Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of these terms

These terms govern your relationship with Malath and with every page, service and piece of content the platform makes available. Accessing or using any part of the platform means you accept them.

The Privacy Policy, the Refund and Cancellation Policy, the Content Guidelines and the other documents referenced on this page form part of these terms and are read together with them.

If you use the platform on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you are authorised to bind that organisation to these terms.

2. Eligibility and minimum age

To use the platform you must be legally capable of entering a binding agreement and must meet the platform's minimum age of [To be completed before launch], or a higher age if the law that applies where you live requires one.

If you are below that age you may not use services that require an account or a payment once those exist, except with the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian and to the extent the law permits.

Where there is a reasonable basis to do so, Malath may ask for confirmation of eligibility or age and may restrict access until it is provided.

3. What the service is

Malath offers a digital reading experience for Arabic novels and literary texts, built around a calm visual and audio setting that echoes the ritual of reading on paper.

In its current form the platform lets you read in the browser and remembers your reading position and preferences on your own device. The current version has no account registration, no purchasing, no subscriptions and no user uploads.

Paid features, subscriptions or author publishing services may be added later. If and when they are, the conditional provisions in these terms and in the related policies will apply, and the details will be published before anything is switched on.

4. Accounts and your responsibility

The current version of the platform does not require an account. Once accounts exist, the following applies.

• You will give accurate, current information when registering.
• You are responsible for keeping your credentials confidential and for activity that takes place through your account.
• You will tell us as soon as you become aware of unauthorised use of your account.
• Accounts may not be shared, sold or transferred.

Once accounts exist you may ask us to close yours at any time through the published contact channels.

5. Reader responsibilities

Content on Malath is for your own personal, non-commercial reading. In using the platform you agree:

• Not to copy, republish or distribute works outside the platform without the rights holder's written permission.
• Not to remove attribution to an author or any notice of ownership.
• Not to use the content to train automated systems or to produce derivative works without a licence.
• Not to attempt to reach content or services you do not have access rights to.

6. Author and publisher responsibilities

The current version does not accept user uploads. Once publishing services exist, an author or publisher agrees:

• To hold the necessary rights in the work, or to be sufficiently authorised by whoever does.
• Not to submit work that infringes anyone's copyright, trade marks or privacy.
• To give the work an accurate age rating and add the content warnings it needs.
• To follow the published Content Guidelines and to respond to requests for correction or clarification.

The author alone is legally responsible for the work they publish, and acknowledges that Malath relies on that confirmation.

7. Who owns what

The platform itself — its name, visual identity, interfaces, source code and the design of its reading experience — belongs to the operator of Malath and is protected by intellectual property law.

The literary works published on the platform remain the property of their authors. Malath does not own the copyright in any work, does not claim ownership of one, and acquires no exclusive right in one.

Once publishing exists, an author grants Malath a non-exclusive, revocable licence limited to what running the service actually requires. It covers:

• Hosting and storing the work on the platform's servers and those of its infrastructure providers.
• Formatting and technically converting it so it displays correctly across devices and screen sizes.
• Displaying it to readers within the platform.
• Making backups and temporary operational copies for continuity and security.
• Using the title, the author's name and a limited extract to identify and promote the work within the platform and its official channels.

The licence goes no further than those purposes. Its forward effect ends when the work is withdrawn from the platform, subject to the technical time needed to clear backup copies.

8. Prohibited use

Whether directly or through automated tools, you may not:

• Scrape or bulk-archive content without written permission.
• Circumvent, disable or attempt to defeat access controls or technical protection measures.
• Misuse the infrastructure in ways that degrade the service for others.
• Distribute malware or malicious links through any interface the platform provides.
• Impersonate a person or organisation, or provide misleading information.
• Use the platform for any activity that breaks the law that applies to you.

9. Service availability

We aim to keep the platform available and stable, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service. It may be wholly or partly unavailable for maintenance, updates, or technical reasons outside our control.

We may change or withdraw features. Where a change is significant we will try to give advance notice so far as that is practical.

10. Content moderation, suspension and termination

Once user publishing exists, we may review content and restrict or remove it where it breaches the Content Guidelines, infringes someone's rights, or breaks the law.

Access to the service may be suspended or ended for serious or repeated breaches, or where that is necessary to protect users or the platform or to meet a legal obligation.

We aim to tell you why we acted and to offer a route to appeal, unless a legal or security reason prevents that.

11. Third-party services

The platform relies on external providers to operate — hosting and content delivery today, and a payment provider once payments are enabled.

Those providers' services are governed by their own terms and policies. We are not responsible for their practices beyond what we contract with them to do.

12. Paid services

There are no paid services on the platform today. No prices are displayed and no payment gateway is connected.

Once paid services exist, the amount, the currency and any applicable fees or taxes will be shown before you confirm, and the published Payment and Billing, Refund and Cancellation, and Subscription policies will apply.

13. Disclaimers

The platform and its content are provided as they are and as available. We do not warrant that the service will be error-free or uninterrupted, or that the content will suit a particular purpose of yours.

Opinions and ideas expressed in published literary works are the author's and do not necessarily represent the position of Malath.

Nothing in this section is intended to exclude a warranty that cannot lawfully be excluded.

14. Limitation of liability

To the extent the applicable law permits, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for lost profit, arising from your use of the platform.

Nothing here limits liability for fraud or misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The last-updated date appears at the top of this page.

Where a change is significant we will try to give notice through the platform a reasonable time before it takes effect. Continuing to use the service after that point means you accept the change.

16. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by and interpreted under [To be completed before launch].

Disputes arising from them fall to [To be completed before launch], without affecting any mandatory right the law of your country of residence gives you.

17. Contact and complaints

For questions about these terms or to raise a complaint, see the Contact and Complaints page on this site, or write to [To be completed before launch].