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Terms of Use

Last updated June 27, 2026

These terms explain the rules for using ArcRoster and what you can expect from us. ArcRoster is a pre-launch product, so some of this will evolve before public launch — please read it, and reach out if anything is unclear.

1. Agreement to these terms

These Terms of Use ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and ArcRoster ("ArcRoster," "we," "us"). They cover your access to and use of the ArcRoster website, applications, and services (together, the "Service"). By creating an account, joining the beta, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. If you are using the Service on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind it to these Terms.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a legally binding contract to use the Service. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for everything that happens under your account. Notify us promptly at support@arcroster.com if you suspect unauthorized use.

3. What the Service does

ArcRoster helps authors and publishers distribute Advance Reader Copies (ARCs), manage reviewers, generate individually fingerprinted EPUB files, deliver them through secure expiring links, track participation, and investigate leaked files. The Service is provided as a tool to assist you. You remain responsible for how you use it and for the manuscripts, reviewer information, and other content you put into it.

4. Beta and changes to the Service

ArcRoster is currently in a pre-launch / beta phase. Features may be incomplete, may change, or may be removed, and the Service may be unavailable from time to time. We may add, modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time. We will try to give reasonable notice of material changes, but we are not required to.

5. Subscriptions, billing, and refunds

ArcRoster offers a free tier and paid plans. Paid plans are billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annually) through our payments provider. By subscribing you authorize us and our provider to charge the applicable fees, including taxes, on each renewal until you cancel.

  • Plans renew automatically. You can cancel at any time from your account billing settings, effective at the end of the current billing period; cancellation stops future renewals.
  • Where required by law, we will remind you before an annual plan renews and make cancellation easy to find and use.
  • Prices, plan limits, and features may change; we will give notice before changes take effect for your next renewal.
  • Except where required by law (including any statutory withdrawal or cooling-off rights), fees already paid are non-refundable and partial periods are not prorated.
  • We may suspend or downgrade your account for non-payment.

6. Your content

You retain all rights to the manuscripts, files, reviewer lists, and other content you upload ("Your Content"). You grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to host, copy, process, fingerprint, transmit, and display Your Content solely to operate and provide the Service to you. You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to Your Content and that it does not infringe anyone's rights or violate any law.

7. Reviewer data and your responsibilities

When you upload reviewer names and email addresses or send messages through the Service, you act as the controller of that personal data and we act as your processor, handling it on your instructions as described in our Privacy Policy and, where applicable, our Data Processing Agreement. You are responsible for having a lawful basis to collect and share that information and for complying with applicable privacy, anti-spam, and marketing laws (such as GDPR, UK GDPR, and CAN-SPAM). You agree only to email people who have agreed to receive ARC communications from you, and not to use the Service to send unsolicited bulk email.

8. Fingerprinting and leak attribution

ArcRoster embeds an individualized fingerprint in each generated copy and, when you upload a suspected leaked file, attempts to attribute it to a recipient. Attribution is provided with a confidence indicator and is informational only. It depends on the integrity of the uploaded file and may be inconclusive or, in rare cases, incorrect. ArcRoster does not constitute legal advice or proof, and you are solely responsible for any action you take based on an attribution result, including contacting reviewers, sending notices, or blocking accounts.

9. DMCA and copyright tools

The Service may help you generate DMCA takedown notices and similar documents. These are drafting aids, not legal advice. You are responsible for reviewing, verifying the accuracy of, and standing behind any notice you send, including the good-faith and accuracy statements such notices require. Submitting a knowingly false notice may expose you to liability.

10. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or to distribute content you do not have the rights to distribute.
  • Send spam, harass recipients, or upload personal data without a lawful basis.
  • Attempt to defeat, reverse-engineer, or strip the fingerprinting or security features of the Service.
  • Probe, scan, overload, or disrupt the Service, or attempt to access accounts or data that are not yours.
  • Resell or provide the Service to third parties except as expressly permitted by your plan.

11. Permitted content and formats

ArcRoster is built to distribute and fingerprint prose manuscripts. To keep the Service working as intended and within the limits of our providers, some content is not permitted and some formats are only partially supported:

  • Sexually explicit or pornographic material, and any content created to be sexually gratifying. (Romance and other fiction with mature themes is allowed, provided it is not pornographic.)
  • Content that is unlawful, that sexualizes minors, or that promotes or incites violence or hatred against a person or group.
  • PDFs, Word documents, MOBI/AZW (Kindle) files, audio, video, and other non-EPUB files. The Service only accepts EPUB manuscripts, so these formats cannot be uploaded or distributed.
  • Image-driven or graphic-novel works such as comics, manga, and illustrated books may be uploaded as EPUBs, but support is limited: our fingerprinting embeds markers in the EPUB text layer, so we cannot guarantee that predominantly visual works will be reliably fingerprinted or that a leak can be attributed. You use the Service for such works at your own risk.

12. Our intellectual property

The Service, including its software, fingerprinting technology, design, and trademarks, is owned by ArcRoster and its licensors and is protected by law. We grant you a limited, non-transferable, revocable right to use the Service in accordance with these Terms. We may use anonymized, aggregated data about how the Service is used to operate and improve it.

13. Third-party services

The Service relies on third-party providers for hosting, storage, email delivery, and payments. Your use of the Service may also be subject to those providers' terms, and we are not responsible for their acts or omissions. We are not responsible for external review platforms or links submitted through the Service.

14. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time by contacting us or, where available, using your account settings. We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms, fail to pay, or use the Service in a way that risks harm to others or to us. On termination, your right to use the Service ends and we will delete Your Content after a reasonable period, except that we may retain (a) information we must keep by law and (b) download access logs and fingerprint-attribution records, which we keep as a long-term anti-piracy and evidentiary trail as described in our Privacy Policy.

15. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free, that fingerprints will survive every form of file modification, or that leak attribution will identify the correct source in every case.

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, ArcRoster will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data, or goodwill. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amounts you paid us in the twelve months before the claim or USD 100.

17. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold ArcRoster harmless from claims, damages, and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from Your Content, your use of the Service, your communications with reviewers, notices you send, or your breach of these Terms or of any law.

18. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and the state and federal courts located in Delaware will have exclusive jurisdiction, except where applicable consumer-protection law gives you other rights or requires that disputes be heard elsewhere. (Governing law and forum will be confirmed with counsel before public launch.)

19. General

A few standard terms that round out this agreement:

  • Our Privacy Policy is incorporated into and forms part of these Terms.
  • If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
  • You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
  • Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
  • These Terms are the entire agreement between you and ArcRoster about the Service, and our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.
  • You may not use the Service in violation of applicable export-control or sanctions laws.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you. Continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept the revised Terms.

21. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email support@arcroster.com and we'll get back to you.