Version: v1.0
Effective date: 2026-05-26
Last updated: 2026-05-26
Operator: Cognitex Cultural Technology Co., Limited
Service name: ThePeopleBook
Legal notices: [email protected]
Privacy contact: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]
Language control: The English version is the legally binding version unless ThePeopleBook expressly publishes a tri-language equal-effect clause.
1.1 “ThePeopleBook”, “we”, “us”, and “our” mean Cognitex Cultural Technology Co., Limited, operating the ThePeopleBook platform, website, applications, online reader, collaboration tools, listing surfaces, payment and payout support, ledger records, content moderation, signing records, and related services.
1.2 “User”, “you”, and “your” mean any person who accesses or uses ThePeopleBook, including readers, creators, authors, editors, writers, researchers, reviewers, proofreaders, project proposers, book-team leads, and other contributors.
1.3 “User Content” means content submitted, uploaded, drafted, edited, reviewed, commented on, configured, published, or otherwise provided by users, including book ideas, outlines, chapters, manuscripts, comments, reviews, metadata, cover materials, descriptions, forum posts, and collaboration records.
1.4 “Book Governance Agreement” means the separate book-level governance agreement accepted by members of a specific book team. It governs contribution roles, decision-making, byline, revenue allocation, exit, disputes, publication approvals, and post-publication changes for that book.
2.1 You accept these Terms when you create an account, click an acceptance box or button, submit content, apply to join a book team, sign or confirm a publication workflow, purchase paid reading, or otherwise use the Services after being presented with these Terms.
2.2 For important workflows, we may require affirmative clickwrap acceptance. We may record the document type, version number, accepted timestamp in UTC, IP address, User-Agent, language / locale, source page or workflow, book ID where applicable, and a SHA-256 hash of the accepted text.
2.3 We may update these Terms. For material updates, we may require you to re-accept the updated version before your next login or before using key features. Continued use after notice may constitute acceptance where lawful and appropriate.
2.4 If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use ThePeopleBook.
3.1 You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a binding contract.
3.2 Each account must be used by one natural person unless we approve an organization or team account in writing.
3.3 You must provide accurate account, identity, tax, payout, and contact information where required. You must keep your login credentials secure and notify us promptly of unauthorized account use.
3.4 We may require identity verification, KYC, sanctions screening, tax forms, payout-account verification, or additional documentation before permitting publication, payouts, high-risk activity, or other protected workflows.
3.5 We may refuse, suspend, restrict, or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, create legal or security risk, or appear to be fraudulent, abusive, automated, or misleading.
4.1 ThePeopleBook provides platform-service infrastructure for collaborative nonfiction book creation, including book proposal workflows, project approval, team recruitment, writing and editing tools, review and proofreading, manuscript versioning, EPUB generation, internal proofing files, QA reports, publication configuration, listing surfaces, online reader, payment collection support, ledger records, payout support, content moderation, signing records, and technical operations.
4.2 ThePeopleBook may make books available for public viewing, free online reading, paid online reading, trial reading, or other platform-supported access modes as configured and confirmed through the applicable workflow.
4.3 We may add, change, suspend, or discontinue features. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.
5.1 You represent and warrant that your User Content is original to you or that you have all permissions, licenses, consents, releases, and legal rights required to submit it, collaborate on it, display it, publish it, and permit ThePeopleBook to operate the Services as described in these Terms.
5.2 You retain your copyright and other rights in your User Content, subject to rights granted to other book-team members under the relevant Book Governance Agreement and to rights granted to us under these Terms and any additional clickwrap or publication consent accepted by you.
5.3 You grant ThePeopleBook a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable only to service providers as needed, operational license to host, store, reproduce, display, perform, transmit, process, adapt technically, version, format-convert, generate EPUB and internal proofing files, provide online reading, index, search, recommend, moderate, secure, back up, preserve evidence, handle infringement complaints, and promote within or in connection with ThePeopleBook.
5.4 The license in clause 5.3 is limited to operating, improving, securing, and promoting ThePeopleBook and the relevant book within ThePeopleBook. It does not transfer copyright ownership and does not grant exclusive rights.
5.5 Unless you separately agree in writing, ThePeopleBook does not receive default rights for AI model training, translation, audiobook, film/TV, course, print, print-on-demand, merchandise, enterprise licensing, external-channel distribution, Amazon / Apple / Google distribution, or other external commercialization.
5.6 Copyright ownership, contribution status, byline, moral-rights handling, revenue share, team exit, and book-team disputes for co-created works are governed by the relevant Book Governance Agreement and applicable law.
5.7 ThePeopleBook is not the default copyright owner, publisher, or external distributor of user-created books. To the extent any law treats platform listing or online availability as publication, communication, making available, or distribution, that characterization does not give ThePeopleBook copyright ownership or expanded commercialization rights.
6.1 Book-team members must comply with the relevant Book Governance Agreement, project rules, publication workflow, moderation rules, and lawful instructions issued through ThePeopleBook. Formal book-team members may be required to accept or sign the active Book Governance Agreement before receiving internal manuscript, review, financial, publication, or governance workspace access for that book.
6.2 Team leads or authorized governance participants may have permissions to manage team membership, invite contributors, assign tasks, organize votes, freeze drafts, request reviews, submit publication configurations, or initiate dispute workflows, subject to the Book Governance Agreement.
6.3 We may freeze a book project, restrict edits, preserve evidence, pause publication, suspend payments, or require additional confirmations if there is a dispute about copyright, authorization, byline, contribution, revenue allocation, governance, fraud, or legality.
6.4 ThePeopleBook does not adjudicate legal ownership disputes as a court. We may take interim platform measures to reduce risk while parties resolve disputes.
7.1 A book’s free / paid status, price, currency, trial-reading scope, download settings, byline, contributor information, and revenue-sharing allocation must be configured and confirmed through the publication workflow and the relevant Book Governance Agreement.
7.2 Revenue split is determined by the applicable Book Governance Agreement, publication confirmation, or later authorized amendment. The platform ledger records allocations based on the confirmed records available to ThePeopleBook.
7.3 ThePeopleBook may charge platform service fees. The applicable fee is the fee displayed, confirmed, or agreed in the applicable workflow or fee schedule. ThePeopleBook may change fees prospectively with appropriate notice or renewed confirmation where required. Fees, payment-provider charges, taxes, chargebacks, refunds, and withholding may reduce distributable amounts.
7.4 Reader payments are expected to be processed by Stripe or another payment provider. ThePeopleBook does not intend to store full card numbers. Payment-provider terms, privacy notices, risk checks, and dispute rules may apply.
7.5 Creator payouts may be supported by Airwallex or similar payout providers. KYC, tax forms, payout-account verification, sanctions screening, minimum payout thresholds, and provider availability may be prerequisites to payout.
7.6 Ledger entries are accounting records only. They are not a bank account, deposit, stored-value facility, e-wallet, money-remittance account, or transferable payment instrument. Users may not top up, transfer, sell, pledge, or use ledger entries as stored value unless ThePeopleBook separately implements a properly licensed product.
7.7 We may withhold, reverse, offset, freeze, or delay payouts where required or reasonably necessary for refunds, chargebacks, taxes, fraud checks, sanctions compliance, payment-provider requirements, unresolved disputes, suspected infringement, legal process, or breach of these Terms.
8.1 As a business policy, automatic refund may be available for paid online reading within 7 days after purchase if reading progress is below 10%.
8.2 As a business policy, each user may receive a maximum of 2 automatic refunds in any rolling 90-day period. Other refund requests require manual review.
8.3 We may refuse refund abuse, fraud, account manipulation, technical circumvention, or requests inconsistent with these Terms or the applicable product display.
8.4 Nothing in these Terms limits mandatory consumer-law rights that cannot lawfully be excluded, including any applicable EU / UK digital-content cancellation, conformity, or remedy rights.
9.1 We may use automated tools, AI-assisted review, human review, user reports, rights-holder reports, payment-risk signals, and legal notices to moderate content and accounts.
9.2 We may remove, restrict, delist, demote, disable reading, freeze edits, suspend payouts, preserve evidence, or suspend / terminate accounts where we reasonably believe content or conduct may violate law, rights, these Terms, platform policies, payment-provider rules, or user safety.
9.3 AI-assisted moderation is not guaranteed to be accurate, complete, or free of bias. We may provide an appeal or review channel through [email protected] or another published process.
9.4 Urgent legal, safety, fraud, rights, or payment-risk situations may be handled before notice or appeal.
10.1 If you believe content on ThePeopleBook infringes copyright, send a notice to [email protected] identifying the work, the allegedly infringing material, its location, your contact details, your authority to act, and a good-faith statement.
10.2 We may remove, disable, restrict, delist, or freeze disputed content while reviewing copyright complaints. We may request additional information and may notify the relevant user or book team.
10.3 If U.S. DMCA complaints are supported, ThePeopleBook will publish DMCA notice and counter-notice procedures and maintain a designated agent with the U.S. Copyright Office. The DMCA procedure must not be represented as available until the designated-agent and workflow details are confirmed.
10.4 Where a counter-notice process is available, the responding user must provide the required statements, contact information, and consent to jurisdiction required by the applicable procedure.
10.5 We may terminate or restrict accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. Thresholds and enforcement may consider the number, seriousness, reliability, and outcome of infringement notices, counter-notices, court orders, and repeat conduct.
You must not:
12.1 User Content does not represent ThePeopleBook’s views. Users and book teams are responsible for their own content, permissions, and legal compliance.
12.2 ThePeopleBook does not guarantee sales, revenue, readership, ranking, recommendations, external-channel acceptance, awards, reviews, commercial success, or uninterrupted availability.
12.3 The Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis to the maximum extent permitted by law. Mandatory consumer rights are preserved.
13.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence where applicable, or mandatory consumer rights.
13.2 To the maximum extent permitted by law, ThePeopleBook will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, exemplary, or loss-of-profit damages, or for loss of data, goodwill, revenue opportunity, anticipated savings, or business interruption.
13.3 To the maximum extent permitted by law, ThePeopleBook’s total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Services or these Terms is limited to the greater of: (a) the amount you paid to ThePeopleBook for the relevant Service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to liability; or (b) HKD 1,000.
13.4 The limitations in this clause are subject to Hong Kong Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance, Unconscionable Contracts Ordinance, Trade Descriptions Ordinance, and any mandatory consumer law that applies.
14.1 We may amend these Terms to reflect legal, operational, security, payment, feature, or business changes.
14.2 We may notify users through banner, email, in-app notice, source page, or legal-version announcement. Material updates may require re-acceptance.
14.3 We preserve acceptance records for each accepted version and accepted-text hash.
15.1 You may stop using the Services at any time, subject to continuing obligations under applicable book-team agreements, payment obligations, publication records, legal obligations, and evidence preservation.
15.2 We may suspend or terminate access for breach, legal risk, payment risk, security risk, fraud, repeat infringement, or misuse.
15.3 Clauses intended to survive termination will survive, including intellectual property, payment, ledger, refund, evidence, moderation, dispute, liability, and governing-law provisions.
16.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
16.2 Mandatory consumer protections in your country or region may still apply where they cannot lawfully be waived.
17.1 Recommended default for consumer-facing platform terms: Hong Kong courts. The default clause is that the courts of Hong Kong have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms, except where mandatory consumer law gives a user the right to bring claims elsewhere or prevents exclusive jurisdiction.
17.2 Arbitration through HKIAC can be efficient, private, internationally enforceable, and suitable for higher-value creator, commercial, or external-commercialization agreements. However, for consumer-facing platform terms, arbitration may create fairness, cost, consent, and enforceability concerns. ThePeopleBook should consider HKIAC arbitration in separate creator, enterprise, or commercialization agreements rather than as the default consumer clause.
17.3 Either party may seek urgent injunctive or interim relief in any court with jurisdiction to protect intellectual property, confidential information, platform security, payment integrity, evidence, or user safety.
18.1 Legal notices to ThePeopleBook should be sent to [email protected].
18.2 Privacy requests should be sent to [email protected].
18.3 Support requests should be sent to [email protected].
18.4 Notices to users may be sent by email, in-app notice, banner, account notice, or other reasonable means.