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: You must be at least 18 years of age (or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction) to register an account and purchase subscriptions. If you are between 13 and 18 years old (or the applicable age of digital consent under local law, e.g., GDPR Art. 8 or US COPPA), you may only use the Service with the express consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms.

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 displayed on our website are in Euros (€) or US Dollars ($) as indicated at checkout. Prices for EU consumers are inclusive of statutory Value Added Tax (VAT) at the applicable local rate. Any applicable transaction fees or tax adjustments will be clearly itemized prior to purchase completion.

3.3. Stripe Payment Processing: Payments for subscriptions and digital purchases are processed through our third-party payment service provider, Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. / Stripe, Inc.). By submitting your payment details, you grant Stripe the right to charge the subscription fees to your designated payment method. You agree to Stripe's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy applicable to transaction processing.

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. EU / German Statutory Right of Withdrawal for Digital Content (Widerrufsbelehrung & Ausdrückliches Erlöschen des Widerrufsrechts)

4.1. Statutory Right of Withdrawal (Widerrufsbelehrung)

RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL FOR EU CONSUMERS

If you are a consumer residing within the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the statutory right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen (14) days without giving any reason.

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., an email sent to support@nihontale.com) of your decision to withdraw from this contract.

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. Expiration / Loss of the Right of Withdrawal for Digital Content (§ 356 Abs. 5 BGB / EU Directive 2011/83/EU)

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING IMMEDIATE EXECUTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT:
Pursuant to § 356 Section 5 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and Article 16(m) of the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU), your statutory right of withdrawal expires prematurely in the case of a contract for the supply of digital content not supplied on a tangible medium if:

1. You have expressly agreed that We shall begin performance of the contract before the expiration of the 14-day withdrawal period, AND
2. You have explicitly acknowledged that by giving your consent, you lose your right of withdrawal once performance of the contract (access to the digital content/SaaS platform) has begun.

During the checkout process, by checking the dedicated consent checkbox and clicking "Subscribe", you explicitly request immediate access to the Digital Content and acknowledge the loss of your right of withdrawal.

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 (Compliant with § 309 Nr. 9 BGB / German Fair Consumer Contracts Act):

• Monthly Subscriptions: Automatically renew on a month-to-month basis unless cancelled prior to the renewal date.
• Annual Subscriptions: Automatically renew for successive periods or convert to an indefinite subscription agreement subject to monthly cancellation, in strict compliance with applicable statutory consumer laws (such as the German Gesetz für faire Verbraucherverträge).

5.3. Cancellation Notice & Procedure: You may cancel your recurring subscription at any time with effect to the end of the current billing period. Cancellation can be executed directly within your NihonTale Account Settings dashboard via the designated "Cancel Subscription" button, or by sending a written notice to support@nihontale.com.

5.4. 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, EU Consumer Dispute Resolution & Severability (Anwendbares Recht, OS-Plattform & 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. EU Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) & Consumer Arbitration:
The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR) accessible at: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr
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.

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 reserve the right to amend these Terms at any time. Registered users will be notified of proposed changes via email at least 30 days prior to the effective date. If you do not object to the changes within 30 days of notification, the amended Terms will be deemed accepted. We will explicitly inform you of your right to object and the significance of the deadline in the notification message.

10.2. Contact & Provider Identification: