Publisher Service Agreement

This agreement is between you (the Publisher) and URUK [Legal Entity Name TBD upon incorporation], the company operating URUK Shelf (the Service). By creating an account, signing up for a plan, or using the Service in any way, you accept these terms on behalf of yourself or the entity you represent.

If you're entering this agreement on behalf of a company, you confirm that you have the authority to bind that company.

URUK Shelf is a software-as-a-service platform that lets publishers:

• Create and operate online storefronts to sell books
• Manage book catalogs, orders, customers, and shipping
• Accept payments through integrated gateways
• Display books on URUK Read, the reader-facing discovery surface

URUK is the platform, not the seller. With limited exceptions (Hosted plans — see Section 6), the legal relationship for each book sale is between you (the Publisher) and your reader. URUK provides the software and infrastructure; you run the business.

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction) and capable of forming a binding contract. You must represent a legitimate publishing operation.

Account information

You agree to provide accurate, complete, and current information about yourself and your business. You're responsible for keeping that information up to date.

Account security

You're responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify URUK immediately at security@urukshelf.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

One account per business

Each publishing operation should maintain one URUK Shelf account. Multiple imprints under one publishing house can run multiple stores from the same account on House plans; smaller plans are limited to one storefront per account.

Plans

URUK offers two product modes (Hosted and Branded) across six plans:

• Hosted: Edition (free), Imprint ($15/month), Press ($29/month) — books sold through URUK Read with URUK as the merchant of record
• Branded: Stall ($29/month), Studio ($59/month), House ($149/month) — your own storefront, your own merchant relationship

Detailed pricing and features are available at urukshelf.com/#pricing and form part of this agreement.

Billing cycle

Paid plans are billed monthly in advance via the payment method on file. Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each cycle unless cancelled.

Price changes

URUK may change prices for new billing cycles with at least 30 days' notice via email. Existing billing cycles complete at the original price. If you don't agree to a price change, you may cancel before the new price takes effect.

Taxes

Plan prices are exclusive of applicable taxes (VAT, sales tax, etc.). You're responsible for any taxes related to your subscription. URUK may collect taxes where required by law.

Failed payments

If a charge fails, URUK will retry over 7 days. After that, your account moves to read-only mode (storefront stays online, can't add new books or process new orders) until payment is updated. After 30 days of unpaid balance, URUK may suspend or terminate the account.

Refunds

Subscription fees are non-refundable except where required by applicable consumer law. We do not pro-rate cancellations within a billing cycle, but you keep access until the end of that cycle.

Your right to cancel

You may cancel your subscription at any time from your dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle. Your data remains accessible in read-only mode for 30 days after cancellation, after which it may be deleted unless you've requested earlier export.

URUK's right to suspend or terminate

URUK may suspend or terminate accounts for:

• Material breach of these terms
• Non-payment after the cure period in Section 4
• Fraudulent activity, abuse, or violations of acceptable use (Section 9)
• Court orders or applicable legal requirements
• Activities that pose security or legal risk to URUK, other publishers, or readers

For non-emergency suspensions, URUK will provide notice and a 14-day cure period where reasonable.

Data export

Before termination takes effect, you have the right to export your data (catalog, orders, customers) in standard formats (CSV, JSON, ONIX). URUK provides export tools in the dashboard.

Effect of termination

On termination, your storefront goes offline, your URUK Read profile is removed, and after the 30-day grace period, your data is permanently deleted unless legal retention requirements apply (e.g., transaction records for tax compliance — see Section 10).

Branded plans (Stall, Studio, House)

• You connect your own payment gateway (Stripe, Tap, PayTabs, HyperPay, MyFatoorah, Areeba, or supported alternatives)
• Customer payment goes directly to your gateway account
• URUK receives 0% commission on transactions
• You are the merchant of record, with full responsibility for chargebacks, disputes, taxes, and compliance

Hosted plans (Edition, Imprint, Press)

• URUK acts as merchant of record
• URUK collects payment from the reader, holds funds for 14 days (return window), then pays out weekly to your designated bank account, minus the commission rate for your plan (5% on Edition, 4% on Imprint, 3% on Press) and any payment processing fees
• URUK handles chargebacks, but disputed transactions are deducted from your payout balance
• Tax obligations remain yours (URUK provides reporting; URUK is not your tax filer)

Payout details

For Hosted plans, you must provide accurate banking information. URUK is not liable for misdirected payments due to incorrect information you provide. Minimum payout threshold: $25. Below threshold balances roll forward to the next payout.

Your catalog

Books, descriptions, cover images, prices, metadata — all of it remains your property (or the property of your authors and licensors). You retain all intellectual property rights in your content.

License to URUK

To operate the Service, you grant URUK a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, distribute, and process your content as needed to provide the Service to you and your customers, and to feature your content on URUK Read where applicable. This license terminates when you remove content from the platform or terminate your account, except where retention is required by law (transaction records).

Your customers

Customer relationships belong to you, not URUK:

• You own your customer list
• You can export customer data anytime
• Customer email addresses, names, and addresses are yours to communicate with (subject to applicable privacy laws and customer consent)
• URUK does not solicit your customers for other publishers without your permission

URUK Read attribution

When books appear on URUK Read, the publisher's name is always shown. URUK does not white-label or obscure publisher attribution.

Availability

URUK provides the Service on a "best effort" basis. We target 99.5% uptime measured monthly, excluding scheduled maintenance and force majeure events.

Maintenance

Scheduled maintenance windows are communicated in advance via email and the status page. Emergency maintenance may occur without notice when needed to address security issues or critical bugs.

Updates

URUK may add, modify, or remove features. Material changes that affect Publisher functionality will be communicated in advance. Some updates are mandatory for security or compliance reasons.

No guaranteed sales

URUK does not guarantee any specific level of traffic, sales, or visibility on URUK Read. Performance depends on many factors including catalog quality, pricing, and reader interest.

You agree NOT to:

• Upload books or content you don't have the legal right to sell
• Use URUK to distribute pirated, counterfeit, or infringing material
• Misrepresent yourself, your business, or your authority over the content
• Attempt to scrape, reverse-engineer, or circumvent the Service
• Use the Service to harm other publishers, readers, or third parties
• Send spam or unsolicited communications through URUK's tools
• Use URUK to launder money, evade taxes, or violate sanctions
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service or to other accounts
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service's operation

URUK reserves the right to remove content or suspend accounts engaged in any of the above, with or without prior notice depending on severity.

Sanctions and trade controls

URUK operates under applicable export control and sanctions laws. We may not be able to provide the Service in certain countries or to certain individuals or entities. You agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding your business operations.

Tax compliance

You are solely responsible for collecting and remitting any sales taxes, VAT, or other taxes related to your transactions. URUK provides reporting tools but is not your tax authority or filer.

Consumer protection

You agree to comply with consumer protection laws applicable to your transactions, including but not limited to disclosure requirements, return rights, and refund policies. Your published return policy must meet or exceed legal minimums in jurisdictions where you sell.

Anti-money laundering

URUK may request identification and business documentation to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) requirements, especially for Hosted plans where URUK processes funds on your behalf.

Data protection

Both parties agree to comply with applicable data protection laws (GDPR, Lebanon's Personal Data Protection legislation, UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, and equivalent regional laws). See URUK's Privacy Policy at urukshelf.com/privacy for details on data handling. As a publisher, you are a separate data controller for your customer data and must comply with applicable laws independently.

Your content stays yours

You retain all rights, title, and interest in your books, catalog, branding, and customer relationships.

URUK's platform stays ours

The URUK Service — including the platform code, design system, branding (URUK, URUK Shelf, URUK Read), and underlying technology — is the property of URUK. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer the Service.

Trademark use

You may use URUK's name and logo in marketing materials describing your store ("Powered by URUK," "Available on URUK Read," etc.) following URUK's brand guidelines. URUK may include your name and logo in URUK's customer lists, marketing materials, and case studies. Either party may opt out by written notice.

DMCA and equivalent

URUK respects intellectual property rights and responds to valid takedown notices. To submit a takedown notice, email legal@urukshelf.com with: identification of the work, the location of the infringing content, your contact information, a statement of good-faith belief, and a statement of accuracy under penalty of perjury.

Both parties may share confidential information during the relationship (business plans, customer data, technical details). Each party agrees to:

• Keep the other's confidential information confidential
• Use it only for purposes related to the agreement
• Apply at least the same care as for its own confidential information

Confidentiality obligations survive for 3 years after the agreement ends.

By you

You warrant that:

• You have the legal right to enter this agreement
• You own or have licensed all content you upload
• Your business operations comply with applicable laws
• The information you provide is accurate

By URUK

URUK provides the Service "as is" and "as available." Except as expressly stated in writing, URUK disclaims all other warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

URUK does not warrant that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted or error-free
• The Service will meet your specific business requirements
• Any specific level of traffic, sales, or revenue will result from using the Service

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages
• URUK's total liability for any claim arising from this agreement is limited to the amount you paid URUK in the 12 months preceding the claim
• These limits do not apply to: gross negligence, willful misconduct, indemnification obligations, or breach of confidentiality

You indemnify URUK against claims arising from:

• Content you upload (including IP infringement, defamation, or illegal content)
• Your transactions with readers
• Your tax compliance failures
• Your breach of this agreement
• Your violation of applicable law

URUK indemnifies you

URUK indemnifies you against third-party claims that URUK's platform technology infringes that party's intellectual property rights, provided you notify URUK promptly and cooperate in defense.

URUK may update these terms. For material changes, we'll notify you by email at least 30 days before the new terms take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date means acceptance of the updated terms. If you don't agree, you may cancel before the effective date.

Governing law

This agreement is governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION TBD upon URUK incorporation — likely Lebanon, UAE, or Cayman/BVI for international operations], without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

Dispute resolution

The parties will first attempt to resolve disputes through good-faith negotiation for 30 days. Unresolved disputes are submitted to binding arbitration under the rules of [arbitration body TBD — likely DIAC for UAE, or LCIA for international], conducted in English in [city TBD], with the decision enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Either party may seek injunctive relief in court for IP violations or breach of confidentiality without first arbitrating.

Assignment

You may not assign this agreement without URUK's written consent. URUK may assign this agreement to a successor entity (acquisition, merger, reorganization).

Entire agreement

This agreement, together with the Privacy Policy and any plan-specific addenda, is the entire agreement between you and URUK regarding the Service. It supersedes any prior agreements.

No waiver

Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

Severability

If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest of the agreement remains in effect.

Force majeure

Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond reasonable control (natural disasters, war, pandemic, government action, internet/utility outages).

Notices

Notices to URUK: legal@urukshelf.com. Notices to you: the email address on your account.

Survival

Sections that by their nature should survive termination (intellectual property, confidentiality, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law) survive any termination of this agreement.

Questions about these terms: legal@urukshelf.com

General contact: hello@urukshelf.com