“K MANGA” Terms of Service

1. Description of the Services.
   Kodansha distributes digital Japanese manga published by Kodansha and its affiliates through the Services. Users can read the manga by using the “Points” or the “Tickets” (however, some manga can be read for free without using the Points or the Tickets). The difference between the Points and the Tickets is as follows:
   - “Points”: In order to view a manga episode, users must use a certain number of the Points. Users may receive the Points free of charge in the following cases (collectively, the “Free Points”):
   (i). as log-in rewards for the Services, which may be awarded from time to time at Kodansha’s sole discretion;
   (ii). as rewards for viewing recommended manga that may be displayed on the Services;
   (iii). as rewards for viewing third-party advertisement videos displayed on the Apps; and
   (iv). as rewards for purchasing the Paid Points (as defined below). Such purchases include purchases made through the Point Subscription Service (as defined in Article 5), which will be implemented as a Website-only feature;
   - In addition, users may purchase Points through a method separately specified by Kodansha (the “Paid Points”). If you have both the Free Points and the Paid Points, the Free Points will be used first; and
   - “Tickets”: In order to view a manga episode, users must use one (1) ticket. There are two (2) types of Tickets: (i) Tickets that can be used only for a specific title (the “Normal Tickets.” The Normal Tickets are established for each manga title, and can be reused after a certain amount of time has passed), and (ii) Tickets that can be used for all subject manga works (the “Premium Tickets”). Users may receive the Premium Tickets as log-in rewards to the Services and/or as rewards for viewing third-party advertisement videos (this feature is implemented in the App only).
   For more details, please see Sections 4 through 7 of these Terms of Service.
   
2. Acceptance of these Terms of Service.
   (1). By accepting these Terms of Service, you further acknowledge and represent that: (i) you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by Kodansha’s Privacy policy; (ii) you have the authority to enter into these Terms of Service (including all of the terms and conditions specified or referenced herein); (iii) you are eighteen (18) years of age or over, are not barred from receiving the Services under your applicable law, and are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, and warranties set forth in these Terms of Service and to abide by and comply with these Terms of Service.
   (2). If for any reason, we, in our sole discretion, believe you do not meet the eligibility requirements set forth above, we reserve the right, without provision of any notice to you, to prohibit you from using the Services. If you do not meet the eligibility requirements as set forth in this Section, we have no obligations to you under these Terms of Service.
   
3. Account Creation.
   (1). You are required to create a user account in order to (a) use the Paid Services (as defined in Article 4(1)), and/or (b) transfer your user information registered on the Website/Apps to another account (please note that there are certain restrictions on the transfer of the Paid Points. Please refer to Article 6(1) for details). When you register your information on the Services, you agree to: (i) provide accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the applicable registration form; and (ii) maintain and update your information (including your e-mail addresses) to keep it accurate, current, and complete. You authorize Kodansha, directly or through third parties, to make any inquiries we consider necessary or appropriate to verify your information. Our Privacy policy contains information about our policies and procedures regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information we receive from users.
   (2). You agree that, if any information provided by you is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we reserve the right to suspend your use of the Services.
   (3). You are responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of your username, password, and corresponding user account information.
   (4). You agree that you are entirely and solely responsible for any and all activities or actions that occur under your account, whether or not you have authorized such activities or actions. You agree to immediately notify Kodansha of any unauthorized use of your username, password, or account.
   
4. Paid Services.
   (1). In general, users may enjoy the Services free of charge; however, Kodansha will provide the following paid services within the Services: (i) a subscription service that requires users to pay the prescribed membership fee (the “Point Subscription Service.” This feature will be implemented on the Website only. Please refer to Article 5 for details); and (ii) certain services that can be used by consuming the Paid Points (together with the Point Subscription Service, collectively, the “Paid Services”).
   (2). If you wish to purchase the Paid Services, you will be asked by Kodansha or the third-party provider of the service to supply certain information applicable to your purchase, including, without limitation, credit card and other information. You understand that any such information will be treated by Kodansha in the manner described in our Privacy policy. You agree that all information that you provide Kodansha or such third party will be accurate, current and complete.
   (3). You agree to pay all charges incurred by you or any users of your account and the credit card registered by the user (or other applicable payment mechanism) at the price(s) in effect when such charges are incurred. You will also be responsible for paying any applicable taxes relating to your purchases.
   (4). Kodansha will post a notice on the Services if the membership fee for the Point Subscription Service or the price of the Paid Points offered within the Service is changed.
   (5). If a dispute arises between a user and a telecommunications carrier or payment company regarding the use of the Subscription Service or the purchase of the Paid Points, the user is responsible for resolving the dispute, and Kodansha will not be liable for any losses resulting therefrom, except in the case of willful misconduct or gross negligence.
   (6). Please see Cal. Bus & Prof. Code for our legal information required to be disclosed pursuant to the California Business and Professions Code § 17538, et al.
   
5. Point Subscription Service.
   Users may use the Point Subscription Service by paying the prescribed membership fee. In the Point Subscription Service, by paying a certain monthly membership fee, the user may receive a certain number of the Free Points as a reward in addition to the Paid Points corresponding to such fee. The Point Subscription Service will be billed at the beginning date of the user’s subscription and each renewal period thereafter unless and until you cancel your subscription. We automatically bill your designated payment method each renewal period on the calendar day corresponding to the commencement of your subscription. In addition, we reserve the right to change the timing of our billing and/or to stop your subscription if your designated payment method has not successfully settled. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU CANCEL THE POINT SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES IN THE MIDDLE OF A RENEWAL PERIOD, THE MEMBERSHIP FEE FOR THAT RENEWAL PERIOD WILL NOT BE REFUNDED.
   For other details of the Points Subscription Service, please refer to the product purchase screen.
   
6. Paid Points.
   (1). The Paid Points may only be used in the Services and do not create any proprietary rights. The Purchased Paid Points are not transferable between the Website and the App. In addition, since the purchase of the Paid Points for the App is processed for each platform that provides the App, the Paid Points are not transferable between different platforms (i.e., the Paid Points purchased on the App Store cannot be transferred to the App downloaded from Google Play). For the avoidance of doubt, the Free Points may be transferred between the Website and the App, as well as between different platforms of the App, provided that you are using the Services under the same registered user account.
   (2). Users may not transfer, lend, pledge, or offer as collateral any purchased Paid Points to any third party, unless expressly permitted by Kodansha. In addition, Kodansha prohibits the performance, offer, or solicitation of such actions.
   (3). If a user's use of the Service is suspended in accordance with the provisions of these Terms of Service, the purchased Paid Points will be forfeited.
   
7. Third-Party Advertisements.
   Users acknowledge that the App may contain content, links to other sites, and resources provided by third parties. The content, links, and resources are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements, sponsored links, and other advertisements, including those on the offerwall. Kodansha does not endorse and has no control over the contents of the content, sites, or resources, and accepts no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to the App, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites. Furthermore, Kodansha has no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, any conduct or content of any third party on the services, including, without limitation, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of other users or third parties.
   
8. Proprietary Rights in Contents on the Services.
   (1). Kodansha and/or its licensors and suppliers own and retain all proprietary rights in the Services and in the information and materials provided through the Services, including, but not limited to, the characters, logos, graphics, illustrations, data, text, artwork, images, icons, software, including, but not limited to, images or files incorporated in or generated by the software or data accompanying such software, and links (collectively, the "Materials") provided through the Services. The Materials are derived in whole or in part from materials provided by Kodansha and its licensors and suppliers, and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, and/or other proprietary rights and laws. No Materials may be copied, screenshotted, captured, recorded, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted (including pasting the URL of an image file, etc., of the Materials and displaying it embedded, etc.), transmitted, or distributed in any way, or decompiled, reverse engineered, or disassembled.
   (2). The trademarks, logos, and service marks displayed on the Services (collectively, the "Trademarks") are the registered and unregistered trademarks of Kodansha, its licensors and suppliers, and others. Nothing contained in the Services should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademarks without the express written permission of Kodansha, its licensors or suppliers, or the third-party owner of any such Trademarks. Unauthorized use of any Trademarks is prohibited, and Kodansha will enforce its intellectual property rights in such Trademarks.
   
9. User Content.
   (1). While using the Services, users may post comments, etc., on the Services (the “User Content”). By posting the User Content, you grant us and our designees a worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicensable, assignable, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right to use, reproduce, transmit, distribute, translate, and otherwise modify the User Content for any purpose whatsoever, including advertising and promotional purposes. In addition, users will not exercise their moral rights with respect to the use of the User Content by Kodansha and our designees.
   (2). Kodansha will have full discretion as to whether to post the User Content, in whole or in part, or to delete the User Content once posted on the Services. In addition, Kodansha will not be obliged to disclose to users the reasons for such deletion.
   (3). Even if a user cancels their user registration or if Kodansha suspends the user's use of the Service, any User Content posted by the user prior to such termination will not be automatically deleted. As with any other comment, we will decide whether to post or delete it in our sole discretion.
   (4). If a dispute arises between users or between a user and a third party with respect to the User Content, the user who posted such User Content will be responsible for resolving such dispute at their own expense and responsibility.
   
10. Obligation of Users.
    The Services may be used and accessed for lawful purposes only. You agree to abide by all applicable local, state, national and foreign laws, treaties and regulations in connection with your use of the Services. In addition, without limitation, you agree that you will not do any of the following while using or accessing the Services:
    a). Upload, post, submit, or otherwise transmit: (i) any User Content to which you do not have the lawful right to copy, transmit, or display (including any User Content that would violate any confidentiality or fiduciary obligations that you might have with respect to the User Content); (ii) any User Content for which you do not have the consent or permission of each identifiable person in the User Content to use the name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness of each such person (to the extent each is implicated by the User Content), and such consent or permission is necessary; or (iii) any User Content that infringes the intellectual property rights or violates the privacy rights of any third party (including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property right, or moral right or right of publicity);
    b). Upload, post, submit or otherwise transmit any User Content that is unlawful, obscene, harmful, threatening, harassing, defamatory or hateful, or that contains objects or symbols of hate, invades the privacy of any third party, contains any pornography, erotica, child pornography or child erotica, is deceptive, threatening, abusive, inciting of unlawful action, defamatory, libelous, vulgar or violent, constitutes hate speech, or is otherwise objectionable in the opinion of Kodansha;
    c). Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Services or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content;
    d). Use any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing the Trademarks, Kodansha’s URL, or its product name;
    e). Upload, post, submit, or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation;
    f). Forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information or alter source-identifying information when using the Services, or in any way use the Services to send altered, deceptive or false source-identifying information. In such case, we reserve the right to block IP addresses or networks deemed to be abusing access to the Services;
    g). Upload, post, submit, or otherwise transmit any User Content that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs designed to (i) interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software; or (ii) interfere with the access of any user, host, or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, or mail-bombing the Services;
    h). Upload, post, submit, or otherwise transmit any User Content that includes code that is hidden or otherwise surreptitiously contained within the images, audio, or video of any User Content that is unrelated to the immediate, aesthetic nature of the User Content;
    i). Interfere with or disrupt (or attempt to interfere with or disrupt) any web pages available at the Services, servers, or networks connected to the Services or the technical delivery systems of Kodansha’s providers, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Services;
    j). Attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Kodansha system or network, or breach or impair or circumvent any security or authentication measures protecting the Services;
    k). Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Services;
    l). Attempt to access, search, or meta-search the Services with any engine, software, tool, agent, device, or mechanism other than software and/or search agents provided by Kodansha or other generally available third-party web browsers (such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Opera), including, without limitation, any software that sends queries to the Services to determine how a website or web page ranks;
    m). Collect or store personal data about other users without their express permission;
    n). Impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity, through pretexting or some other form of social engineering, or otherwise commit fraud;
    o). Use the Services in any manner not permitted by these Terms of Service; or
    p). Encourage or instruct any other individual to do any of the foregoing or to violate any terms of these Terms of Service.
    
11. Suspension of Use of the Services.
    (1). If a user does not use the Services for sixty (60) days or more, Kodansha may suspend the use of the Services without the permission of such user. In such case, we will not refund or reimburse any fees and costs incurred by the user in connection with the use of the Services.
    (2). Kodansha may suspend a part or all of the Services without the permission of the user who commits any of the acts described in Section 10. In such case, we will not refund or reimburse any fees and costs incurred by the user in connection with the use of the Services.
    
12. Contests and Sweepstakes and Other Activities.
    Kodansha may operate sweepstakes, contests, and similar promotions (collectively, the "Promotions") through the Services. You should carefully review the rules of each Promotion in which you participate through the Services (the "Official Rules"), as they may contain additional important information about Kodansha’s rights to and ownership of the submissions you make as part of the Promotions and as a result of your participation in such Promotion. To the extent that the terms and conditions of such Official Rules conflict with these Terms of Service, the terms and conditions of such Official Rules will prevail.
    
13. Changes to these Terms of Service and the Services.
    Kodansha reserves the right, at any time, to change or update these Terms of Service in its sole discretion, including, but not limited to, the fees and charges associated with the use of the Services. If we do so, we will post the changed or updated terms and conditions and its effective date on the Website and/or the Apps and notify you. You agree to review these Terms of Service periodically. Furthermore, Kodansha reserves the right to change or discontinue the Services, in whole or in part (for discontinuation, subject to at least sixty (60) days prior notice to users). Your continued use of the Services after such changes or updates are made to these Terms of Service and are provided on the Website and/or the App (and after the effective date) will indicate your acceptance of such changes. If the content or expression of the manga data that has been distributed is changed, users may view the data by deleting the downloaded manga data and downloading it again.
    Kodansha will not be liable for any losses resulting from any change or update of these Terms of Service and the Services.
    
14. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability.
    (1). THE SERVICES, MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. KODANSHA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE SERVICES, MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF QUALITY, AVAILABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN ADDITION, KODANSHA MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES, MATERIALS OR ANY OTHER CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR THAT ANY ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED. SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
    (2). UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL KODANSHA OR ITS AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, PARTNERS, OR LICENSORS, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND/OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH USE OF THE SERVICES, MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER CONTENT MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INJURY OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE CONDUCT OF ANY USER, ONLINE OR OFFLINE, WHETHER OR NOT KODANSHA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, KODANSHA’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU ARISING WITH RESPECT TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED $50. KODANSHA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY INTERRUPTIONS OR ERRORS RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR SCHEDULED OR UNSCHEDULED SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
    
15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction.
    (1). These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan, without giving effect to any conflict of law principles.
    (2). Any disputes regarding these Terms of Service will be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court or the Tokyo Summary Court for the first instance.
    
16. Miscellaneous.
    (1). In the event that any provision in these Terms of Service is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the unenforceable part will be given effect to the greatest extent permitted by law and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect to the maximum extent permitted by law.
    (2). The failure of a party to enforce any rights or provisions of these Terms of Service will not be deemed a waiver of such rights or provisions.
    (3). You may not assign or transfer these Terms of Service without the prior written consent of Kodansha, and any prohibited assignment will be null and void.
    
17. Contact Information.
    If you have questions about these Terms of Service or would like to request a copy of these Terms of Service or any other records relating to these Terms of Service or your use of the Services, please contact Kodansha via the Inquiry Form.