Subscriptions Policy

• 1.
  Introduction

  1. 1.1
     NamiComi allows creators to get direct financial support from fans via subscriptions.

  1. 1.2
     The aim of this Subscriptions Policy is to provide further information on how subscriptions work on NamiComi.

  1. 1.3
     This Subscriptions Policy relates to creators, fans who subscribe to creators and the content which creators produce for their subscribers to consume.

• 2.
  Being a Creator

  1. 2.1
     The Site includes a self-publishing platform (NamiComi Studio), where creators can manage subscriptions. Creators must create an Organization on the Site to use NamiComi Studio.

  1. 2.2
     Organizations

     1. (a)
        An Organization on NamiComi is equivalent to a "creator page" or "creator profile" on other platforms.

     1. (b)
        A creator may invite other members of their team to join their Organization. For the purposes of this policy, a "Creator" refers to the owner of the Organization, but may equally refer to other members of their Organization.

     1. (c)
        Creators must connect their payment account before creating subscription tiers that their fans can subscribe to.

     1. (d)
        Payment accounts are managed through Stripe at the time of writing, with other methods to be supported in the future.

     1. (e)
        Creators can use the tools provided to showcase their creations and engage with their subscribers.

  1. 2.3
     Plans

     1. (a)
        Organizations select a NamiComi plan, which determines the features available and the platform fee that is charged.

     1. (b)
        At the time of writing, the "Founder" plan is the only available plan and all Organizations will automatically select this plan.

     1. (c)
        We may introduce further plans in the future, and Organizations may be reassigned to the equivalent plan at that time.

     1. (d)
        Organizations are eligible to stay on the "Founder" plan permanently if the following critera are satisfied: (i) a title is added and approved; (ii) at least 1 chapter is published and approved for that title; (iii) a payment account is created and linked to the Organization; and (iv) subscriptions tiers are created.

     1. (e)
        The current platform fee for the "Founder" plan is 0%. At some point in the future, the platform fee for the "Founder" plan will increase, but it will not exceed 10%.

  1. 2.4
     Payments

     1. (a)
        Creators set the price of their subscription tiers and what benefits each subscription tier provides.

     1. (b)
        Subscribers may choose to pay a higher amount for a subscription tier.

     1. (c)
        Where supported, we automatically convert the prices of subscription tiers into a subscriber's local currency based on a currency conversion rate that may be determined at our sole discretion.

     1. (d)
        We handle payments issues such as fraud, chargebacks, and resolution of payments disputes. We try to provide timely access to the funds creators have earned on NamiComi, based on the level and type of NamiComi plan that is selected. Different NamiComi plans may have different timelines associated with funds becoming accessible and/or may require that reserves of funds are withheld from becoming accessible. Occasionally there may be further delays in accessing these funds due to events beyond our control.

     1. (e)
        We may also block or withhold access to these funds for violations of our terms or policies or for compliance reasons, including collecting tax reporting information. When this happens, we try to communicate the reason to the creator promptly. Creators can reach out to us if they have questions about access to funds being blocked or withheld. In order to protect creators, we may block subscribers' payments if we suspect fraud. Sometimes, activities like refunds to subscribers and chargebacks from subscribers can put the Organization account balance into the negative and any fees incurred from NamiComi, as described below, may not be refunded when such refunds and chargebacks are processed. If the Organization balance becomes negative, we reserve the right to recover those funds from future payments.

     1. (f)
        To ensure that NamiComi remains a safe community for all, creators producing sexually explicit creations or creations that include nudity must agree to additional requirements. Such creators agree to verify that they are over the age of 18 through any means requested by us, and to verify that each person depicted in their creations is over the age of 18, and has provided written consent to participate in their creations. Such creators agree to provide us with this proof of age verification and consent if we request it.

  1. 2.5
     Fees

     1. (a)
        As a creator, there are fees associated with the usage of subscriptions on NamiComi. The general types of fees are listed below. These fees may increase or decrease with notice and may vary depending on the NamiComi plan that is selected: (i) Platform Fee - This fee is charged to cover the costs of maintenance and ongoing development of the NamiComi ecosystem. It may include a flat fee and/or is calculated as a percentage of successfully processed payments. (ii) Feature-specific Fees - These fees are charged to cover the cost of additional optional NamiComi features. They may include a flat fee and/or are calculated as a percentage of successfully processed payments. (iii) Payment Processing Fee - This fee is charged by the payment processor(s) for processing payments from subscribers, including recurring billing, recovering declined payments and fraud prevention. It is calculated as a flat fee per successfully processed payment and a percentage of successfully processed payments. (iv) Payout Fee - This fee is charged for transferring available funds from the Organization's balance to the creator's specified payout method, and may vary based on the specified payout method. (v) Currency Conversion Fee - This fee is calculated as a percentage of successfully processed payments made in a currency other than the Organization's payout currency.

     1. (b)
        The fees for any subscription can be seen on the Subscription Overview page in NamiComi Studio.

     1. (c)
        If a subscriber pays with a currency different from the currency associated with their payment instrument, then they may be charged a foreign transaction fee. We have no control over such fees, no knowledge of whether such fees are charged and do not receive any proceeds therefrom.

     1. (d)
        Even if a subscriber pays with the same currency as the currency associated with their payment instrument, when their payment is processed in a country different from the one associated with their payment instrument, then they may be charged a foreign transaction fee. We have no control over such fees, no knowledge of whether such fees are charged and do not receive any proceeds therefrom.

  1. 2.6
     Tax

     1. (a)
        We collect tax indentification information in order to satisfy our tax obligations, and may report such information and earnings to tax authorities as legally required. Creators are responsible for reporting any income, withholding, or other earnings-based taxes which may be due as a result of money earned on NamiComi.

     1. (b)
        We are also responsible for a number of transactional taxes around the world. These include, but are not limited to, Valued Added Tax ("VAT"), Goods and Services Tax ("GST") and other local service or sales taxes in non-US locations (collectively referred to as "VAT"), as well as state sales tax in the United States. In locations where we are required to collect transaction tax from subscribers, invoices presented to and payments processed from subscribers will include the amount plus the applicable tax. Applicable tax will be charged in addition to the price of a relevant transaction. We will calculate, collect, and remit the applicable taxes. Once settled, the tax amount will be automatically deducted, and we will remit directly to the applicable taxing authority. A record of the transaction tax portion of the payment will be available on the Subscriptions page in NamiComi Studio.

     1. (c)
        Amounts payable under this agreement between a creator and NamiComi may include VAT or sales tax where applicable. Creators agree to provide us with any information and documents for accurate tax determination and compliance, when requested.

  1. 2.7
     Restrictions

     1. (a)
        Creators may choose to produce temporarily restricted content for their subscribers to consume. This includes, but is not limited to, chapters and social media posts. After a period of time, such content becomes publicly accessible in the relevant section of the Site. This type of content must adhere to the relevant policies, for example the Content Policy and Terms of Service (6. User Generated Contributions).

     1. (b)
        Creators may choose to produce permanently restricted or private content for their subscribers to consume. Such content will never become publicly accessible on the Site, and creators have fewer restrictions for such private creations. That said, the following creations are not allowed: (i) illegal creations; (ii) creations that are abusive to other people; (iii) creations that are misleading or deceptive; (iv) creations that use others' intellectual property, unless written permission has been obtained, or fair use applies; (v) creations depicting sexual activity with real people.

• 3.
  Being a Subscriber

  1. 3.1
     Fans can support creators financially by subscribing to their Organization, and are known as "Subscribers" for the purposes of this policy. Subscribers pay an amount as indicated by the selected subscription tier on an automatically-renewing subscription basis. Subscribers may choose to pay a higher amount for a subscription tier. NamiComi is the billing entity that is associated with this charge.

  1. 3.2
     The benefits received by the subscriber depends on the subscription tier that is selected and the Organization that is subscribed to. Subscribers can see all their active subscriptions and transaction history on the "My Subscriptions" page.

  1. 3.3
     To become a subscriber, simply subscribe to an Organization on NamiComi. Subject to these terms and full payment of all applicable charges, to the extent a subscription includes access to one or more of a creator's temporarily restricted or private creations, subscribers receive a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable, limited license to access and view those creations for their own private, personal, non-promotional, non-commercial use. Such creations will generally continue to be available to subscribers, but may become unavailable at any time as described below.

  1. 3.4
     Each subscription automatically renews monthly until the subscriber cancels via the "My Subscriptions" page. The recurring charge date is usually the same date each month based on the date of the initial subscription, but may be different for reasons including (but not limited to) differences caused by timezones and variances in the length of months. The amount charged to a subscriber may increase with notice. This enables creators to, for example, adjust prices to account for increased costs, new or different benefits, or other changed circumstances, just like any other business. Similarly, this enables NamiComi to, for example, update the currency conversion rate applied when a subscriber pays with a currency different than the one chosen by the creator. NamiComi does not control the applicable tax that subscribers may be charged and this amount may increase without notice.

  1. 3.5
     Subscribers may cancel monthly recurring payments at any time, as described above. The cancellation will be effective from the date of the next billing period.

  1. 3.6
     Cancelling a subscription will usually result in the loss of access to benefits associated with that subscription tier from the date of the next billing period. Access to benefits may also be lost for reasons including (but not limited to) the creator making changes to a subscription tier, the creation being removed from NamiComi (whether by us or the creator), the termination of the subscriber or the creator's NamiComi account. We have no obligation to allow fans to subscribe to or to otherwise interact with any creator.

  1. 3.7
     Subscriptions offered by creators vary and we have limited control over the quality and specific benefits. We attempt to screen for fraudulent Organizations, but cannot guarantee the identity of creators or the validity of any claims they make.

  1. 3.8
     Subscribers located in a jurisdiction where NamiComi is required to charge and collect tax, for example VAT or sales tax, will have such taxes added to the total charge. This tax is usually shown when purchasing a subscription. NamiComi remits all tax collected to the applicable taxing authority. As tax is largely dependent on subscribers' location, subscribers agree to keep their location complete and up to date in order to enable accurate collection of taxes.

  1. 3.9
     If a subscriber pays with a currency different from the currency associated with their payment instrument, then they may be charged a foreign transaction fee. We have no control over such fees, no knowledge of whether such fees are charged and do not receive any proceeds therefrom.

  1. 3.10
     Even if a subscriber pays with the same currency as the currency associated with their payment instrument, when their payment is processed in a country different from the one associated with their payment instrument, then they may be charged a foreign transaction fee. We have no control over such fees, no knowledge of whether such fees are charged and do not receive any proceeds therefrom.

  1. 3.11
     Our policy is not to provide refunds, even if access is lost to subscription benefits as described above. We may grant refunds in exceptional circumstances at our sole discretion.

• 4.
  NamiComi's Role

  1. 4.1
     We may inspect Organizations and creations from time to time to enforce these terms and our policies. We also investigate reports of potential violations.

  1. 4.2
     Generally, we will work with creators and subscribers to resolve any potential policy violation and allow the creator or subscriber to continue using NamiComi. In exceptional circumstances, we may terminate Organizations or subscriber accounts when we believe it is necessary to protect creators, subscribers, NamiComi, or the wider community.

  1. 4.3
     Potential violations of these terms can be reported on the Organization page.

  1. 4.4
     As a global company based in the United States with operations in other countries, we must comply with economic sanctions and trade restrictions, including those implemented by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the United States Department of the Treasury. This means that we cannot take part in transactions that involve designated people, places, or items that originate from those places, as determined by agencies like OFAC.

• 5.
  Creations

  1. 5.1
     The content which creators produce for their subscribers to consume are known as "Creations" for the purposes of this policy.

  1. 5.2
     Creations may be temporarily restricted (which will become publicly accessible in the relevant part of the Site after a period of time) or permanently restricted or private (which will never become publicly accessible on the Site).

  1. 5.3
     Creators keep full ownership of their creations at all times. By making creations available on NamiComi, creators grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, sublicensable, worldwide license covering their creations in all formats and channels now known or later developed anywhere in the world to use, copy, reproduce, store, translate, transmit, distribute, perform, prepare derivative works, publicly display, and display in connection with any name, username, voice, or likeness provided in connection with it. If creations contain any personal data, creators also recognize NamiComi's "legitimate interest" in it in accordance with the scope of this license.

  1. 5.4
     The above is required for us to operate our services, including hosting creations, providing and promoting content to your subscribers, and enabling community features like social media posts and comments. For clarity, creators keep full ownership over their creations; we are not buying their intellectual property rights or leasing them for our gain. We will never try to steal any creations or use them in an exploitative way.

  1. 5.5
     Creators agree not to make available creations on NamiComi that infringe others' intellectual property rights. We reserves the right to remove creations and other material that violate our terms and policies. The procedure for claiming and counter-claiming instances of alleged copyright infringement is found in section 5 of the Content Policy.

  1. 5.6
     Subscribers agree not to use creations in any way not authorized by the creator, including sharing creations with others who have not subscribed to the relevant Organization.

• 6.
  Questions and Feedback

  1. 6.1
     If you have any questions or feedback about this Subscriptions Policy, or any other concerns about the Site, please contact support.

The English version of this document is the definitive version. Translations into other languages are provided for information only.

Last updated: 11th August 2023