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BOOKMARKBUG TERMS OF SERVICE

Effective Date: July 31, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Shawn Burns, a Massachusetts sole proprietor doing business as BookmarkBug (“BookmarkBug,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They govern your access to and use of bookmarkbug.com, the BookmarkBug reader program, and related book-reading and feedback services (collectively, the “Service”).

Please read these Terms carefully. They contain a binding individual arbitration agreement and class-action and jury-trial waivers in Section 25. You may opt out of arbitration as described in Section 25.9.

1. Acceptance of These Terms

  1. You accept these Terms by creating an account, clicking an acceptance control, or accessing the Service after being shown an acceptance request.
  2. You may not use the Service if you do not agree to these Terms.
  3. If you use the Service on behalf of another person or organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that person or organization. Reader accounts are personal, however, and may not be shared or transferred.
  4. Our Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms by reference.
  5. Additional written terms shown for a particular assignment, promotion, or feature also apply. If those additional terms conflict with these Terms, the more specific terms control for that assignment, promotion, or feature, except that no additional term may waive a right that applicable law does not permit you to waive.

2. Eligibility and United States Residency

To create or use a reader account, you must:

  1. Be at least eighteen (18) years old and legally capable of entering a contract;
  2. Reside in one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia;
  3. Provide a valid United States mobile telephone number when verification is required;
  4. Be legally permitted to receive the books, payments, and other benefits offered through the Service;
  5. Not be subject to sanctions, export restrictions, or another legal restriction that would prohibit us or a payment provider from serving or paying you; and
  6. Not have been previously suspended, removed, or prohibited from using the Service.

You must promptly update your residence and other eligibility information if it changes. We may request reasonable identity, residency, tax, or eligibility documentation. Eligibility does not guarantee that assignments will be available.

3. Account Registration, Security, and Electronic Records

  1. You must provide accurate, current, and complete information and keep it updated.
  2. You may maintain only one reader account unless BookmarkBug gives you written permission.
  3. Your account is personal. You may not sell, transfer, share, lend, or permit another person to use it.
  4. You are responsible for safeguarding your password, email account, verified telephone number, payout email, and connected payout account.
  5. You must notify support@bookmarkbug.com promptly if you believe your account or payout information has been compromised.
  6. We may rely on activity performed through your authenticated account unless you notified us of unauthorized access before the activity occurred.
  7. You agree to receive these Terms, notices, payout records, tax requests, and other transaction-related communications electronically. You may retain copies by printing or saving them.
  8. We record the version and time of your acceptance and may record related technical information, such as your IP address and browser information, to maintain evidence of the agreement.

4. The BookmarkBug Reader Program

BookmarkBug connects readers with books for optional reading and private feedback. An assignment may include access to a complimentary advance reader copy or other authorized copy of a book.

Participation is voluntary:

  1. You choose whether to view, claim, begin, cancel, or complete an available assignment;
  2. You are not guaranteed any assignment, category, book, payment amount, frequency of work, or minimum earnings;
  3. You are not required to work particular hours or from a particular location;
  4. You may stop participating at any time, subject to returning or ceasing use of protected materials and resolving any open assignment; and
  5. BookmarkBug may limit assignment access based on capacity, past completion, content fit, verification, risk controls, author requirements, or other legitimate program considerations.

BookmarkBug is a paid reading-and-feedback service. Compensation is for genuine reading and qualifying feedback submitted through BookmarkBug. Compensation is never conditioned on a positive opinion, favorable rating, particular sentiment, or posting a public review.

5. Claiming and Completing Assignments

  1. Assignment details shown when you claim an assignment may include the book, required completion method, payment amount, minimum submission requirements, deadline, access conditions, and other instructions.
  2. The payment amount displayed and recorded when you claim an assignment is the applicable rate if you timely complete the assignment and the submission is approved, except for an obvious display error that we correct before you begin meaningful work.
  3. Claiming an assignment reserves limited capacity. Claim only assignments you genuinely intend and reasonably expect to complete.
  4. You must personally read the assigned book or the portion expressly identified in the assignment.
  5. You must meet the deadline and submission requirements shown for the assignment. A late, incomplete, abandoned, canceled, or expired assignment does not create earnings unless BookmarkBug expressly approves an exception.
  6. You may cancel an assignment through available account controls. Cancellation ends your right to use the assignment copy except as otherwise permitted by the rights holder.
  7. BookmarkBug may cancel an assignment because of an author request, rights issue, defective file, safety concern, service error, legal requirement, or other legitimate reason. If cancellation occurs after documented qualifying work, BookmarkBug may provide a completion path or reasonable compensation as appropriate to the circumstances.
  8. A complimentary book, download, or access right is provided only for your personal participation in the assignment and has no cash value.

6. Honest, Original, and Independent Feedback

All feedback must:

  1. Be written personally by you;
  2. Reflect your actual reading experience and genuine opinions;
  3. Be original and not copied, purchased, commissioned, recycled, or closely paraphrased from another person or source;
  4. Address the assigned book rather than a different work, listing description, summary, or marketing copy;
  5. Avoid fabricated facts, experiences, quotations, plot details, or claims;
  6. Comply with the length, format, and content requirements shown for the assignment;
  7. Avoid unlawful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, hateful, sexually exploitative, or rights-infringing material; and
  8. Remain independent of pressure from BookmarkBug, an author, or any other person concerning sentiment or rating.

Authors may receive your private feedback, but they do not control whether qualifying feedback is approved or paid and may not require a favorable opinion.

7. Artificial Intelligence and Writing Assistance

You may use ordinary spellcheck, basic grammar correction, dictation, screen readers, and accessibility tools that do not supply the substance or expression of your feedback.

You may not use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or another generative or automated tool to:

  1. Draft, rewrite, paraphrase, expand, summarize, or materially edit feedback;
  2. Generate observations, opinions, examples, plot descriptions, quotations, or personal experiences;
  3. Disguise copied, recycled, or machine-generated content;
  4. Produce a submission from a book description, summary, other review, or text you did not personally read; or
  5. Circumvent originality, reading, or quality checks.

You remain responsible for every word submitted through your account. Use of prohibited tools may result in rejection, cancellation of associated provisional or approved earnings, suspension, or termination.

8. Reading Verification, Review, and Rejection

  1. BookmarkBug may use page activity, counted reading time, reading spread, completion progress, submission timing, textual comparison, automated analysis, manual review, and related signals to assess genuine participation, originality, and compliance.
  2. These tools are imperfect. BookmarkBug may manually review technical failures and other relevant evidence.
  3. A submission is not approved merely because the website accepted the form, displayed a pending status, or estimated an amount.
  4. BookmarkBug may request a revision or reject a submission that is late, incomplete, nonresponsive, inconsistent with genuine reading, copied, machine-generated, fabricated, abusive, or otherwise noncompliant.
  5. Repeated rejected submissions may close the affected assignment or result in account strikes, reduced access, suspension, or termination.
  6. We may protect confidential fraud, security, and detection methods and are not required to disclose thresholds, models, evidence sources, or other information that could enable circumvention.
  7. A technical measurement issue does not automatically disqualify genuine work. BookmarkBug may approve or compensate documented genuine participation after manual review.

9. Book Reports and Optional Public Reviews

  1. When offered, a private book report is an alternative completion method. A qualifying book report receives the same locked reader payment as the corresponding public-review track.
  2. A public review is not required to earn payment. Payment is not increased, decreased, approved, or denied because you post publicly, decline to post, remove a post, choose a particular rating, or express positive or negative views.
  3. If you independently choose to post publicly, you are solely responsible for confirming that the platform permits the post and for complying with its current rules.
  4. You must not post on a platform that prohibits a review connected to your free copy, paid program participation, or other material relationship.
  5. When a public post is permitted, you must clearly and conspicuously disclose that you received a free copy and participated in a paid reading-and-feedback program, while making clear that your opinion and rating were not controlled. A disclosure hidden in a profile, behind a link, or among unrelated text is not sufficient.
  6. You may not describe BookmarkBug compensation as payment for a favorable review or imply that an author purchased your opinion.
  7. Third-party platforms may delay, reject, remove, filter, investigate, or restrict reviews or accounts. BookmarkBug does not control and is not liable for those decisions.
  8. BookmarkBug does not require you to purchase a book unless an assignment expressly offers a purchase-based option. Any reimbursement or bonus conditions must be stated in the assignment.

10. Manuscripts, Advance Copies, and Confidentiality

Books and manuscripts made available through BookmarkBug may be unpublished, confidential, copyrighted, or commercially sensitive.

You agree that you will:

  1. Use each copy only to complete the related assignment and for no commercial purpose;
  2. Not upload, publish, distribute, sell, lend, sublicense, scrape, reproduce, or share the file or access link;
  3. Not remove or obscure watermarks, access controls, copyright notices, or other rights-management information;
  4. Not use the book or manuscript to train, fine-tune, ground, or supply content to an artificial-intelligence system;
  5. Not create or distribute unauthorized summaries, derivative works, audiobooks, datasets, or excerpts;
  6. Take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access; and
  7. Delete locally stored copies when the assignment ends if requested by BookmarkBug or the rights holder.

Access to a book does not transfer ownership or grant any license beyond the limited personal access needed for the assignment.

11. Your Feedback and License to BookmarkBug

As between you and BookmarkBug, you retain ownership of original feedback you create.

You grant BookmarkBug a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, format, transmit, display privately, analyze, and provide your feedback to the relevant author or rights holder as reasonably necessary to:

  1. Operate and improve the Service;
  2. Fulfill the assignment;
  3. Review quality, originality, safety, and compliance;
  4. Resolve disputes and enforce these Terms; and
  5. Maintain legally required records.

This operational license continues for retained records after account closure. BookmarkBug will not publicly use identifiable private feedback as a testimonial or marketing endorsement without separate permission that identifies the proposed use and attribution choice.

You represent that you have the rights needed to submit your feedback and that our permitted use will not violate another person’s intellectual-property, privacy, publicity, contractual, or other rights.

12. Prohibited Conduct

You may not:

  1. Create, control, assist, or benefit from multiple reader accounts;
  2. Use another person’s identity, telephone number, payment account, payout email, tax information, device account, or credentials without lawful authorization;
  3. Evade a suspension, restriction, assignment limit, geographic rule, or verification control;
  4. Claim assignments without a good-faith intent to complete them;
  5. Simulate reading, park a reader, automate activity, falsify progress, or interfere with measurement;
  6. Submit copied, machine-generated, fabricated, purchased, or coordinated feedback;
  7. Manipulate ratings, public reviews, assignment availability, payouts, referrals, bonuses, or platform records;
  8. Submit the same or substantially similar work for multiple assignments without permission;
  9. Resell, leak, scrape, or misuse books, manuscripts, user data, or Service content;
  10. Probe, bypass, disable, overload, reverse engineer, or interfere with security or access controls;
  11. Introduce malware, malicious code, or automated traffic;
  12. Harass, threaten, defraud, impersonate, or unlawfully discriminate against another person;
  13. Violate a third-party platform’s terms, applicable law, or another person’s rights; or
  14. Assist another person in any prohibited conduct.

13. Earnings: Provisional, Approved, and Invalid

The Service may display several kinds of amounts:

  1. Estimated or Provisional Earnings. Amounts associated with a claimed, in-progress, submitted, or pending assignment are estimates only. They are not earned or owed until the submission is approved.
  2. Approved Earnings. Once BookmarkBug approves a qualifying submission or expressly credits compensation, the associated amount becomes an approved earning payable under these Terms.
  3. Invalid Earnings. BookmarkBug may reverse an approval before payout only when documented evidence shows that the specific earning resulted from fraud, duplication, material error, fabricated or prohibited work, an invalid assignment, or another material violation connected to that earning.

BookmarkBug will not cancel all approved earnings merely because an account is suspended or terminated. Undisputed approved earnings remain payable. Bonuses and discretionary credits do not become approved earnings until they are actually credited to your account.

Your payment history may group multiple assignment amounts into a single disbursement. Account labels and running balances are informational; the underlying assignment and payment records control if a display error occurs.

14. Payout Requests and Providers

  1. The assignment rate is stated in United States dollars.
  2. Payouts are user-initiated unless BookmarkBug initiates a final account settlement or corrective payment.
  3. A $10.00 approved balance is ordinarily required for a reader’s first payout. After the first successful payout, no ordinary minimum applies. BookmarkBug may change prospective payout thresholds with notice, but a change will not reduce an approved earning.
  4. The first-payout minimum does not apply to a final account settlement.
  5. BookmarkBug may use Tremendous, Stripe Connect, or another disclosed payment provider. Provider availability may vary by reader, account, or rollout cohort.
  6. You must provide accurate payout information belonging to you and promptly correct changes.
  7. BookmarkBug funds the stated face amount. A payout option you select may impose a disclosed recipient fee, currency-conversion cost, bank fee, or other charge. You are responsible for charges associated with your selection.
  8. A provider may require identity, tax, sanctions, bank, or fraud review and may delay, reject, reverse, or restrict a payout under its rules or applicable law.
  9. Please allow up to five (5) business days for ordinary processing, although provider review or delivery may take longer.
  10. A reward sent to your verified account or payout email is treated as delivered when the provider confirms successful issuance or delivery. You are responsible for reviewing the message, selecting a redemption method, and redeeming before any clearly displayed expiration date.
  11. BookmarkBug does not guarantee replacement of an expired, ignored, deleted, or misdirected reward when it was sent to the payout information you supplied. We may assist or replace a reward in our discretion when funds can be recovered.
  12. Notify support@bookmarkbug.com promptly of a failed, missing, duplicated, incorrect, or unauthorized payout.
  13. The Service is not offered as a bank account, wallet, escrow service, or stored-value product. A displayed approved balance is a contractual amount payable under these Terms, is not held in a segregated deposit account for you, does not earn interest, and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or another deposit-insurance program.

15. Taxes and Relationship of the Parties

  1. You are responsible for reporting and paying taxes that apply to amounts you receive, except taxes BookmarkBug is legally required to withhold or pay.
  2. You must provide accurate tax information when legally required. BookmarkBug or a payment provider may collect a Form W-9, taxpayer identification information, electronic-delivery consent, or other documentation and may apply backup withholding or another legally required restriction.
  3. BookmarkBug may issue or facilitate tax forms when required. Receipt or nonreceipt of a tax form does not determine whether income is taxable.
  4. The parties intend a voluntary independent relationship. You control whether to accept an assignment and, subject to its requirements and deadline, when and how to perform it.
  5. These Terms do not create authority for you to bind BookmarkBug or act as its agent, representative, partner, franchisee, or spokesperson.
  6. Worker classification is determined by applicable law and the actual relationship, not merely by the label used in these Terms. Nothing in these Terms waives minimum-wage, payment-timing, reimbursement, leave, unemployment, workers’ compensation, tax, or other rights that applicable law does not permit you to waive.
  7. If applicable law classifies you as an employee or grants you a nonwaivable worker right, the conflicting portion of these Terms will be limited only to the extent necessary to honor that law.

16. Payment Holds and Investigations

BookmarkBug may temporarily place a payout hold when reasonably necessary to investigate:

  1. Suspected account takeover, identity misuse, multiple accounts, coordinated abuse, or payment fraud;
  2. Whether specific submissions reflect genuine reading and original work;
  3. A material balance or payment-record error;
  4. A chargeback, reversal, duplicate payout, or provider dispute;
  5. A sanctions, tax, legal, or regulatory requirement; or
  6. A credible violation that may affect whether particular approved earnings are valid.

For a BookmarkBug-controlled investigation:

  1. The ordinary review period is no more than thirty (30) days from the hold’s start;
  2. BookmarkBug will review the affected earnings individually and release undisputed amounts;
  3. BookmarkBug may extend the hold only while a payment provider review, chargeback, sanctions check, court order, legal obligation, or law-enforcement request reasonably requires additional time;
  4. The extension and reason will be recorded;
  5. BookmarkBug may protect confidential fraud and security signals; and
  6. A hold does not itself mean that earnings are forfeited.

No formal appeal process is offered for suspension or termination decisions. You may contact support@bookmarkbug.com to report mistaken identity, account compromise, payment error, or other factual information relevant to settlement.

17. Suspension, Restriction, and Termination

BookmarkBug may restrict assignment access, suspend, or terminate an account:

  1. Immediately for suspected fraud, security risk, multiple accounts, prohibited content, manuscript misuse, abuse, legal requirements, or a material violation of these Terms;
  2. After repeated submission rejections or strikes;
  3. When identity, residence, telephone, tax, or payout information cannot be verified;
  4. To protect readers, authors, rights holders, payment providers, BookmarkBug, or the integrity of the Service; or
  5. For a non-fault business reason, such as discontinuing the Service or a reader program.

We may act without advance notice when notice could increase risk or interfere with an investigation. When legally and operationally reasonable, we will provide notice after the action and identify the general policy category, whether an earnings review is open, and the expected settlement timeline. We are not required to disclose confidential detection methods.

Upon suspension or termination:

  1. Your right to claim new assignments and access protected materials ends;
  2. Open assignments may be canceled;
  3. You must stop using and sharing assignment materials;
  4. Any payment hold will be handled under Section 16;
  5. Undisputed approved earnings will be paid through a final settlement regardless of the ordinary first-payout minimum; and
  6. Provisions that by their nature should survive will remain effective.

If delivery of a final settlement is not possible because your information is invalid, you do not respond, or a provider cannot pay you, BookmarkBug may retain the amount while making reasonable contact efforts and may report and remit it as unclaimed property when required by law.

You may close your account at any time. Account closure does not erase payment, tax, fraud-prevention, legal, audit, or assignment records that BookmarkBug is permitted or required to retain.

18. Privacy, Monitoring, and Security

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and retain personal information.

To operate and protect the Service, BookmarkBug may process:

  1. Account, contact, residence, identity, telephone, payout, and tax-status information;
  2. Assignment, reading-progress, feedback, approval, strike, and payment records;
  3. Device, browser, IP address, cookie, session, referral, and network information;
  4. Similarity, originality, risk, and fraud-prevention signals; and
  5. Communications with BookmarkBug and relevant provider status information.

BookmarkBug may use automated tools to prioritize or flag activity, but material submission, suspension, and payment decisions may be reviewed by a person where appropriate. We use commercially reasonable safeguards, but no electronic service is completely secure.

19. Third-Party Services and Platforms

The Service may depend on authors, payment providers, email and SMS providers, authentication providers, hosting services, analytics services, Amazon, and other third parties.

BookmarkBug:

  1. Does not control third-party uptime, eligibility, moderation, review publication, account enforcement, fees, redemption methods, tax workflows, or security;
  2. May change providers or discontinue an integration;
  3. Is not a party to the separate agreement between you and a third-party platform or redemption provider; and
  4. Does not guarantee that a third party will accept, display, preserve, or pay through a particular method.

Your use of a third-party service is governed by its own terms and privacy practices. These Terms do not authorize conduct prohibited by a third party.

20. BookmarkBug Intellectual Property

The Service, including its software, design, text, branding, workflows, databases, and non-user content, is owned by BookmarkBug or its licensors and protected by intellectual-property and other laws.

Subject to these Terms, BookmarkBug grants you a limited, personal, revocable, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to use the Service solely to participate in the reader program. No other right is granted.

“BookmarkBug,” its logos, and associated branding may not be used without written permission. Feedback about the Service may be used without restriction or payment, provided it does not include your protected private feedback or personal information.

If you believe Service content infringes your copyright or other rights, contact support@bookmarkbug.com with identification of the work, the allegedly infringing material, your contact information, a good-faith statement, an accuracy and authority statement under penalty of perjury, and your signature.

21. Service Changes and Availability

BookmarkBug may add, remove, pause, limit, or modify assignments, features, eligibility rules, payment providers, payout thresholds, verification methods, or the Service as a whole.

We will not retroactively reduce an approved earning or the locked rate for qualifying work already performed. We may correct obvious errors, prevent fraud, comply with law, or discontinue unsafe or unauthorized access.

The Service may be unavailable because of maintenance, provider outages, security events, legal requirements, or circumstances outside our reasonable control. BookmarkBug does not guarantee continuous availability, data preservation beyond stated retention practices, or any particular business or earning opportunity.

22. Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, OR SECURITY.

BOOKMARKBUG DOES NOT WARRANT THAT:

  1. THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR COMPLETELY SECURE;
  2. ANY ASSIGNMENT OR LEVEL OF EARNINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE;
  3. A BOOK, AUTHOR, REVIEW, OR THIRD-PARTY PLATFORM WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS;
  4. A THIRD PARTY WILL ACCEPT OR CONTINUE TO DISPLAY A PUBLIC REVIEW;
  5. AUTOMATED OR MANUAL REVIEW WILL IDENTIFY EVERY ERROR OR VIOLATION; OR
  6. A PARTICULAR PAYOUT METHOD WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE.

THESE DISCLAIMERS DO NOT EXCLUDE WARRANTIES OR RIGHTS THAT APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT PERMIT US TO EXCLUDE.

23. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BOOKMARKBUG AND ITS OWNER, SERVICE PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, OPPORTUNITIES, GOODWILL, OR DATA, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BOOKMARKBUG’S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

  1. ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100); OR
  2. THE TOTAL AMOUNT BOOKMARKBUG PAID YOU DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

This cap does not reduce approved earnings already owed to you. It also does not apply to fraud or willful misconduct by BookmarkBug, liability that cannot lawfully be limited, or any other claim for which applicable law prohibits the limitation.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limitations, so some of this Section may not apply to you.

24. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless BookmarkBug and its owner, service providers, licensors, and agents from third-party claims, damages, penalties, judgments, and reasonable legal expenses arising from:

  1. Your unlawful or willful misuse of the Service;
  2. Your infringement or misappropriation of another person’s rights;
  3. Your unauthorized distribution or misuse of a book or manuscript;
  4. Your fraudulent, fabricated, copied, or prohibited submission;
  5. A public post you make in violation of law or a third-party platform’s rules; or
  6. Your material breach of these Terms.

You are not required to indemnify a protected party for its own negligence, willful misconduct, violation of law, or breach of these Terms. BookmarkBug will provide reasonable notice of a covered claim and may control the defense, while permitting your reasonable participation.

25. Governing Law, Informal Resolution, and Arbitration

25.1 Governing Law

The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of the arbitration provisions in this Section. Massachusetts law governs these Terms and other issues, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where the law of your residence must apply and cannot be waived.

25.2 Informal Notice

Before filing arbitration or a court action, the claimant must send an individual written notice to support@bookmarkbug.com. The notice must include the claimant’s name, account email, contact information, a description of the dispute, the relevant transaction or assignment, the relief requested, and a personal signature.

The parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute for thirty (30) days after receipt. A limitations period and filing-fee deadline will be tolled during that period.

25.3 Agreement to Arbitrate

Except for matters described in Section 25.4, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising from or relating to the Service, these Terms, your account, an assignment, a payment, or the parties’ relationship will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect.

If AAA is unavailable or declines to administer the case, a court with jurisdiction will select a substitute arbitration provider consistent with this Section.

25.4 Small Claims and Other Exclusions

Either party may bring an individual claim in a small-claims court with jurisdiction if the claim remains individual and within that court’s authority.

Either party may seek temporary or preliminary injunctive relief in court to protect confidential information, account security, manuscripts, or intellectual-property rights while arbitration is pending. Government agencies may investigate or enforce rights within their authority.

25.5 Arbitration Procedure and Location

The arbitration may occur through documents, telephone, video conference, or an in-person hearing as permitted by the AAA rules. Any in-person consumer hearing will occur at a reasonably convenient location in your state of residence unless the parties agree otherwise.

The arbitrator may award any individual remedy a court could award under applicable law and must issue a reasoned written decision. The arbitrator is bound by these Terms but may not limit a nonwaivable statutory remedy.

25.6 Fees

Fees will be allocated under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules and applicable law. BookmarkBug will pay fees it is required to pay under those rules. Each party bears its own attorneys’ fees unless a statute, rule, or award permits fee shifting.

25.7 Individual Proceedings Only

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND BOOKMARKBUG AGREE THAT CLAIMS MAY BE BROUGHT ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF, CLASS MEMBER, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR REPRESENTATIVE IN A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

The arbitrator may award relief only to the individual claimant and only to the extent necessary to resolve that claimant’s individual claim.

25.8 Jury-Trial Waiver

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND BOOKMARKBUG WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL FOR DISPUTES COVERED BY THIS SECTION.

25.9 Thirty-Day Arbitration Opt-Out

You may opt out of Sections 25.3 through 25.8 by emailing support@bookmarkbug.com within thirty (30) days after you first accept this version of the Terms. Use the subject “Arbitration Opt-Out” and include your full name, account email, username, and an unambiguous statement that you opt out of arbitration.

Opting out will not affect your account or the remaining Terms. An opt-out applies only to the person who sent it and does not opt out another account holder.

25.10 Courts When Arbitration Does Not Apply

If a dispute is not subject to arbitration, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction in the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts, except that an individual small-claims action may be filed as provided above and nonwaivable law may require another forum.

25.11 Severability

If the individual-proceedings limitation is held unenforceable for a particular claim or requested remedy, that claim or remedy will proceed in court after all arbitrable claims are completed. Otherwise, an invalid portion of this Section will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the remainder will remain effective.

26. Changes to These Terms

BookmarkBug may update these Terms to reflect Service changes, legal requirements, provider changes, safety needs, or business practices.

  1. The updated Terms will identify their effective date.
  2. Material changes will require affirmative acceptance of a new version before continued use of reader account features.
  3. Nonmaterial changes may be effective when posted with reasonable notice.
  4. Changes do not retroactively reduce approved earnings or eliminate a dispute that arose before the change.
  5. If you do not agree to revised Terms, you must stop using the Service and may close your account. Approved earnings will be handled under Sections 13 through 17.

27. General Terms

  1. Entire Agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and applicable assignment-specific terms are the entire agreement concerning the Service.
  2. No Waiver. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
  3. Severability. Except as specifically provided in Section 25, an unenforceable provision will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the remainder will continue.
  4. Assignment. You may not assign these Terms or your account. BookmarkBug may assign these Terms in connection with a sale, reorganization, financing, or transfer of the Service, provided the assignee assumes applicable obligations.
  5. Force Majeure. BookmarkBug is not liable for delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control, but this provision does not cancel approved earnings.
  6. No Third-Party Beneficiaries. These Terms do not create third-party beneficiary rights.
  7. Headings. Headings are for convenience and do not limit the provisions.
  8. Interpretation. “Including” means “including without limitation.” Electronic records and signatures have the same effect as paper records and signatures.
  9. Survival. Provisions concerning payments, taxes, licenses, confidentiality, intellectual property, disputes, liability, indemnification, records, and terms that by their nature should survive remain effective after account closure.

28. Contact and Legal Notices

Questions, account notices, legal notices, arbitration opt-outs, and informal dispute notices may be sent to:

support@bookmarkbug.com