Terms of Service.

01Agreement to terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website located at www.vesperahk.com (the "Site") and any web application, mobile application, reader, authoring workspace or related online service operated by VESPERA TECHNOLOGY LIMITED (collectively, the "Services").

By accessing or using the Site or the Services, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity.

Certain Services may be subject to additional product-specific terms, author agreements, licensing agreements or partner agreements. Where such terms apply, they will be presented within the relevant Service and, in the event of a conflict, will prevail over these Terms for that Service only.

02About us

The Site and the Services are owned and operated by VESPERA TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, with its registered office at RM A1, 11/F WINNER BLDG, 36 MAN YUE ST, HUNG HOM, HONG KONG.

We develop and operate web and mobile products for the production, distribution and monetisation of serialised online fiction. Contact details are set out in Section 17.

03Eligibility

You must be at least the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, and in any event at least 13 years old, to use the Services. Where a Service includes age-restricted content, additional age requirements may apply and will be indicated within that Service. By using the Services you represent that you meet these requirements and that you are not barred from doing so under any applicable law.

04Our services

Vespera provides a suite of products covering the life cycle of serialised fiction, including authoring and editorial tooling, web and mobile reading applications, catalogue and rights management, distribution and localisation, access and subscription models, licensing workflows and reader analytics.

We may add, modify, suspend or discontinue any part of the Site or the Services at any time, for example to improve functionality, address security issues or comply with law. Where a change materially reduces paid functionality you have purchased, we will provide reasonable notice and, where appropriate, a proportionate remedy. Descriptions of products on the Site are provided for general information and do not constitute a contractual offer.

05Accounts and registration

Some Services require an account. You agree to provide accurate, current and complete registration information, to keep it updated, and to keep your credentials confidential. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly at contact@vesperahk.com if you suspect unauthorised access.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that appear to be inactive for an extended period, that violate these Terms, or where necessary to protect the integrity or security of the Services. Accounts are personal to you and may not be transferred without our written consent.

06User content

"User Content" means text, images, manuscripts, comments, profile information or other material that you submit, upload or make available through the Services. You retain ownership of your User Content.

By submitting User Content, you grant Vespera a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, display, adapt technically, transmit and distribute that content solely to the extent necessary to operate, provide, promote and improve the Services. This licence ends when the content is deleted, except to the extent that retention is required by law, needed for backup and archival cycles, or necessary where the content has been distributed to third parties under a separate agreement.

You represent and warrant that you own or have all necessary rights to your User Content, that it does not infringe any third party's intellectual property, privacy or other rights, and that it complies with applicable law and with Section 09 of these Terms. We may remove User Content that we reasonably believe violates these Terms or applicable law, without prior notice where urgency or legal obligation requires it.

07Intellectual property

The Site and the Services, including their design, layout, source code, graphics, logos, product names, text and compilation, are owned by Vespera or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trade mark and other intellectual property laws. "VESPERA", the Vespera star device, and the names of our products are our trade marks or trade dress.

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Site and the Services for their intended purposes. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, lease, reverse engineer, decompile or create derivative works from any part of the Site or Services except as expressly permitted by us in writing or by applicable law. No licence is granted to fiction content, which remains the property of its respective rights holders.

If you believe material on the Site infringes your copyright, please contact us at contact@vesperahk.com with details of the work, the location of the material and your contact information. We will review and respond in line with applicable law.

08Subscriptions, purchases and refunds

Certain Services may offer paid access through subscriptions, chapter-level purchases, credits or other models. Prices, billing periods, included content and any free trial terms will be shown before you confirm a purchase. Prices are stated in the currency displayed and may exclude applicable taxes unless stated otherwise.

Where a subscription renews automatically, we will tell you the renewal terms before purchase; you may cancel before the next billing date through the settings of the relevant Service or the applicable app store. Payments are processed by third-party payment providers or app stores, whose own terms also apply. Except where required by law or expressly stated in a product-specific policy, fees already paid are non-refundable, and we are not responsible for refunds handled by an app store.

09Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use the Services in violation of any applicable law, regulation or third-party right;
• upload or distribute content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, hateful, or that infringes intellectual property rights;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Services, other accounts, or related systems and networks;
• probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Services, or breach any security or authentication measure;
• use automated means (including scraping, bots or crawlers) to access the Services at a volume or in a manner that impairs their operation, except with our prior written consent;
• circumvent access controls, paywalls, geographic restrictions or usage limits;
• introduce malware, or interfere with the integrity or performance of the Services; or
• impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with Vespera.

10Third-party services and links

The Site may link to or embed third-party websites, fonts, analytics, maps, app stores or payment services. These are provided for convenience and are governed by the third party's own terms and privacy policies. We do not endorse and are not responsible for third-party content, availability or practices. Your dealings with third parties are solely between you and them.

11Disclaimers

The Site and the Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Vespera disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement and uninterrupted or error-free operation.

We do not warrant that the Site or the Services will be secure at all times, free of viruses or harmful components, or that any content or information obtained through them will be accurate or complete. Content published through the Services may include fictional works, opinions and material supplied by third parties; such material does not represent the views of Vespera. Information on this corporate Site is general in nature and is not professional, legal or investment advice.

12Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Vespera and its directors, officers, employees, agents and licensors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill or business interruption, arising out of or in connection with your use of, or inability to use, the Site or the Services, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or any other legal theory, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total fees you paid to Vespera for the relevant Service during the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) HKD 1,000. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

13Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Vespera and its directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses and reasonable costs (including legal fees) arising out of your breach of these Terms, your User Content, or your misuse of the Site or the Services. We will give you reasonable notice of any such claim and may assume the exclusive defence and control of the matter, in which case you agree to cooperate.

14Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Site and the Services at any time and may request deletion of your account by contacting us. We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, if we reasonably believe your use creates legal or security risk, or if we discontinue the relevant Service.

On termination, the licence granted under Section 07 ends and you must cease using the Services. Sections that by their nature should survive — including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity, governing law and dispute provisions — will continue to apply.

15Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them, their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes) are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Before commencing formal proceedings, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute through written negotiation for a period of thirty (30) days from written notice of the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved, it shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong. Nothing in this section prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive or other interim relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.

16General provisions

• Entire agreement: These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any applicable product-specific terms, constitute the entire agreement between you and Vespera in relation to their subject matter.
• Amendments: We may revise these Terms from time to time. The "Effective date" above shows the current version. Material changes will be notified by a prominent notice on the Site. Continued use after the revised Terms take effect constitutes acceptance, to the extent permitted by law.
• Severability: If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the remaining provisions remain in full force.
• No waiver: A failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.
• Assignment: You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them in connection with a reorganisation or transfer of our business.
• Force majeure: We are not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, network or utility failures, acts of government, or widespread service-provider outages.
• Language: These Terms are written in English. Any translation is provided for convenience only; the English version prevails in the event of a conflict.
• No partnership: Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employment or agency relationship between you and Vespera.

17Contact us

Questions about these Terms, or notices under these Terms, should be sent to:

VESPERA TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
RM A1, 11/F WINNER BLDG, 36 MAN YUE ST, HUNG HOM, HONG KONG
Telephone: +852 6066 6034
Email: contact@vesperahk.com
Website: www.vesperahk.com

Notices sent by email are deemed received on the next business day after sending, unless a delivery failure is received by the sender.