Terms of Use
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR USE OF AND ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES (DEFINED BELOW) ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS; IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE FOLLOWING, YOU MAY NOT USE OR ACCESS THE SERVICES IN ANY MANNER.
Terms of Use
Effective Date: October 28, 2024
Welcome to Lake Novels. Please read on to learn the rules and restrictions that govern your use of our website(s), products, services, and applications (the “Services”). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding these terms or the Services, please contact us at support@lakenovels.com.
These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are a binding contract between you and Lake Novels (“Lake Novels,” “we,” and “us”). You must agree to and accept all of the Terms, or you don’t have the right to use the Services. Your use of the Services in any way means that you agree to all of these Terms, and these Terms will remain in effect while you use the Services. These Terms include the provisions in this document, as well as those in the Privacy Policy and Copyright Dispute Policy.
Will these Terms ever change?
We are constantly trying to improve our Services, so these Terms may need to change along with the Services. We reserve the right to change the Terms at any time, but if we do, we will bring it to your attention by placing a notice on the Services, by sending you an email, and/or by some other means.
If you don’t agree with the new Terms, you are free to reject them; unfortunately, that means you will no longer be able to use the Services. If you use the Services in any way after a change to the Terms is effective, that means you agree to all of the changes. Except for changes by us as described here, no other amendment or modification of these Terms will be effective unless in writing and signed by both you and us.
What about my privacy?
Lake Novels takes the privacy of its users very seriously. For the current Lake Novels Privacy Policy, please click here.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) requires that online service providers obtain parental consent before they knowingly collect personally identifiable information online from children who are under 13. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children under 13; if you are a child under 13, please do not attempt to register for the Services or send any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that a child under 13 may have provided us personal information, please contact us at support@lakenovels.com.
What are the basics of using Lake Novels?
As Lake Novels continues to improve and change our Services, you may be required to sign up for an account and select a username (your “Lake Novels User ID”) to utilize certain features of the Services. You promise to provide us with accurate, complete, and updated registration information about yourself.
You may not select as your Lake Novels User ID a name that you don’t have the right to use or another person’s name with the intent to impersonate that person. You may not transfer your account to anyone else without our prior written permission.
You represent and warrant that you are an individual of legal age to form a binding contract (or, if not, you’ve received your parent’s or guardian’s permission to use the Services and gotten your parent or guardian to agree to these Terms on your behalf).
You will only use the Services for your own internal, personal, non-commercial use, and not on behalf of or for the benefit of any third party, and only in a manner that complies with all laws that apply to you. If your use of the Services is prohibited by applicable laws, then you aren’t authorized to use the Services. We can’t and won’t be responsible for your using the Services in a way that breaks the law.
You will not share your account access with anyone, and you must protect the security of your account. You’re responsible for any activity associated with your account.
Your use of the Services is subject to the following additional restrictions:
You represent, warrant, and agree that you will not contribute any Content or User Submission (each of those terms is defined below) or otherwise use the Services or interact with the Services in a manner that:
(a) Infringes or violates the intellectual property rights or any other rights of anyone else (including Lake Novels);
(b) Violates any law or regulation, including any applicable export control laws;
(c) Is harmful, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable;
(d) Jeopardizes the security of your Lake Novels account or anyone else’s (such as allowing someone else to log in to the Services as you);
(e) Attempts, in any manner, to obtain the device or other security information from any other user;
(f) Violates the security of any computer network or cracks any passwords or security encryption codes;
(g) Runs Maillist, Listserv, any form of auto-responder or “spam” on the Services, or any processes that run or are activated while you are not using the Services, or that otherwise interfere with the proper working of the Services (including by placing an unreasonable load on the Services’ infrastructure);
(h) “Crawls,” “scrapes,” or “spiders” any page, data, or portion of or relating to the Services or Content (through use of manual or automated means);
(i) Copies or stores any significant portion of the Content;
(j) Decompiles, reverse engineers, or otherwise attempts to obtain the source code or underlying ideas or information of or relating to the Services.
A violation of any of the foregoing is grounds for termination of your right to use or access the Services.
What are my rights in Lake Novels?
The materials displayed, performed, or available on or through the Services, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, data, articles, photos, images, illustrations, audio recordings, music, sound effects, User Submissions, and so forth (all of the foregoing, the “Content”), are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property laws.
You promise to abide by all copyright notices, trademark rules, information, and restrictions contained in any Content you access through the Services, and you won’t use, copy, reproduce, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, upload, display, license, sell or otherwise exploit for any purpose any Content not owned by you, (i) without the prior consent of the owner of that Content or (ii) in a way that violates someone else’s (including Lake Novels’s) rights.
You understand that Lake Novels owns the Services. You won’t modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as expressly provided in this Section), create derivative works based on, or otherwise exploit any of the Services.
The Services may allow you to copy or download certain Content; please remember that just because this functionality exists doesn’t mean that all the restrictions above don’t apply—they do!
Do I have to grant any licenses to Lake Novels or to other users?
Anything you post, upload, share, store, or otherwise provide through the Services is your “User Submission.” Some User Submissions are viewable by other users. In order to display your User Submissions on the Services, and to allow other users to enjoy them (where applicable), you grant us certain rights in those User Submissions. Please note that all of the following licenses are subject to our Privacy Policy to the extent they relate to User Submissions that are also your personally identifiable information.
For all User Submissions, you hereby grant Lake Novels a license to translate, modify (for technical purposes, for example making sure your content is viewable on an iPhone as well as a computer) and reproduce and otherwise act with respect to such User Submissions, in each case to enable us to operate the Services, as described in more detail below. This is a license only – your ownership in User Submissions is not affected.
If you store a User Submission in your own personal Lake Novels account, in a manner that is not viewable by any other user except you (a “Personal User Submission”), you grant Lake Novels the license above, as well as a license to display, perform, and distribute your Personal User Submission for the sole purpose of making that Personal User Submission accessible to you and providing the Services necessary to do so.
If you share a User Submission publicly on the Services and/or in a manner that more than just you or certain specified users can view, or if you provide us (in a direct email or otherwise) with any feedback, suggestions, improvements, enhancements, and/or feature requests relating to the Services (each of the foregoing, a “Public User Submission”), then you grant Lake Novels the licenses above, as well as a license to display, perform, and distribute your Public User Submission for the purpose of making that Public User Submission accessible to all Lake Novels users and providing the Services necessary to do so, as well as all other rights necessary to use and exercise all rights in that Public User Submission in connection with the Services and/or otherwise in connection with Lake Novels’s business. Also, you grant all other users of the Services a license to access that Public User Submission, and to use and exercise all rights in it, as permitted by the functionality of the Services. You agree that the licenses you grant are royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, irrevocable (except as set forth herein), and worldwide.
Finally, you understand and agree that Lake Novels, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users (including you), may need to make changes to your User Submissions to conform and adapt those User Submissions to the technical requirements of connection networks, devices, services, or media, and the foregoing licenses include the rights to do so.
What if I see something on the Services that infringes my copyright?
You may have heard of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”), as it relates to online service providers, like Lake Novels, being asked to remove material that allegedly violates someone’s copyright. We respect others’ intellectual property rights, and we reserve the right to delete or disable Content alleged to be infringing, and to terminate the accounts of repeat alleged infringers. To review our complete Copyright Dispute Policy and learn how to report potentially infringing content, click here. To learn more about the DMCA, click here.
Who is responsible for what I see and do on the Services?
Any information or content publicly posted or privately transmitted through the Services is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated, and you access all such information and content at your own risk. We aren’t liable for any errors or omissions in that information or content or for any damages or loss you might suffer in connection with it. We cannot control and have no duty to take any action regarding how you may interpret and use the Content or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content, and you hereby release us from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired Content through the Services.
We can’t guarantee the identity of any users with whom you interact in using the Services and are not responsible for which users gain access to the Services. You are responsible for all Content you contribute, in any manner, to the Services, and you represent and warrant you have all rights necessary to do so, in the manner in which you contribute it. You will keep all your registration information accurate and current. You are responsible for all your activity in connection with the Services.
The Services may contain links or connections to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by Lake Novels. When you access third-party websites or use third-party services, you accept that there are risks in doing so, and that Lake Novels is not responsible for such risks. We encourage you to be aware when you leave the Services and to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third-party website or service that you visit or utilize. Lake Novels has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy, privacy policies, or practices of or opinions expressed by a third party in the Content. In addition, Lake Novels will not and cannot monitor, verify, censor, or edit the content of any third-party site or service. By using the Services, you release and hold us harmless from any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website or service.
If there is a dispute between participants on this site, or between users and any third party, you agree that Lake Novels is under no obligation to become involved. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release Lake Novels, its officers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or our Services.
Will Lake Novels ever change the Services?
We’re always trying to improve the Services, so they may change over time. We may suspend or discontinue any part of the Services, or we may introduce new features or impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts or all of the Services. We’ll try to give you notice when we make a material change to the Services that would adversely affect you, but this isn’t always practical. Similarly, we reserve the right to remove any Content from the Services at any time, for any reason (including, but not limited to, if someone alleges you contributed that Content in violation of these Terms), in our sole discretion, and without notice.
Do the Services cost anything? Virtual Currency & Website’s Purchases:
While using Lake Novels, you may have the opportunity to visit the website’s stores where you can obtain and use our virtual currency: points. Lake Novels may also make points available to you in connection with your use of the Services. Virtual currency and points have no “real-world” value but may be exchanged to skip the website’s wait times.
Any prices, quotations, and descriptions made or referred to on our Services do not constitute an offer and may be withdrawn or revised at any time before Lake Novels’s express acceptance of your order. To the extent permitted under applicable law, you agree to pay all charges, fees, and applicable taxes incurred by you or anyone else using your account or resulting from use of the Services on your device at the price(s) in effect when such charges occurred. Lake Novels may change the pricing for the Services at any time consistent with applicable law.
Lake Novels reserves the right to notify you of any mistakes in product descriptions or errors in pricing prior to product dispatch. If that happens, and you choose to continue with fulfillment of the order, you acknowledge that the product or service will be provided in accordance with such revised description or corrected price. Different payment methods, such as credit card, direct debit, PayPal, etc., may be available to you when obtaining virtual currency through the Services. When you use third-party payment and billing providers, such as PayPal, that provider’s additional terms, conditions, and costs apply. It is your obligation to pay all federal, state, and local taxes associated with the receipt or use of the virtual items which you purchase from Lake Novels.
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT LAKE NOVELS WILL NOT OFFER REFUNDS FOR VIRTUAL CURRENCY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION TERMINATION OR EXPIRATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT, THESE TERMS, OR THE SERVICES, EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW. If an account is permanently banned, all virtual currency balances associated with the suspended account are forfeited. Lake Novels will have no obligation or responsibility to and will not reimburse you for any virtual currency, points, or experience lost due to your violation of these Terms.
Subscription
Basic access to the Services on Lake Novels is currently free. However, Lake Novels reserves the right to require payment for certain or all Services. If you choose to enroll in our subscription services to access paid features (e.g., unlimited reading, recurring points each month), you agree to pay all applicable fees associated with the Services selected by you. Lake Novels reserves the right to update its pricing and introduce new charges at any time, with prior notice provided either via email or on the website. Your continued use of the Services after such notification constitutes acceptance of any new or adjusted fees.
Auto-Subscription
Subscriptions will automatically renew unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the current subscription period ends. You may cancel your subscription at any time, but the cancellation will take effect at the end of the current subscription period.
Account Termination
You may stop using the Services at any time by deleting your account. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for information about how your data will be handled after you discontinue using our Services. Lake Novels reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account or access to the Services for any reason, including violations of these Terms. Lake Novels will determine at its sole discretion if you have breached any restrictions outlined in these Terms. Provisions that are meant to survive termination, such as payment obligations, indemnity clauses, and intellectual property terms, will remain effective even after termination.
Use of the Lake Novels App via Apple App Store
These Terms apply to your use of all Lake Novels Services, including any applications available through the Apple App Store. The following additional terms apply to such applications:
- These Terms are solely between you and Lake Novels, not Apple.
- The application is licensed to you for personal, non-commercial use on Apple devices you own or control, subject to these Terms.
- Apple is not responsible for maintenance, support, or addressing claims related to the application.
- In the event of a warranty failure, Apple’s sole obligation is to refund the purchase price of the application, if applicable.
- Lake Novels is responsible for addressing claims related to the application, including intellectual property claims.
- You agree to comply with all applicable third-party terms when using the application.
- Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.
Warranty Disclaimer
Lake Novels and its licensors or suppliers make no representations or warranties about the content accessible through the Services, including its accuracy, legality, or reliability. The Services and all content are provided on an “as-is” basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. Some jurisdictions may not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so these exclusions may not apply to you.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent allowed by law, Lake Novels and its licensors or suppliers shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including lost profits or data, arising out of the use of the Services. The total liability of Lake Novels will not exceed $100 or any amount you paid for the Services.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Lake Novels, its affiliates, and partners from any claims, damages, or losses arising from your use of the Services or violation of these Terms. In such cases, Lake Novels will provide notice of the claim to your registered contact information, but failure to do so does not relieve you of your indemnity obligations.
Assignment
You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your account without prior written consent from Lake Novels. Lake Novels may assign these Terms and its rights without restriction.
Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the applicable jurisdiction without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes will be resolved through arbitration conducted in English in accordance with the rules of a reputable arbitration organization. Both parties waive the right to trial by jury and class action lawsuits.
Miscellaneous
Terms of Service for Lake Novels
Do I have to grant any licenses to Lake Novels or to other users?
Anything you post, upload, share, store, or otherwise provide through the Services is your “User Submission.” Some User Submissions are viewable by other users. In order to display your User Submissions on the Services, and to allow other users to enjoy them (where applicable), you grant us certain rights in those User Submissions. Please note that all of the following licenses are subject to our Privacy Policy to the extent they relate to User Submissions that are also your personally identifiable information.
For all User Submissions, you hereby grant Lake Novels a license to translate, modify (for technical purposes, for example making sure your content is viewable on an iPhone as well as a computer) and reproduce and otherwise act with respect to such User Submissions, in each case to enable us to operate the Services, as described in more detail below. This is a license only – your ownership in User Submissions is not affected.
If you store a User Submission in your own personal Lake Novels account, in a manner that is not viewable by any other user except you (a “Personal User Submission”), you grant Lake Novels the license above, as well as a license to display, perform, and distribute your Personal User Submission for the sole purpose of making that Personal User Submission accessible to you and providing the Services necessary to do so.
If you share a User Submission publicly on the Services and/or in a manner that more than just you or certain specified users can view, or if you provide us (in a direct email or otherwise) with any feedback, suggestions, improvements, enhancements, and/or feature requests relating to the Services (each of the foregoing, a “Public User Submission”), then you grant Lake Novels the licenses above, as well as a license to display, perform, and distribute your Public User Submission for the purpose of making that Public User Submission accessible to all Lake Novels users and providing the Services necessary to do so, as well as all other rights necessary to use and exercise all rights in that Public User Submission in connection with the Services and/or otherwise in connection with Lake Novels’s business. Also, you grant all other users of the Services a license to access that Public User Submission, and to use and exercise all rights in it, as permitted by the functionality of the Services. You agree that the licenses you grant are royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, irrevocable (except as set forth herein), and worldwide.
Finally, you understand and agree that Lake Novels, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users (including you), may need to make changes to your User Submissions to conform and adapt those User Submissions to the technical requirements of connection networks, devices, services, or media, and the foregoing licenses include the rights to do so.
What if I see something on the Services that infringes my copyright?
You may have heard of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”), as it relates to online service providers, like Lake Novels, being asked to remove material that allegedly violates someone’s copyright. We respect others’ intellectual property rights, and we reserve the right to delete or disable Content alleged to be infringing, and to terminate the accounts of repeat alleged infringers. To review our complete Copyright Dispute Policy and learn how to report potentially infringing content, click here. To learn more about the DMCA, click here.
Who is responsible for what I see and do on the Services?
Any information or content publicly posted or privately transmitted through the Services is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated, and you access all such information and content at your own risk. We aren’t liable for any errors or omissions in that information or content or for any damages or loss you might suffer in connection with it. We cannot control and have no duty to take any action regarding how you may interpret and use the Content or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content, and you hereby release us from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired Content through the Services.
We can’t guarantee the identity of any users with whom you interact in using the Services and are not responsible for which users gain access to the Services. You are responsible for all Content you contribute, in any manner, to the Services, and you represent and warrant you have all rights necessary to do so, in the manner in which you contribute it. You will keep all your registration information accurate and current. You are responsible for all your activity in connection with the Services.
The Services may contain links or connections to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by Lake Novels. When you access third-party websites or use third-party services, you accept that there are risks in doing so, and that Lake Novels is not responsible for such risks. We encourage you to be aware when you leave the Services and to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third-party website or service that you visit or utilize. Lake Novels has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy, privacy policies, or practices of or opinions expressed by a third party in the Content. In addition, Lake Novels will not and cannot monitor, verify, censor, or edit the content of any third-party site or service. By using the Services, you release and hold us harmless from any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website or service.
If there is a dispute between participants on this site, or between users and any third party, you agree that Lake Novels is under no obligation to become involved. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release Lake Novels, its officers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or our Services.
Will Lake Novels ever change the Services?
We’re always trying to improve the Services, so they may change over time. We may suspend or discontinue any part of the Services, or we may introduce new features or impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts or all of the Services. We’ll try to give you notice when we make a material change to the Services that would adversely affect you, but this isn’t always practical. Similarly, we reserve the right to remove any Content from the Services at any time, for any reason (including, but not limited to, if someone alleges you contributed that Content in violation of these Terms), in our sole discretion, and without notice.
Do the Services cost anything? Virtual Currency & Website’s Purchases:
While using Lake Novels, you may have the opportunity to visit the website’s stores where you can obtain and use our virtual currency: points. Lake Novels may also make points available to you in connection with your use of the Services. Virtual currency and points have no “real-world” value but may be exchanged to skip the website’s wait times.
Any prices, quotations, and descriptions made or referred to on our Services do not constitute an offer and may be withdrawn or revised at any time before Lake Novels’s express acceptance of your order. To the extent permitted under applicable law, you agree to pay all charges, fees, and applicable taxes incurred by you or anyone else using your account or resulting from use of the Services on your device at the price(s) in effect when such charges occurred. Lake Novels may change the pricing for the Services at any time consistent with applicable law.
Lake Novels reserves the right to notify you of any mistakes in product descriptions or errors in pricing prior to product dispatch. If that happens, and you choose to continue with fulfillment of the order, you acknowledge that the product or service will be provided in accordance with such revised description or corrected price. Different payment methods, such as credit card, direct debit, PayPal, etc., may be available to you when obtaining virtual currency through the Services. When you use third-party payment and billing providers, such as PayPal, that provider’s additional terms, conditions, and costs apply. It is your obligation to pay all federal, state, and local taxes associated with the receipt or use of the virtual items which you purchase from Lake Novels.
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT LAKE NOVELS WILL NOT OFFER REFUNDS FOR VIRTUAL CURRENCY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION TERMINATION OR EXPIRATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT, THESE TERMS, OR THE SERVICES, EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW. If an account is permanently banned, all virtual currency balances associated with the suspended account are forfeited. Lake Novels will have no obligation or responsibility to and will not reimburse you for any virtual currency, points, or experience lost due to your violation of these Terms.
Subscription:
Though basic access to the Services is currently free, Lake Novels reserves the right to require payment of fees for certain or all Services. If you choose to enroll in our subscription services to access the paid features of the Services (e.g., unlimited reading, recurring points each month), you shall pay all applicable fees, as described in connection with such Services selected by you. Lake Novels reserves the right to change its price list and to institute new charges at any time.
You are responsible for paying, withholding, filing, and reporting all taxes, duties, and other governmental assessments associated with your activities in connection with the Services. Lake Novels reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to handle any of these responsibilities on your behalf or for itself as necessary.
Failure by either party to exercise any right under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of any further rights under these Terms. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, so that the remaining Terms remain in full force and effect.
These Terms represent the complete and exclusive agreement between you and Lake Novels, superseding all prior written or oral agreements, communications, or understandings regarding the subject matter of these Terms.
You acknowledge and agree that you are not an employee, agent, partner, or joint venture of Lake Novels and have no authority to bind Lake Novels in any capacity.
Except as expressly stated in the section regarding the Apple Application, there are no third-party beneficiaries under these Terms.