TERMS OF USE AND PLATFORM AGREEMENT

These Terms of Use and Platform Agreement (“Terms”) govern access to and use of the PubliSoko platform, website, systems, tools, submissions infrastructure, communications channels, and associated services (collectively, the “Platform”) operated by Africa Speaks (“Africa Speaks,” “PubliSoko,” “we,” “our,” or “us”).

By accessing, browsing, registering for, submitting content to, or otherwise using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must discontinue use of the Platform immediately.

PubliSoko is a manuscript discovery and professional networking platform intended to facilitate structured engagement between Christian African authors and Christian publishers within and beyond the Africa Speaks network. PubliSoko is not a publishing house, literary agency, legal representative, or contractual intermediary. The Platform does not publish manuscripts, negotiate publishing agreements, guarantee acquisition outcomes, or represent either authors or publishers in commercial negotiations.

Users acknowledge that PubliSoko functions solely as a professional discovery and facilitation platform through which manuscripts may become visible to participating publishers for evaluation and potential engagement.

1. Eligibility and User Representations

By using the Platform, you represent and warrant that:

  • You are legally capable of entering binding agreements;
  • All information submitted through the Platform is accurate, current, and complete
  • You possess the legal authority to upload, submit, transmit, or distribute any materials provided through the Platform
  • Your use of the Platform complies with all applicable laws, regulations, intellectual property obligations, and ethical standards within your jurisdiction.

Users registering on behalf of organizations, publishing entities, or institutions further represent that they possess authority to bind such entities to these Terms.

PubliSoko reserves the right to deny access, suspend accounts, or terminate services where eligibility requirements are not satisfied or where submitted information is materially inaccurate or misleading.

2. Account Registration and Security

Access to certain services may require user registration and account creation. Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of account credentials and for all activities occurring under their accounts.

Users agree to:

  • Provide accurate registration details;
  • Promptly update inaccurate or outdated information
  • Maintain secure passwords and login credentials;
  • Notify PubliSoko immediately regarding suspected unauthorized access or security breaches

PubliSoko shall not be liable for losses arising from unauthorized account access resulting from user negligence, password sharing, insecure devices, or failure to maintain credential confidentiality.

We reserve the right to suspend, restrict, or terminate accounts where misuse, fraudulent activity, security threats, unlawful conduct, or violations of these Terms are identified.

3. Manuscript Submissions and User Content

Users submitting manuscripts or other content through PubliSoko retain ownership of their intellectual property rights unless otherwise agreed separately in writing.

By submitting content to the Platform, users grant PubliSoko a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, worldwide license to host, store, process, reproduce, transmit, display, index, organize, and make such content accessible to authorized publishers and authorized Platform participants solely for manuscript discovery, evaluation, and professional engagement purposes.

This license exists only for the operational functionality of the Platform and does not transfer ownership rights to PubliSoko.

Users represent and warrant that:

  • Submitted manuscripts constitute original work or authorized material;
  • Submissions do not infringe copyright, trademark, patent, confidentiality, privacy, publicity, or proprietary rights
  • Permissions for third-party material have been obtained where necessary;
  • Submitted content is lawful and non-defamatory
  • Submitted material does not contain malicious software, harmful code, or security threats

PubliSoko reserves the right, without obligation, to remove, suspend, restrict, review, or reject any submission that violates these Terms, applicable laws, or professional publishing standards.

4. Platform Role and Limitation of Services

PubliSoko operates solely as a manuscript discovery and professional facilitation platform.

PubliSoko does not:

  • Guarantee manuscript review by publishers;
  • Guarantee publication, acquisition, licensing, or distribution;
  • Verify the commercial viability or originality of manuscripts;
  • Participate in contractual negotiations between users;
  • Provide legal advice, publishing representation, or editorial certification;
  • Guarantee the conduct, reliability, or actions of publishers, authors, or third parties.

Any relationship, negotiation, acquisition discussion, publishing agreement, royalty arrangement, or commercial transaction arising between users remains solely between the relevant parties.

Users are encouraged to obtain independent legal, editorial, financial, and publishing advice prior to entering any publishing agreement or rights arrangement.

5. Publisher Access, Confidentiality, and Professional Conduct

Publishers accessing manuscripts through the Platform agree that manuscripts constitute confidential creative works submitted for professional evaluation purposes only.

Publishers shall not:

  • Reproduce manuscripts without authorization;
  • Distribute manuscripts externally;
  • Exploit manuscript concepts, language, structure, or ideas without consent;
  • Share submissions with unauthorized third parties;
  • Use manuscripts for purposes unrelated to legitimate acquisition evaluation.

Publishers acknowledge that unauthorized use, copying, adaptation, plagiarism, disclosure, or exploitation of submitted materials may constitute intellectual property infringement and legal misconduct.

PubliSoko may suspend or permanently remove publishers found engaging in unethical conduct, misuse of submissions, confidentiality breaches, or intellectual property violations.

6. Intellectual Property

All Platform infrastructure, workflows, systems, software, branding, design elements, databases, visual assets, interface architecture, trademarks, service marks, logos, and proprietary materials remain the exclusive property of Africa Speaks Trust 2018 and are protected under applicable intellectual property laws.

Except as expressly permitted, users may not:

  • Copy, replicate, reverse engineer, or commercially exploit Platform systems;
  • Scrape or extract Platform data;
  • Reproduce branding or interface structures;
  • Use automated systems to access or monitor Platform activity;
  • Create derivative systems substantially similar to PubliSoko.

Unauthorized use may result in legal action, suspension, or termination.

7. Acceptable Use

Users agree not to:

  • Violate intellectual property rights
  • Submit unlawful or fraudulent material
  • Impersonate persons or entities;
  • Interfere with Platform operations;
  • Upload malicious code or disruptive technologies;
  • Engage in harassment, abuse, hate speech, or defamation;
  • Circumvent security systems;
  • Use automated extraction technologies;
  • Exploit Platform vulnerabilities.
  • Engage in unauthorized commercial solicitation.

PubliSoko reserves sole discretion to determine whether conduct violates these Terms or compromises Platform integrity.

8. Third-Party Services and External Links

The Platform may integrate or reference third-party services, external websites, payment systems, communication tools, or publishing entities.

PubliSoko does not control and is not responsible for:

  • External content
  • Third-party privacy practices
  • External contractual terms,
  • Availability or reliability of third-party systems,
  • or actions of independent publishers or service providers.

User interaction with third-party services occurs entirely at the user’s own risk.

9. Disclaimers

The Platform and all services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise.

  • Merchantability
  • Fitness for a particular purpose,
  • Uninterrupted availability,
  • Non-infringement,
  • Security,
  • Reliability,
  • or accuracy of content.

PubliSoko does not warrant:

  • Publication success,
  • Manuscript acquisition,
  • Publisher engagement,
  • Platform availability,
  • Commercial outcomes,
  • or uninterrupted service continuity.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Africa Speaks, PubliSoko, affiliates, directors, staff, contractors, licensors, and partners shall not be liable for:

  • Indirect damages;
  • Consequential losses;
  • Reputational harm;
  • Data loss;
  • Manuscript misuse by third parties;
  • Lost profits;
  • Business interruption;
  • Publishing disputes;
  • Contractual disagreements;
  • Unauthorized access incidents;
  • or damages arising from reliance upon Platform services.

Where liability cannot legally be excluded, liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law.

11. Indemnification

Users agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PubliSoko, Africa Speaks, affiliates, officers, employees, contractors, and partners against claims, liabilities, damages, losses, legal fees, or expenses arising from:

  • User content,
  • Intellectual property disputes,
  • Unlawful conduct,
  • Violations of these Terms,
  • Misuse of the Platform,
  • or infringement of third-party rights.

12. Termination

PubliSoko reserves the right to suspend, restrict, or terminate access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, where:

  • These Terms are violated;
  • Unlawful conduct is suspected;
  • Security risks emerge;
  • Intellectual property violations occur;
  • or operational integrity requires enforcement action.

Termination shall not affect accrued rights, confidentiality obligations, indemnification obligations, or applicable legal responsibilities.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Kenya, while recognizing applicable international data protection obligations and cross-border digital compliance standards.

Parties agree to first seek good-faith resolution through negotiation and mediation before pursuing litigation.

Where disputes cannot be resolved amicably, such disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of competent courts in Kenya unless otherwise required by mandatory law.

14. Modifications

PubliSoko reserves the right to revise, update, or modify these Terms at any time.

Updated Terms become effective upon publication on the Platform unless otherwise stated.

Continued use of the Platform following publication constitutes acceptance of revised Terms.

15. Contact Information

Questions regarding these Terms, manuscript submissions, intellectual property concerns, privacy rights, or legal matters may be directed to:

Africa Speaks Trust 2018
Nairobi, Kenya
+(254) 785 820117
africaspeaksonline@gmail.com
https://africaspeaks.global

By using PubliSoko, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms of Use and Platform Agreement.