Terms of Service

1. Scope & Service Description (Vertragsgegenstand & Geltungsbereich)

1.1. Contractual Partner & Application: These Terms govern all contracts and interactions between NihonTale ("Platform", "Service", "We", "Us", or "Our") and the user ("User", "You", or "Customer"). By creating an account, making a purchase, or accessing the Service, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms. Any conflicting, deviating, or supplementary terms of the User shall not apply unless explicitly agreed to by Us in writing.

1.2. Service Description: NihonTale is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) web application providing online Japanese language learning tools. Our platform delivers digital interactive visual novel content, story-driven learning modules, vocabulary and grammar exercises, character-based learning interaction (including our character coach "Yui"), high-resolution graphics, audio tracks, and digital progress metrics ("Digital Content").

1.3. Availability: The Service is delivered digitally over the internet. Access requires an active internet connection and a compatible device. We strive to maintain continuous platform availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted uptime due to necessary maintenance, security updates, or external network disruptions.

2. Account Registration, Security & Eligibility (Nutzerkonto & Registrierung)

2.1. Eligibility: NihonTale is intended for users aged 16 and over. If you are under 16, you may only use the Service and give any consent with the approval of a parent or legal guardian (Art. 8 GDPR). To take out a paid subscription you must be 18 or older, or have your parent or legal guardian's approval; they then agree to be bound by these Terms. We ask for this confirmation at registration; we do not verify age by document.

2.1.1. Children under 13: The Service is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them (US COPPA). If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, write to support@nihontale.com and we will delete it.

2.2. Account Creation: To access paid content and progress tracking, you must register a user account by providing a valid email address and setting a secure password. You guarantee that all information provided during registration is accurate, current, and complete.

2.3. Account Security & Non-Transferability: Your account is personal to you and non-transferable. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities conducted under your account. You must notify Us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to or breach of your account security.

3. Subscriptions, Pricing & Stripe Payment Processing (Abonnements, Preise & Zahlungsabwicklung)

3.1. Free Tier & Paid Subscriptions: NihonTale offers free basic access as well as recurring paid subscription plans ("Monthly Plan" and "Annual Plan") granting full access to Premium Digital Content.

3.2. Pricing & Taxes: All prices shown are total prices including statutory VAT. No further costs arise — NihonTale is a purely digital service, so there are no shipping, delivery or handling charges of any kind. We do not add surcharges for any payment method. Prices are not personalised: every customer sees the same price for the same plan, and no automated decision-making is involved in setting it.

3.2.1. Total price per billing period: The order summary shown immediately before the order button states the total amount charged per billing period — the full yearly amount for an annual plan, not just its monthly equivalent — together with the term and the cancellation terms.

3.3. Stripe Payment Processing: Payments for subscriptions are processed by our payment service provider Stripe Payments Europe, Limited, One Wilton Park, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, D02 FX04, Ireland. By submitting your payment details you authorise Stripe to charge the subscription fees to the payment method you selected. Stripe's own terms and privacy policy apply to the processing of the transaction. We never receive or store your full card number or CVV.

3.3.1. Accepted payment methods: Credit or debit card and PayPal, shown before the order is placed. There is no surcharge for any payment method (§ 270a BGB).

3.4. Billing Cycles: Subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis according to the selected billing interval (monthly or annually) starting on the date of your initial subscription purchase.

3.5. Price Adjustments: We reserve the right to modify subscription pricing. Any price changes will be communicated to you at least 30 days in advance via email or in-app notice. If you do not agree to a price adjustment, you have the right to cancel your subscription prior to the effective date of the new price.

4. Right of Withdrawal (Widerrufsrecht & Widerrufsbelehrung)

4.1. Statutory Right of Withdrawal (Widerrufsbelehrung)

RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL — FOR ALL CONSUMERS, WHEREVER YOU LIVE

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen (14) days without giving any reason. We grant this right to every consumer, not only to customers inside the EU/EEA — if you are subscribing from the United States or anywhere else, the same 14 days apply to you.

The withdrawal period is fourteen (14) days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us:

by means of a clear declaration (e.g., a letter sent by post or an email to support@nihontale.com) of your decision to withdraw from this contract. You may use the model withdrawal form on the Right of Withdrawal page, but you are not obliged to.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

CONSEQUENCES OF WITHDRAWAL

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

4.2. Immediate Access and Refunds (§ 356 Abs. 5 Nr. 2 BGB)

YOUR 14 DAYS ARE NOT SHORTENED BY USING THE SERVICE.
A NihonTale subscription is a continuously supplied service. Under § 356(5) no. 2 BGB the right of withdrawal for such a service expires only once it has been fully performed — which cannot happen while an ongoing subscription is running.

1. Premium unlocks immediately once your payment is confirmed. You do not have to wait out the withdrawal period.
2. If you withdraw within 14 days, you get the full amount back. We do not charge you a proportionate amount for the days you already had access to, and we do not deduct anything for use.
3. An informal message is enough — an email to support@nihontale.com saying you withdraw. No reason, no form required.

Before you order, the order screen shows the service, the total price including VAT, the term and the cancellation terms, followed by the button labelled “Order with obligation to pay”. The full statutory notice and the model withdrawal form are on the Right of Withdrawal page and are also sent to you in full with the order confirmation email.

5. Subscription Term, Automatic Renewal & Cancellation (Vertragslaufzeit, Automatische Verlängerung & Kündigungsfristen)

5.1. Contract Duration: Subscriptions are concluded for the initial term selected by the User (e.g., 1 month or 12 months).

5.2. Automatic Renewal (§ 309 Nr. 9 BGB):

• Monthly Subscriptions: After the first month the contract continues for an indefinite period and can be cancelled at any time with effect from the end of the current billing month.
• Annual Subscriptions: After the 12-month initial term the contract continues for an indefinite period and can be cancelled at any time on one month's notice. It does not renew for a further fixed year.

5.3. Cancellation Notice & Procedure: You may cancel at any time with effect from the end of the period you have already paid for — access continues until then, because you paid for it. Use “Manage subscription” in your profile, which takes you to our payment provider Stripe where you can view your subscription, update your payment details, download your invoices and cancel. An informal email to support@nihontale.com is an equally valid route and needs no particular wording. We confirm every cancellation in text form, stating the date on which it takes effect.

5.4. Updates (§ 327f BGB): For as long as your subscription runs we owe you the updates needed to keep the service in conformity with the contract, including security updates, and we will inform you about them. This duty applies by force of law.

5.5. Changes to the service (§ 327r BGB): We may change the service beyond what conformity requires only for a valid reason stated here, at no additional cost to you, and with adequate advance notice. Valid reasons are: adapting to a changed technical environment (for example a browser or payment-provider change), adapting to changes in the law or in a court decision, and enhancing the service with new learning content or modes. If such a change impairs your access to or use of the service other than merely insignificantly, you may terminate free of charge within 30 days of being notified.

5.6. Functionality, compatibility and technical protection measures (Art. 246a § 1(1) nos. 17, 18 EGBGB): NihonTale runs in a web browser; there is nothing to install. It requires an internet connection, enabled JavaScript, and a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge. There is no offline mode. Progress is stored on our servers and follows you across devices. Access is tied to your personal account and to your subscription being active; there is no other copy protection, no device binding and no session limit. Learning content is provided for use inside the platform and is not offered as a download or export.

5.7. Termination for Cause: Either party retains the statutory right to terminate the agreement extraordinarily for cause (außerordentliche Kündigung aus wichtigem Grund) without notice. Cause includes, but is not limited to, material breach of these Terms, non-payment, or unauthorized usage/scraping of content.

6. Intellectual Property & Limited License (Urheberrecht & Nutzungsrechte)

6.1. Proprietary Rights: All content available on NihonTale—including but not limited to visual novel scripts, storyline text, software code, graphic novel artwork, character designs (including character coach Yui), audio recordings, voice-over files, UI elements, and trademarks—is the exclusive property of NihonTale or its licensors and is protected under international copyright, trademark, and intellectual property laws.

6.2. Limited License Grant: Subject to compliance with these Terms and payment of applicable fees, NihonTale grants You a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable limited license to access and view the Digital Content solely for your individual, non-commercial educational purposes.

6.3. Restrictions: You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, stream, broadcast, modify, record, re-sell, or create derivative works from any learning materials, artwork, or audio provided on the platform without Our prior written authorization.

7. User Conduct & Prohibited Activities (Zulässige Nutzung & Verbot von Scrapern/Reverse Engineering)

7.1. Permitted Use: The Service must be used strictly in accordance with applicable local and international laws and exclusively for personal Japanese language learning.

7.2. Prohibited Activities: Users strictly promise NOT to:

• Use automated systems, software, scripts, scrapers, crawlers, or data-mining tools to extract text, graphics, audio, or code from the Service.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source code or underlying architecture of the web application.
• Bypass, disable, or tamper with any digital rights management (DRM), security measures, paywalls, or authentication protocols.
• Share account credentials with third parties or allow multiple users to access the platform under a single subscription.
• Upload, post, or transmit harmful, offensive, defamatory, or unlawful material through community features or feedback channels.

7.3. Enforcement: Breach of this section constitutes a material breach of contract authorizing Us to immediately suspend or permanently terminate your account without refund, and to initiate legal action for damages.

8. Limitation of Liability & Warranty Disclaimer (Haftungsbeschränkung & Gewährleistung)

8.1. Liability under German / EU Law (§§ 307 ff. BGB)

For Users residing in the EU/EEA, NihonTale' liability is governed by the following mandatory statutory rules:

1. Unlimited Liability: We are liable without limitation for damages caused by intent (Vorsatz) or gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit), for damage to life, body, or health, and under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).
2. Cardinal Obligations: In cases of slight negligence (einfache Fahrlässigkeit), We are only liable for the breach of a material contractual obligation (Kardinalpflicht—an obligation whose fulfillment enables the proper performance of the contract and upon which the user regularly relies). In such cases, liability is strictly limited to foreseeable damages typical for the contract (vertragstypischer, vorhersehbarer Schaden).
3. Exclusion: Any further liability for slight negligence is excluded.

8.2. US & International "AS IS" Warranty Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable US federal and state laws:

• THE SERVICE AND ALL DIGITAL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
• WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

9. Governing Law, Complaints & Severability (Anwendbares Recht, Beschwerdeverfahren & Salvatorische Klausel)

9.1. Governing Law: These Terms and all disputes arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding its conflict of law principles and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

If you are a consumer residing in another EU member state or jurisdiction, mandatory consumer protection provisions of the law of your state of habitual residence remain unaffected pursuant to Article 6(2) of the Rome I Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 593/2008).

9.2. Complaint Procedure & Consumer Arbitration:
Send any complaint to support@nihontale.com. We confirm receipt without undue delay and aim to give a substantive answer within 48 hours.
Notice pursuant to § 36 VSBG (German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act): NihonTale is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board. Should an individual dispute remain unresolved, we will name the competent arbitration board in text form as required by § 37 VSBG; the generally competent body is the Universalschlichtungsstelle des Bundes, Zentrum für Schlichtung e.V., Straßburger Straße 8, 77694 Kehl am Rhein, Germany.

9.3. Severability Clause (Salvatorische Klausel): Should any provision of these Terms be found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall remain fully intact. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that comes closest to the economic purpose intended by the original provision.

10. Changes to Terms & Contact Information

10.1. Amendments: We may amend these Terms where there is a valid reason of the kind listed in section 5.5 — adapting to a changed technical environment, to changes in the law or case law, or extending the service. We will notify registered users by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect, telling you plainly what changes, that you may object, and what happens if you do not. If you do not object within those 30 days, the amended Terms apply from the effective date. If the change impairs your access to or use of the service other than merely insignificantly, you may terminate free of charge and we refund the unused part of any period already paid for. Changes that merely maintain conformity with the contract, in particular security updates under § 327f BGB, are covered by section 5.4 and need no separate agreement.

10.2. Contact & Provider Identification:

10.3. How a contract is concluded, and in what language: Presenting the plans is an invitation to order, not an offer. Your order is placed by clicking “Order with obligation to pay” on the order summary, where you can review every detail and go back to change your plan before ordering. The contract comes into being when we confirm the order or unlock Premium, whichever happens first. You receive an order confirmation by email containing these Terms and the withdrawal notice in full, in a form you can save and reproduce — we do not store the contract text in a way that would let you retrieve it later, so please keep that email. Contracts are concluded in English. Input errors can be corrected on the order summary before you order, and by using your browser's back navigation at any point before that.

10.4. Service commencement: Premium is unlocked immediately once payment is confirmed, provided you requested immediate access at checkout (see section 4.2). Otherwise it is unlocked once the 14-day withdrawal period has elapsed.