Publishing Terms

"Work" refers to any original literary content submitted by an Author for the purpose of distribution on the Quibble Platform, including but not limited to manuscripts, short stories, serialized fiction, excerpts, or other literary content intended for public display, reading, or sale.

"Author" means any individual who submits a literary Work to the Quibble Platform, and whose Work is approved by Quibble and subsequently published or made available on the Platform.

"Publishing Label" means the category under which a Work is published on the Quibble Platform, as determined in agreement between the Author and Quibble at or prior to publication.

"Quibble Collection" or "QC" means a Work published under the Quibble Collection label, subject to the specific obligations and rights set forth in the Quibble Collection Label section of these Terms.

"Removal Notice" means a written request submitted by the Author to remove a Work published under the Quibble Collection label from the Platform, in accordance with the conditions set out in the Quibble Collection Label section of these Terms.

"Wind-Down Period" means the period of between thirty (30) and forty-five (45) calendar days following Quibble's receipt of a valid Removal Request, during which the Work remains accessible to readers on the Platform prior to its removal.

Content Guidelines. The Work must be submitted in accordance with Quibble's Content Guidelines.

Submission Review. Quibble reviews all submitted Works and reserves the right to accept, reject, or remove any submission at its sole discretion and without obligation to provide a reason. Where reasonably practicable, Quibble will endeavour in good faith to communicate the basis for its decision.

Age Requirement. You must be at least 13 years old to submit a Work to Quibble. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction (typically 18), you may only participate in any monetization features including joining the Author Fund, receiving payments, or entering into any other revenue-sharing arrangements with the express, verifiable consent of a parent or legal guardian. Use of the Platform is also subject to the age restrictions outlined in the Terms of Service.

Account Standing. Our Terms of Service apply without restriction to an Author's account. Participation as an Author requires your continued compliance with these Publishing Terms and the Terms of Service.

No Automatic Financial Relationship. Uploading a Work does not automatically entitle you to compensation or participation in any revenue-generating program. Authors who wish to monetize their Work must apply separately to Quibble's Monetization Program, subject to the eligibility criteria and terms set out therein. Any potential for revenue-sharing, licensing, or payouts is subject to separate eligibility criteria, internal review, and formal approval by Quibble. Even where such approval is granted, actual disbursement of funds may depend on continued compliance, platform performance metrics (such as reader engagement), and technical availability of payout systems. Quibble does not guarantee any minimum payment or earnings.

Empowering Authors. Part of Quibble's mission is to elevate and support writers and authors by giving them the tools, support and opportunities to monetize their work and build meaningful audiences. Therefore, Authors retain ownership of the rights related to their Work, while granting Quibble the rights necessary to help their Work thrive and reach its fullest potential.

Ownership. You retain ownership in and to your Work. Quibble does not claim ownership. Please review the Copyright Guide for more information.

License to Quibble and Scope. By submitting Work to Quibble, you shall grant and herewith grant to Quibble a non-exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable (solely for purposes consistent with the operation, promotion, and distribution of the Quibble Platform and related services, and not for independent commercial exploitation by sublicensees) license to use, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, make available, communicate, publish, advertise, and otherwise make commercial use of the Work in digital form, in whole or in part, for so long as the work remains published on the Platform (the "License"). For the avoidance of doubt, this Licence does not authorise Quibble to alter or rewrite the literary content of the Work. Quibble may, however, impose formatting and structural standards applicable to the presentation of Works on the Platform, including requirements relating to frontmatter, backmatter, title pages, copyright notices, and other non-narrative elements, in accordance with Quibble's content presentation guidelines as updated from time to time.

This Licence subsists for so long as the Work remains published on the Platform. It terminates upon the earlier of: (i) expiry of the Wind-Down Period following a valid Removal Request submitted by the Author in accordance with these Terms; or (ii) removal of the Work from the Platform by Quibble.

The scope of this Licence includes, without limitation:

This License, and any and all rights granted by the Author to Quibble in accordance with these Publishing Terms, are granted free of charge and royalty-free unless and until an Author is formally accepted into Quibble's Monetization Program.

Moral Rights. Quibble respects and shall not infringe upon your moral rights as protected under Swiss law. You acknowledge that Quibble may make reasonable editorial, formatting, and technical adaptations to the Work that are necessary for its presentation on the Platform (such as reformatting for different screen sizes or creating promotional excerpts). Quibble shall not make any modification to the Work that is prejudicial to your honour or reputation as author within the meaning of Article 11 of the Swiss Copyright Act (URG).

Removal Requests. Authors may request removal of their Work from the Platform by submitting a written Removal Request. For Works published under the Quibble Collection label, removal rights are governed exclusively by the Quibble Collection Label section of these Terms. When a Work is removed from the Platform, the License shall terminate, subject to the survival provisions set forth below. Promotional material and publications related to the Works or including extracts of the Works published prior to expiry of the License (e.g. social media websites) are not affected by the termination of the License. With regard to such content, the License remains in full force and effect and Quibble is not required to delete or remove such content from its or any third-party website. Further, Quibble may retain and use archival copies of the Work for compliance and legal purposes.

Irrevocability of Contributions. Any of Quibble's editorial input, feature placement, or promotional activity associated with your Work including reviews, recommendations, internal tagging, or exposure to audiences remains the property of Quibble. Such contributions are not subject to withdrawal, deletion, or reversal under any circumstances.

Derivative Works. The Licence granted to Quibble does not include the right to create derivative works such as audiobook productions, film, television, theatrical, merchandise, or other adaptations of the Work, unless separately negotiated and agreed upon in writing between Quibble and the Author.

No Obligation. As provided under the License, Quibble may advertise and promote the Work. The scope, timing, extent and means of any such promotion are at Quibble's sole discretion and Quibble is under no obligation to do so.

Performance and Data Use. Quibble has the right to collect, analyze, and use data related to the performance of your Work on its Platform for its monetization programs, and for operational, editorial, and product development purposes.

Protection of Rights. If Quibble becomes aware of potential infringements by third parties affecting Quibble's rights granted under these Terms, Quibble will have the right and is hereby authorized to take appropriate steps, in its own name or in that of the Author, to protect and enforce the rights in the Works. Quibble is, however, under no legal obligation to do so. The Author agrees and undertakes to provide Quibble (upon request) with all reasonable assistance. Quibble shall not be liable to the Author for taking such legal steps.

Works published under the Quibble Collection ("QC") label are subject to the following specific obligations and rights, which supplement and, where in conflict, supersede the general provisions of these Publishing Terms with respect to such Works. Quibble does not restrict the Author from entering into distribution, licensing, or publishing agreements with third parties in connection with Works published under this label. The Author is solely responsible for ensuring that any such third-party agreements do not conflict with the rights granted to Quibble under these Publishing Terms, including the License. Any conflict arising from a third-party agreement entered into by the Author shall be governed exclusively by the Author's representations and warranties under the Copyright Requirements and Warranties section of these Terms.

Guaranteed Removal Right. Notwithstanding the general Removal Requests provision of these Terms, an Author publishing a Work under the QC label shall have the right to request complete removal of that Work from the Platform, subject to the conditions set forth in this section. Quibble undertakes to honor a validly submitted Removal Notice and to action it no sooner than thirty (30) and no later than forty-five (45) calendar days following receipt (the "Wind-Down Period").

Notice Requirement. To exercise the right of removal, the Author must submit a written Removal Notice to Quibble from the email address associated with the Platform account under which the Work is published. The Removal Notice shall: (i) identify the Work by title and Platform identifier; and (ii) confirm the Author's understanding of the financial consequences set forth in this section. A Removal Notice submitted from any other email address shall not be considered valid and shall have no legal effect.

Financial Consequences of Removal. Upon Quibble's receipt of a valid Removal Notice, the Author's participation in any monetization program with respect to the relevant Work shall cease immediately as of the date of receipt. No revenue shall accrue or become payable to the Author in respect of that Work during the Wind-Down Period or thereafter. Any amounts accrued and payable prior to the date of receipt of the Removal Notice remain due and shall be disbursed in accordance with Quibble's standard payment terms.

Wind-Down Period. During the Wind-Down Period, the Work shall remain accessible to readers on the Platform. The Author acknowledges and agrees that continued availability during this period is reasonably necessary to preserve the reading experience of existing users. No new monetization shall accrue to the Author during the Wind-Down Period. Upon expiry of the Wind-Down Period, Quibble shall remove the Work from public access and the License shall terminate, subject to the survival provisions applicable to archival copies, promotional materials, and Irrevocability of Contributions as set forth in these Terms.

Monetization Eligibility Threshold. Eligibility to participate in any monetization program with respect to a Work published under the QC label is conditional upon the Work meeting the following minimum content thresholds at the time of the Author's application to the monetization program: (i) for novels and serialized long-form fiction, a minimum of five (5) published chapters; and (ii) for all other Work types, such minimum threshold as separately agreed in writing between the Author and Quibble. Works that do not meet the applicable threshold remain published under the QC label but are not eligible for monetization until the threshold is met.

Quibble's Monetization Program is currently under development and not yet active. Updates on its progress and availability will be shared through Quibble's official social media channels and on the Platform. Upon launch, the terms set out in this section will be supplemented by and subject to specific Monetization Terms, which will govern participation in detail.

Monetization Program. Quibble may, at its sole discretion, introduce one or more monetization programs in the future that allocate a share of eligible revenue to participating Authors ("Monetization Program"). The existence, structure, eligibility criteria, and terms of any such program are subject to change or discontinuation at any time. No Author has any entitlement to participation in or continuation of any Monetization Program.

Methodology. Where a Monetization Program is in operation, individual allocations will be calculated by reference to performance indicators associated with the Author's Work (which may include, without limitation, reader engagement metrics, content consumption data, or other platform signals, as determined by Quibble from time to time). The specific weighting methodology applied to those indicators is proprietary and will not be disclosed, in order to maintain the integrity of the program and prevent artificial manipulation of results.

Transparency. Notwithstanding the above, Quibble commits to providing each participating Author with a periodic statement setting out: (i) the performance indicators recorded for their Work during the relevant period; and (ii) the resulting allocation amount payable to that Author. This statement will give each Author sufficient information to understand what they have been paid and on what basis their Work was assessed, without disclosing the underlying calculation methodology.

Performance Indicicators. The performance indicators used may change over time as Quibble refines or updates its programs. Where a change to the applicable indicators would materially affect how an Author's Work is assessed, Quibble will provide participating Authors with reasonable advance notice before the change takes effect.

Authors must own or have rights to their Works, properly license third-party materials, and ensure no infringement.

Originality. You may only upload and publish Works for which you are the sole and rightful owner, hold full copyright, or possess explicit written authorization from the rightsholder. More information about copyrights can be found in the Copyright Guide.

Third-Party Materials. Inclusion of any third-party materials such as excerpts, images, quotes, or co-authored elements must be properly licensed from the rights holder or fall within fair use under applicable law. You are solely responsible for securing these rights at your own cost before submission. Quibble reserves the right to request evidence of such permission at any time.

No Infringement. By submitting your Work to the Platform, you represent and warrant that: (i) you are the legal copyright holder or have secured all necessary rights to distribute the Work on the Platform, (ii) the Work is not and will not be subject to any agreement, lien, or other claim or right which may interfere with the publication on the Quibble Platform, and (iii) the Work does and will not infringe upon or otherwise violate or injure any rights whatsoever (including but not limited to intellectual property, moral rights, privacy, or publicity rights) of any person, firm, or corporation or violate any applicable law or regulation. Any legal claim arising from a breach of these representations and warranties will be your sole responsibility.

Content Removal and Legal Response. Quibble may delete, remove, or restrict access to any Work in its sole discretion and without prior notice. Circumstances in which Quibble may take such action include, without limitation: breach of these Publishing Terms or Quibble's Content Guidelines; receipt of a credible third-party intellectual property claim; a legal obligation or order requiring removal; or any content that Quibble reasonably considers to expose Quibble or its users to legal or reputational risk. This list is illustrative and does not limit Quibble's right to act on any other grounds it deems appropriate.

Exclusion of Certain Damages. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Quibble shall not be liable for any loss, liability, or damage, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, reputation, or opportunity, arising from or related to the Work or your use of the Platform ("Damage").

Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Quibble and its affiliates, officers, directors, and employees from any claims, Damages, costs, or expenses, including legal fees, arising from your breach of these Publishing Terms, your Works, your content, or your violation of any law or third-party rights. In the event any suit, claim, demand, action, or proceeding is asserted or instituted within the sense of this Section, Quibble shall have the right but not the obligation to defend such suit, claim, action, or proceeding and select counsel, and the Author shall fully cooperate in the defense.

Modification to Publishing Terms. We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Where we make a material change to these Terms, we will notify you by email to the address associated with your Quibble account, and we may additionally publish a notice on the Platform. Unless you submit a written objection (including by Removal Notice) within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the email notification, the amended Terms will be deemed accepted and will apply to all Works published by you on the Platform from that date. Non-material changes (such as typographical corrections or clarifications that do not affect your rights or obligations) take effect immediately upon publication on the Platform.

Assignment. Quibble may assign or transfer this Agreement, in whole or in part, including any rights or obligations arising hereunder, to any affiliate or successor entity, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or transfer of assets. The Author may not assign or transfer this Agreement, or any rights or obligations under it, without Quibble's prior written consent.

Data Protection. For information on how Quibble processes personal data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Termination. The contractual relationship between you and Quibble governed by these Terms will terminate once the Work has been removed from the Platform. However, any provisions which by their nature are intended to survive termination will remain in full force and effect, including but not limited to the Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, Irrevocability of Contributions, and the survival of archival and promotional license rights as described herein.

Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. The invalid or unenforceable provision will be replaced by a valid provision that most closely reflects the original intent of the Parties.

Governing Law. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Jurisdiction. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with this Agreement will be Zug, Switzerland.