Terms and Conditions (SDP)

2. Introduction / Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to SDP. By accessing, browsing, creating an account, purchasing content, leaving reviews, or otherwise using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Platform.

3. Definitions (for clarity)

• Customer / you: any user who accesses or uses the Platform.
• Publisher / Author: any user who uploads or publishes content on the Platform (subject to Publishing Terms).
• Content: digital products available on the Platform, including e-books and audiobooks, plus associated metadata (title, description, cover, etc.).
• User Content: any content a user posts, uploads, sends, or otherwise makes available through the Platform, including books, manuscripts, files, covers, metadata, reviews, ratings, comments, profile details, and messages.
• Publisher: a user or company operating a publisher account that publishes content, including on behalf of authors or rightsholders under its own agreements with them.
• Verified purchaser: a user whose purchase is recorded by the Platform for the reviewed item.

4. Eligibility and Account Terms

Age requirement

You must be 18 years or older to create an account or make purchases on SDP.

Account security and responsibility

You are responsible for:

• maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials;
• all activity that occurs under your account; and
• notifying us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access.

Accurate information

You must provide accurate and complete information when creating and maintaining your account. We may suspend or restrict accounts that use false information or misrepresent identity.

Account types (summary)

• Customers: a standard account with a username and email address is required to purchase books.
• Publishers: publisher usernames must be an email address and a valid PayPal email address is required for royalties (see Publishing Terms for full details).

5. Purchases and Payments

Currency and pricing

All prices on the Platform are listed in United States Dollars (USD) and may be displayed in other currencies for your convenience. The final price charged will be in your selected currency at the applicable exchange rate at the time of purchase.

VAT for EU customers

Payments via PayPal

Payments are processed securely via PayPal. SDP does not store your full payment details on its own servers.

Access after payment

Upon successful payment, you receive immediate access to your purchased digital content through your account.

Support for authors

By purchasing, you support authors/publishers on the Platform. As a general rule, authors receive 90% of the sale price as royalties and SDP retains 10% as a platform/service fee (see Publishing Terms for the full royalty rules, payout method, and any conditions).

7. Digital Content License (Customer Use)

Personal license

When you purchase content, you receive a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use that content for personal, non-commercial purposes.

No sharing / redistribution

You may not:

• share, upload, distribute, publish, resell, sublicense, or otherwise make the purchased content available to others; or
• bypass technical measures intended to protect content.

Multiple devices

You may download and access your purchased content on multiple devices associated with your account.

Offline access

E-books and audiobook chapters can be downloaded to your device for offline reading or listening, where the Platform provides that functionality.

Intellectual property

All content remains the intellectual property of the respective authors/publishers and rightsholders. Purchasing does not transfer ownership of copyright to you.

8. Cover and Technical Requirements (General Information)

For the Platform to display content properly, certain specifications apply:

Cover requirements:

• Covers must be in JPG format.
• Minimum size (general): 512 × 800 pixels.
• (If you apply separate rules per format in your Publishing Terms, those will control for publishers.)

Formats (customer-facing):

Content is offered as e-books and/or audiobooks depending on the title. Availability and compatibility may vary by device.

(Full upload specifications for publishers are governed by the separate Publishing Terms.)

9. User Conduct

You agree not to:

• use the Platform for any illegal purpose or in violation of applicable law;
• attempt to circumvent payment systems or access content without payment;
• interfere with or disrupt the Platform's security or operation (e.g., hacking, scraping, malware);
• harass, abuse, threaten, or harm other users, authors, or SDP staff;
• violate intellectual property rights (copyright, trademarks, etc.);
• submit false, misleading, or defamatory content (including in reviews and messages);
• upload or share personal data of others without a lawful basis (doxxing);
• send spam, unsolicited commercial messages, or abusive content through the messaging system.

SDP may take enforcement actions for violations, including content removal and account restriction or termination.

9.1 Messaging System

Reader-to-Author Messages

The Platform provides a private messaging system that allows readers to send messages to authors. When using this feature:

• Your username will be displayed to the recipient, but your email address remains private
• Messages must be respectful, relevant, and comply with our User Conduct policies
• You may not use the messaging system for spam, harassment, solicitation, or any illegal purposes
• Messages containing threats, hate speech, or abusive content will be removed and may result in account suspension

Reporting and Blocking

To maintain a safe community environment, users can:

• Report Messages: If you receive inappropriate or abusive messages, you can report them to administrators for review
• Block Users: Authors can block specific users from sending them future messages
• Delete Messages: Recipients can delete messages from their inbox

Reported messages will be reviewed by SDP staff, and appropriate action will be taken, which may include warnings, message removal, temporary suspension, or permanent account termination depending on the severity of the violation.

Message Content Responsibility

Users are solely responsible for the content of messages they send. SDP is not responsible for the content of user-to-user communications but reserves the right to review reported messages and take action as necessary.

10. Reviews Policy

By using this Platform, you confirm that you understand and agree that:

11. Author and Publisher Terms (Summary)

If you publish content on SDP, you must also comply with our separate Publishing Terms, which include detailed rules on:

• Royalties (90% for authors, 10% platform fee) and payout procedures
• Content requirements (file formats, cover specifications, metadata)
• Ownership and AI policy
• Account requirements for publishers
• Reviews policy (prohibition on paid/fake reviews)

Optional Marketing Services

There are no other hidden costs to sell on the Platform. However, SDP may from time to time offer optional paid marketing services (such as promotional campaigns or featured placements) that authors can explicitly choose to purchase. Any such marketing fee is only charged with the author's prior, explicit agreement — there are no automatic or hidden charges.

Revenue split for publisher accounts

A publisher account operates on the same arrangement as an author account. The revenue from each completed sale is allocated between the publisher and SDP as follows:

• Publisher share: 90% of each completed sale, paid to the publisher account.
• SDP platform share: 10% of each completed sale, retained for hosting, distribution, payment handling, customer support, fraud prevention, and ongoing development.

The 90/10 split applies to the net amount actually received for a sale. Legally required taxes (such as VAT or sales tax), payment processing and currency conversion costs, refunds, chargebacks, and any discounts or price adjustments are settled before the split is calculated and are therefore not part of the revenue that is divided between the publisher and SDP. The 10% platform share is the only structural share SDP takes; optional paid marketing services that a publisher explicitly purchases are separate charges outside the split.

Publisher responsibility for author agreements

Where you use a publisher account, you act as the publishing party for the titles in your catalogue, and you are solely responsible for your own contractual and commercial relationship with each author, narrator, translator, or other rightsholder you work with. This includes:

• the existence, content, and performance of your agreement with each author (including any licence or assignment of rights, royalty rate, payment schedule, and reporting obligations);
• paying each author their agreed share out of the 90% publisher share, and providing any statements or reports you have agreed to provide;
• any dispute, claim, tax matter, or unpaid amount between you and an author.

SDP is not a party to your agreements with authors, does not act as agent, employer, guarantor, or trustee for either party, and is not responsible for paying authors directly or for how you divide the publisher share.

SDP pays the 90% publisher share to the publisher account only, and that payment fully discharges SDP's payment obligation for the sale in question. By publishing on the Platform you confirm that you hold the necessary rights and permissions from each author you publish, and you agree to indemnify SDP against third-party claims arising from your agreements with authors or your failure to pay an author, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

12. Data Retention and Purchase Transfer

7-Year Retention Policy

We retain purchase records for a period of 7 years for accounting, tax compliance, and legal purposes. This includes transaction details, book purchases, and associated payment information.

Claiming Purchases from Another Email

If you have made purchases under a different email address and wish to transfer them to your current account, you may do so within the 7-year retention period by:

• Providing proof of ownership of the original email address (e.g., verification email, purchase confirmation)
• Sending your request to: publishing@spaaijdigital.com
• Including both the old and new email addresses in your request

We will verify your ownership and transfer the purchase records to your current account upon successful verification.

Data Deletion After Retention Period

After 7 years, purchase records and associated personal data may be permanently deleted unless legally required to be retained for longer (e.g., ongoing legal proceedings or investigations).

12.1 Account Deletion

Right to Delete Your Account

You may request deletion of your account at any time through your Profile settings. Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

What Will Be Deleted

When you delete your account, the following data will be immediately and permanently removed:

• Your account and profile information (name, email, username, profile picture)
• All reviews, bookmarks, and reading progress
• Wishlist and cart items
• Messages and notifications
• Any author profile associated with your account
• Following/follower relationships
• Recommendation preferences

What Will Be Retained (7-Year Legal Retention)

Claiming Purchases After Account Deletion

Within the 7-year retention period, you may reclaim your purchase history by:

• Providing proof of ownership of the deleted account (e.g., original purchase confirmations, payment receipts)
• Contacting us at: publishing@spaaijdigital.com
• Verifying your identity through the information provided

Upon successful verification, we will restore access to your previously purchased content on your new or current account.

Effect on Published Content (for Authors)

If you are an author/publisher and delete your account:

• Your published books will remain on the platform unless you explicitly unpublish or remove them before account deletion
• Royalty payments for sales after deletion cannot be processed (ensure you request a final payout before deletion)
• Your author profile information will be removed, but books will remain associated with your author name

If you wish to remove all your books from the platform, you must unpublish them manually before deleting your account.

Confirmation Required

Before deleting your account, you will be required to acknowledge and confirm that you understand the 7-year data retention policy for purchase records. This ensures you are fully informed before taking this irreversible action.

13. Privacy and Data Protection

Privacy-first community features

Data collection and processing

We collect and process personal data in accordance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and applicable data protection laws. The personal information we collect includes: name, email address, username (optional), purchase history, reading preferences, and account activity.

Purpose of data collection

Your personal data is collected and used for the following purposes:

• To provide and maintain our services
• To process transactions and deliver purchased content
• To communicate with you regarding your account and purchases
• To improve and personalize your experience on the Platform
• To comply with legal obligations and prevent fraud

Data sharing and third parties

SDP will not share, sell, rent, or otherwise distribute your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With payment processors (PayPal) to complete transactions
• When required by law, legal process, or valid governmental request
• To protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users
• With authors/publishers for royalty distribution purposes (email address only)

Payment security

All payment information is processed securely through PayPal. SDP does not store complete payment card details on our servers.

Cookies and tracking

We use essential cookies to ensure our website functions properly, to maintain your session, and to save your preferences. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

Your rights

Under GDPR and applicable laws, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Object to or restrict processing of your data
• Data portability (receive your data in a structured format)
• Withdraw consent at any time

Data retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined above and to comply with legal obligations, including tax and accounting requirements.

Account security

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential. Please notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

Contact for privacy matters

For any privacy-related questions, data access requests, or to exercise your rights, please contact us through our Contact page.

14. Platform Rights and Content Moderation

• SDP reserves the right to remove, unpublish, or disable access to content that violates these Terms or applicable law.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts for violations of these Terms, including fraud, abuse, harassment, or intellectual property infringement.
• We may update or modify the Platform features without prior notice.
• Content availability is not guaranteed indefinitely. SDP may remove content for technical, legal, or business reasons.
• Where reasonable, we may provide notice before taking action, but immediate action may be necessary in some cases.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, SDP (Spaaij Design) shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages resulting from your use or inability to use the Platform.

Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid for the specific content in question.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law (for example, liability for intent or gross negligence where such exclusions are not permitted).

16. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Netherlands.

Any disputes arising from these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in the Netherlands, except where mandatory consumer protection laws require otherwise.

Mandatory protections in your own jurisdiction

The choice of Netherlands law and jurisdiction applies to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. It does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory rules that apply where you are established or resident, including mandatory consumer protection rules in European Union member states and mandatory provisions under the law of a state of the United States or federal law that cannot be waived by agreement. Where such mandatory rules apply, they prevail over the choice of law in the preceding paragraph, and you may also bring a claim before the competent courts of your own place of residence where the law gives you that right.

The Platform is offered internationally, and nothing in these Terms restricts any right to bring a complaint before a competent regulator, consumer authority, or alternative dispute resolution body available to you.

17. Changes to Terms

SDP reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time to reflect legal, technical, or business changes.

Where reasonably possible, we will provide notice of material changes (for example, via an in-platform notice or email).

Changes will be effective immediately upon posting to the Platform. Your continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Platform.