Author & Seller Publishing Agreement

This Agreement is between Paperza Editions Publishing Ltd ("Paperza", "we", "Platform") and the registered independent author, publisher, or authorised rights holder ("Seller", "Author"). It governs the listing, marketing, and distribution of Seller-controlled digital books through Paperza.com. This agreement is not an employment contract nor a transfer of your copyright.

Seller must provide accurate legal name, residence/business address, payout details, and any identity or tax verification reasonably requested. Paperza reserves the right to reject applications where identity, compliance, or payment provider support cannot be established.

Seller warrants and represents that they own or control all intellectual property rights necessary to upload, display, market, and distribute each work (including text, illustrations, cover art, and third-party excerpts); that permissions for any co-authors or illustrators are secured; and that content does not violate applicable laws, defame individuals, or infringe third-party copyrights.

Seller retains 100% copyright ownership of their works. Seller grants Paperza a non-exclusive, worldwide licence for the duration of listing to host, format, display excerpts/previews, process sales, and deliver purchased copies to verified customers. This licence does not authorise Paperza to sell the work outside agreed Platform channels.

Seller must provide accurate metadata including title, author credits, description, genre category, language, price, and reading format. Each listing receives a unique internal Paperza Book ID (e.g. PAP-XXXXXX). Uploaded works are subject to editorial and quality review.

Paperza operates on a transparent royalty schedule: Sellers receive 80% of gross sales proceeds on digital publications, with a low 20% platform service commission. Standard payment processing fees (Stripe/Bank card interchange) apply at cost.

Paperza tracks completed orders and credits Seller balances. Chargebacks, fraudulent transactions, or substantiated customer refunds for corrupt/inaccessible files will be deducted from pending or available balances as permitted by law.

Seller balances are tracked as pending, available, reserved, and paid. Payouts are made via direct bank deposit, Stripe Connect, or international wire. A standard 7-day holding period applies to new sales for fraud prevention and settlement. Minimum payout withdrawal threshold is $20.00 USD. Paperza maintains ledger custody and does not operate as a bank or deposit-taking institution.

Sellers are responsible for their local tax compliance and income reporting. The Seller Dashboard provides downloadable sales reports, royalty receipts, and payout histories.

If a Seller chooses to unpublish a title, existing customers who previously purchased that book maintain their personal reading licence in their Paperza Library, ensuring consumer protection.

Paperza strictly prohibits pirated works, plagiarism, malicious files, hate speech, or non-consensual materials. Suspected violations will result in listing removal and account suspension pending appeal.

Checking the acceptance box during author onboarding constitutes legally binding electronic acceptance. An immutable server-side record of seller ID, agreement version, timestamp, IP, and disclosed commercial terms is stored.