Terms of Use
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY. THEY INCLUDE AN AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE DISPUTES BY INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION (SECTION 18) AND A WAIVER OF YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
1. Agreement to These Terms
Welcome to Spellbinding Media. These Terms of Use (“Terms”) form a binding agreement between you and Spellbinding Media, currently operated as a sole proprietorship (“Spellbinding Media,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), governing your access to and use of the website located at spellbindingmedia.com, together with all content, features, and services offered on or through it (collectively, the “Service”).
By creating an account, purchasing SBM Virtual Currency, or otherwise accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, each of which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Service.
2. Definitions
“Cinematic Story” means Spellbinding Media’s serialized fiction format, combining vertically scrolling illustrated art with looping video motion and film-style pacing.
“Content” means all series, episodes, artwork, animation, titles, descriptions, and other creative works made available through the Service, whether created by Spellbinding Media, by independent creators who partner with Spellbinding Media on individual series, or licensed from third parties.
“SBM Virtual Currency” means the virtual, in-Service currency (“coins”) that may be purchased and redeemed to unlock certain Content on the Service, as further described in Section 6.
“User Content” means any comments, feedback, or other material you submit to the Service.
“you” and “your” refer to the person accessing or using the Service.
3. Eligibility
3.1 Minimum age
You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or use the Service. If you are between the age of 13 and the age of legal majority in your place of residence, you may only use the Service with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian, who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.
3.2 Mature content advisory
Certain Content is labeled “Mature” and contains storylines, themes, or imagery intended for adult audiences, including romantic and sexual content between adult characters. Content labeled Mature is not intended for anyone under 18, and by accessing Mature-labeled Content you represent that you are at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction if higher.
3.3 No automated verification
The Service currently relies on the representations in this Section rather than automated age verification. We may introduce additional verification measures at our discretion and reserve the right to restrict access to any Content pending such measures.
4. Accounts
4.1 Passwordless sign-in
Spellbinding Media accounts do not use passwords. Instead, we send a one-time sign-in link or code to the email address you provide. You are responsible for maintaining control of that email account and for all activity that occurs under your account.
4.2 Accuracy
You agree to provide an email address you actually control and to keep your account information current.
4.3 One account per person
Accounts are personal to you and may not be sold, transferred, or shared.
4.4 Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, misused the Service, or engaged in fraudulent or abusive conduct.
5. The Service and Content Access Tiers
5.1 Access tiers
Spellbinding Media offers Content across different access tiers, which may change over time, generally along the following pattern: an initial portion of a series is available to any visitor at no cost; additional episodes may require a free registered account; and further episodes may require redeeming SBM Virtual Currency. The specific tier boundaries for a given series are shown on that series’ page.
5.2 No guarantee of availability
We do not guarantee that any specific Content will remain available indefinitely, or that previously free Content will not move behind a registration or SBM Virtual Currency requirement in the future, except where we have committed otherwise for Content you have already unlocked.
6. SBM Virtual Currency
6.1 Nature of SBM Virtual Currency
SBM Virtual Currency is a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to access certain Content on the Service. It is not currency, property, or a financial instrument of any kind, has no value outside the Service, and cannot be redeemed for cash, other virtual currency, or any other consideration, except where required by applicable law.
6.2 Purchases
SBM Virtual Currency is purchased in fixed packs through our third-party payment processor (currently PayPal). Prices are displayed at the time of purchase and may change without notice; changes do not affect packs already purchased.
6.3 No refunds, with limited exceptions
All SBM Virtual Currency purchases and redemptions are final. We do not offer refunds or exchanges except where required by the law of your country or state of residence, in which case that law will control to the extent it conflicts with this Section.
6.4 Balance and account closure
Your SBM Virtual Currency balance is tied to your account and cannot be transferred to another account or another person. If your account is terminated for violating these Terms, you forfeit any unredeemed SBM Virtual Currency balance.
7. Payments
7.1 Third-party processor
All payments are processed by PayPal, subject to PayPal’s own terms and privacy practices, which we do not control. We are not responsible for PayPal’s acts or omissions.
7.2 Taxes
Prices shown may or may not include applicable taxes depending on your location; where taxes apply, they will be identified before you complete a purchase or added in accordance with local law.
8. Intellectual Property
8.1 Ownership
The Service, including its design, software, the Spellbinding Media name and logo, the “Cinematic Story” name, and all Content, is owned by Spellbinding Media or its licensors, including independent creators who partner with Spellbinding Media on individual series (for example, Public Persona is written by Gilro). Content created by a partnering creator remains subject to the agreement between that creator and Spellbinding Media, and both the Company and the credited creator retain the rights described in that agreement.
8.2 Limited license to you
Subject to these Terms, we grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and view Content for your own non-commercial entertainment. You may not copy, redistribute, publicly perform, modify, translate, create derivative works from, sell, sublicense, scrape, or otherwise exploit any Content or any part of the Service, except as this license expressly allows.
8.3 Trademarks
“Spellbinding Media,” “Cinematic Story,” and associated logos are trademarks or claimed trademarks of Spellbinding Media. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
9. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- circumvent, disable, or interfere with any access restriction, paywall, or security feature of the Service;
- use automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Service except as permitted by our published robots.txt;
- reproduce, redistribute, or publicly share Content outside the Service;
- impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
- upload or transmit anything unlawful, infringing, harassing, or that violates the rights of others; or
- interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
10. User Content and Feedback
If the Service allows you to submit comments or other User Content, you retain ownership of what you submit, but you grant Spellbinding Media a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, display, reproduce, and distribute that User Content in connection with operating and promoting the Service. Any feedback or suggestions you voluntarily provide about the Service may be used by us without restriction or compensation to you.
11. Third-Party Links and Services
The Service may reference or link to third-party websites or services that we do not control, including our payment processor. We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of any third party, and linking to a third party does not imply our endorsement of it.
12. Automated and AI-Assisted Tools
We reserve the right to use or rely on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other automated or algorithmic tools and systems — whether built by us, or licensed or contracted from third parties — in connection with providing, operating, supporting, translating, personalizing, moderating, or otherwise fulfilling any part of the Service, now or in the future. This Section is a reservation of that right and is not a representation about which specific tools, technologies, or processes (automated or human) are actually used for any particular part of the Service at any particular time.
Our use of any such tools does not narrow or waive any of our rights, or expand any of your rights, under these Terms, and the disclaimers in Section 13 (Disclaimer of Warranties) and the limitation of liability in Section 14 apply equally to any part of the Service provided with the assistance of such tools.
13. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.
14. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SPELLBINDING MEDIA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS (US $50). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
15. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Spellbinding Media from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your violation of these Terms or your misuse of the Service.
16. Termination
You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, for any reason permitted under Section 4.4 or otherwise at our discretion, including if we discontinue the Service altogether. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6.4, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18) will survive.
17. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except to the extent a mandatory consumer-protection law of your own country or state gives you additional rights that cannot be waived by agreement, in which case that law applies to the extent it conflicts with this Section.
18. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration Agreement; Class Action Waiver
18.1 Informal resolution first
Before filing a claim against Spellbinding Media, you agree to first contact us through our Customer Support page and give us 30 days to try to resolve the dispute informally.
18.2 Binding arbitration
If we can’t resolve a dispute informally, you and Spellbinding Media agree that any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration administered under the rules of a recognized arbitration provider, seated in Georgia, USA, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies.
18.3 Class action waiver
YOU AND SPELLBINDING MEDIA AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims.
18.4 Opt-out
You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by notifying us through Customer Support within 30 days of first accepting these Terms; if you do, either party may instead bring claims in the courts identified in Section 17.
19. International Use and Localized Terms
19.1 English as the master version
These Terms are originally written and published in English. We currently also publish these Terms in Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Thai for the convenience of users who read the Service in those languages.
19.2 Localized Terms apply where published
If you access or use the Service primarily in one of the localized languages listed above, the version of these Terms published in that language applies to you and reflects any nuances specific to your country or region. If no localized version exists for your language or country, or in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between a localized version and this English version, this English version governs, subject to Section 17.
19.3 Access from other countries
The Service is operated from, and intended to be accessed primarily from, the countries corresponding to our published languages. If you choose to access the Service from another country, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for complying with local law applicable to you; nothing in this Section limits the governing-law and dispute-resolution provisions of Sections 17 and 18.
20. Changes to These Terms
We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice (such as a notice on the Service). Your continued use of the Service after a change takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.
21. General
21.1 Entire agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Spellbinding Media regarding the Service.
21.2 Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
21.3 No waiver
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
21.4 Assignment
You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
22. Contact Us
Questions about these Terms can be sent through our Customer Support page at spellbindingmedia.com/support/.