables of contents) is generally treated as factual information not subject to copyright in itself; nothing in this section requires you to contribute material that exceeds these recognized informational-use principles.

3.6 License to Readlink: OCR Text Fragments (Category d)

When you use the OCR feature, Readlink discards the source photo as soon as text extraction is complete. Only the text you affirmatively select is retained. Because OCR fragments may include short excerpts of copyrighted text, you agree that:

• You will only OCR books you own or have lawful access to.
• You will not use the feature to systematically reproduce substantial portions of any work.
• Short fragments you save and choose to keep private are treated as private notes (Section 3.4).
• Short fragments you choose to publish (for example, attaching a quote to a review) are treated as creative content (Section 3.3) and you represent that the use qualifies as quotation, criticism, or review under applicable copyright law.

3.7 Your Warranties

For all content you contribute, you represent and warrant that:

• You own the content or have all necessary rights, licenses, and permissions to contribute it.
• Your contribution does not infringe any third party's intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights.
• For OCR fragments, you have lawful access to the source book.
• For photographs you upload to the feed, the photograph is yours or you have permission to share it.

3.8 Moral Rights

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you waive, or agree not to assert, any moral rights you may have in your contributions to the extent necessary for Readlink to exercise the licenses granted above. Where such waiver is not permitted, you grant Readlink permission to display, edit for length, crop, format, and contextually display your contributions in the normal course of operating the Service.

4. The Readlink Dataset

The Readlink Dataset is the compiled, curated body of book metadata that results from combining public sources (such as the Open Library API), our own work, and contributions from our community under Section 3.5.

• The selection, arrangement, structure, and presentation of the Readlink Dataset are proprietary to Readlink and protected to the maximum extent available under applicable copyright, database, and contract law.
• You may use the Readlink Dataset through the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes consistent with these Terms.
• You may not extract, copy, or reuse substantial parts of the Readlink Dataset for any other purpose without our prior written consent.
• Specifically, you may not use automated tools (scrapers, bots, crawlers, headless browsers, or any other systematic extraction method) to access, copy, or harvest data from the Service except where we expressly authorize it (for example, through a published API).
• Violation of this section is a material breach of these Terms and may result in immediate account termination, technical countermeasures, and legal action including claims for damages and injunctive relief.

4.1 Survival and Persistence of the Dataset

The Readlink Dataset is built up over time as users add corrections, structural data, and other functional contributions on top of records derived from public sources and licensed providers. To preserve the integrity of the Service and protect the work users invest in their libraries, Readlink asserts a Right of Persistence over the Readlink Dataset:

• Readlink retains a perpetual right to maintain, store, modify, combine, and continue to operate on all structured bibliographic data and user contributions previously integrated into the Readlink Dataset.
• Functional metadata contributions made under Section 3.5 persist in the Readlink Dataset after the contributing user terminates their account.
• The expiration, termination, or modification of any agreement with a third-party data provider does not extinguish Readlink's interest in records that have been integrated, augmented, curated, or materially transformed within the Readlink Dataset, which may be treated as derivative works of Readlink and its community.
• The persistence of the Dataset is a user-protective measure: when you add reviews, notes, or annotations linked to a book record, the underlying record needs to remain stable even if our upstream data sources change.

The Right of Persistence is exercised consistent with applicable third-party rights and the specific terms of the relevant upstream agreement, and Readlink reserves the right to prune, regenerate, or restructure records as required by law or by a binding contractual obligation that cannot be reconciled with this Right.

5. Prohibited Conduct

You may not:

• Upload illegal, infringing, defamatory, or harassing content.
• Harass, threaten, dox, or impersonate others.
• Attempt to compromise the security of Readlink or other users' accounts.
• Use automated systems to access, scrape, or interact with the Service except as expressly permitted.
• Use the Service to systematically reproduce copyrighted books or substantial portions of them.
• Circumvent any technical or contractual restrictions on the Service.
• Use the Service to send spam, malware, or unsolicited commercial communications.
• Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service or its contents without our express written consent.

6. Intellectual Property

• All Readlink branding, software, designs, layouts, and original content are owned by Lykan Sagl or its licensors.
• The Readlink Dataset is governed by Section 4.
• Book metadata sourced from the Open Library API and similar public sources is used in accordance with the licenses granted by those sources (typically CC0 or equivalent for Open Library).
• Cover images displayed in the Service may be subject to publisher copyright; we display them under principles of fair use, fair dealing, and equivalent doctrines, and in accordance with our Content & Copyright Policy.
• You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from Readlink's intellectual property without permission.

7. Third-Party Content

• Books, metadata, and cover images displayed via APIs (Open Library and others) may belong to third parties.
• We do not guarantee the accuracy, legality, or completeness of third-party content.
• You are responsible for your use of any third-party content surfaced through the Service.
• If you believe third-party content displayed in Readlink infringes your rights, please follow the procedure in our Content & Copyright Policy.

8. Termination

• You may terminate your account at any time through the app or by contacting us.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts for: material violation of these Terms; repeated copyright infringement; harassment, threats, or doxxing of users; security attacks or attempts to compromise the Service; systematic scraping or automated access in violation of Section 4; fraudulent activity (including in any promotion, referral, or campaign); or behavior that creates legal risk for Readlink or other users. Where reasonable, we will provide notice and an opportunity to remedy before termination.
• Upon termination: creative content (Section 3.3) is removed from public display in accordance with normal deletion timelines; functional metadata contributions (Section 3.5) remain in the Readlink Dataset; private notes (Section 3.4) are deleted.

9. Disclaimers

• Readlink is provided "as is" and "as available."
• We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, accuracy, or suitability for any purpose.
• We do not guarantee that book metadata, recommendations, or AI-generated suggestions are accurate or complete.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Lykan Sagl is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim arising under these Terms is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid Readlink in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) CHF 1,000.

Nothing in this section limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including mandatory consumer protections in your jurisdiction.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Lykan Sagl, its affiliates, and employees from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from: your use of the Service, your contributions, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third party's rights.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will notify users via in-app notice or email at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of an updated version constitutes acceptance of the changes.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

• These Terms are governed by Swiss law, excluding conflict-of-laws principles.
• Disputes are resolved in the competent courts of Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland, or as otherwise required by mandatory local consumer protection law.
• Where you are an EU consumer, nothing in these Terms deprives you of mandatory consumer protections under your local law.

14. Paid Features and In-App Purchases

14.1 Apple App Store and Google Play

Paid features, subscriptions, and in-app purchases offered through the iOS or Android app are sold and processed by Apple or Google under their respective terms (Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions; Google Play Terms of Service). When you make such a purchase, you enter into a transaction with Apple or Google, not directly with Lykan Sagl, for the payment portion of that transaction. Their refund, billing, family sharing, and renewal terms govern the payment relationship and supersede anything to the contrary in these Terms.

The features and content delivered as a result of that purchase are provided by Lykan Sagl and remain subject to these Terms.

14.2 Refunds

Refund requests for in-app purchases must be directed to Apple or Google through their respective support channels. We cannot directly refund a transaction Apple or Google processed. Where required by mandatory consumer protection law (including the EU right of withdrawal for digital content), we will honor your statutory rights regardless of the store's policy.

14.3 Subscriptions

Subscriptions purchased through Apple or Google auto-renew under the terms of those stores until you cancel them in your Apple ID or Google Play account settings. Canceling within Readlink does not cancel the underlying store subscription. To manage or cancel your subscription, please use the subscription settings in your Apple ID (App Store) or Google Play account.

14.4 RevenueCat

We use RevenueCat, Inc. to validate and manage subscription entitlements across platforms. RevenueCat acts as our processor for this purpose. See our Privacy Policy for the data flows involved.

14.5 Web Subscriptions and Stripe

Premium subscriptions purchased on the Readlink website are sold and processed by Lykan Sagl as merchant of record, with payments handled by Stripe Payments Europe, Limited or its affiliates ("Stripe") acting as our payment processor. When you subscribe on the website, you enter into the subscription contract directly with Lykan Sagl under these Terms; Stripe's role is limited to processing the transaction under its own terms applicable to payers.

Web subscriptions auto-renew at the cadence selected at checkout (monthly or annual) until you cancel. You may cancel a web subscription at any time through your Readlink account settings or by contacting us at legal@readlink.app. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you retain access to Premium features through that period.

Refunds for web subscriptions are handled directly by Readlink. We will honor refund requests where required by mandatory consumer protection law, including the European Union right of withdrawal for digital content where applicable, and otherwise consider refund requests on a case-by-case basis. Contact legal@readlink.app to request a refund.

We use RevenueCat, Inc. to maintain a single, unified Premium entitlement across our website and (once available) our mobile applications. If you subscribe on the website and later sign in on a mobile device with the same Readlink account, your Premium entitlement is recognized on both surfaces. RevenueCat does not handle payment funds; its role is described in Section 14.4 and in our Privacy Policy.

14.6 Premium and Time-Limited Campaigns

From time to time, Readlink runs time-limited campaigns, promotions, or contests with their own published rules and entry windows. Subscribing to Premium, whether before, during, or after such a campaign, and whether on the website (Section 14.5) or through Apple or Google (Sections 14.1–14.3), gives you access to the Premium product features for the term of your subscription, and is governed by these Terms together with the relevant billing terms.

Purchasing or holding a Premium subscription does not, by itself, enroll you in any campaign. Entry into a campaign, eligibility for any campaign prize or reward, and the effect (if any) that your Premium subscription has on campaign mechanics are governed exclusively by the published rules of that campaign in effect at the time you participate. Where a campaign's published rules describe a benefit, multiplier, or bonus tied to Premium status, that benefit applies only within the entry window and under the conditions specified in those rules.

Campaigns may include a free alternative entry path for participants who do not subscribe to Premium; that path is described in the relevant campaign rules. The existence of such an alternative does not entitle you to a refund of a Premium subscription you have separately chosen to purchase.

15. Contact

For questions about these Terms: legal@readlink.app