Terms of Service

§ 1 Scope

(1) These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter "GTC") govern the use of the online service "Your Novel" provided at your-novel.app (hereinafter "Service"), operated by Teckit UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Neuer Schulweg 1, 59494 Soest, Germany, registered in the commercial register of the Amtsgericht Arnsberg under HRB 15590 (hereinafter "Operator").

(2) These GTC apply to all users of the Service (hereinafter "User"). Conflicting or deviating terms of the User shall not apply unless the Operator has expressly agreed to them in writing.

(3) The GTC are made available to the User before the conclusion of the contract in a manner that allows storage and reproduction in readable form. By registering, the User agrees to these GTC.

(4) The version of the GTC valid at the time of registration shall apply.

§ 2 Subject matter

(1) The Service enables AI-assisted creation of novel chapters based on user input. The User describes a story premise in conversation with the system, from which a story foundation (characters, world, plot direction) is generated. Chapters are then generated individually or in batch by AI language models.

(2) AI text generation is performed via the third-party provider OpenRouter, which routes requests to various AI model providers (e.g. Anthropic, Google). The Operator has no control over the internal processing of these providers.

(3) The Operator does not guarantee any particular content style, quality, or availability of specific AI models. Generation is provided on an "as available" basis using the models accessible via OpenRouter at any given time.

(4) Service availability may be temporarily limited due to maintenance, updates, third-party disruptions, or technical reasons. The Operator reserves the right to temporarily disable AI generation (e.g. during cost spikes, model issues, or security incidents). Access to previously generated content remains unaffected.

§ 3 Contract formation and registration

(1) The presentation of the Service on the website does not constitute a binding offer, but an invitation to submit an offer (invitatio ad offerendum).

(2) By submitting the registration, the User makes an offer to conclude a usage agreement. The contract is formed upon activation of the user account after successful email verification.

(3) Registration requires a name, a valid email address, a password (minimum 12 characters), and the User's country of tax residency. Alternatively, registration via an OAuth provider (Google, GitHub) is possible; in this case the country of tax residency is requested separately. The User is obligated to provide truthful information.

(4) Use of the Service requires a minimum age of 18 years.

(5) Each natural person may create only one user account. Sharing login credentials with third parties is prohibited. The User is responsible for the security of their credentials and must immediately notify the Operator if they become aware of unauthorized use of their account.

§ 4 Credits and payments

(1) The use of AI generation features requires credits. Credits are purchased as one-time packages; there is no subscription model.

(2) The Operator may grant new Users a one-time, complimentary welcome credit balance upon registration. The amount and availability of the welcome credits are determined at the Operator's sole discretion; there is no legal entitlement to such grant. The welcome credits have no cash value, are non-redeemable, and are forfeited without compensation upon deletion of the user account. The current welcome credit amount is displayed on the registration page.

The welcome credit grant is limited to one natural person, regardless of the number of email addresses or sign-in methods used. In the event of abusive multiple registrations to obtain welcome credits, the Operator is entitled to suspend all affected user accounts and forfeit the improperly obtained credits without compensation.

(3) Credits are consumed after successful generation. Consumption depends on the number of tokens processed by the AI model and the price of the respective model. A fixed price per chapter is not guaranteed.

(4) Payment processing for credit packages is handled by Polar.sh (Polar Software Inc.) as Merchant of Record. Polar.sh is the User's contractual partner for the payment transaction and handles tax obligations including the collection and remittance of VAT. The terms of service of Polar.sh additionally apply. The Operator does not store credit card or bank details.

(5) The prices for credit packages displayed on the platform include the applicable tax based on the country of tax residency declared by the User during registration. Users may update their country of tax residency in their account settings. The final tax calculation and remittance is handled by Polar.sh at checkout.

(6) Credits are non-transferable, non-sellable, and non-redeemable for cash. Transfer to other user accounts or exchange for money is excluded.

(7) Purchased credits are valid for three years from the date of purchase (§ 195 BGB). After this period, unused credits expire. Complimentary credits (in particular the welcome credit grant) are not subject to any expiration period but are forfeited without compensation upon deletion of the user account.

(8) Reading previously generated content and exporting content (EPUB, Markdown, text) is available at any time regardless of credit balance.

§ 5 Right of withdrawal

Withdrawal notice

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day of the conclusion of the contract. To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Teckit UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Neuer Schulweg 1, 59494 Soest, Germany, email: contact@your-novel.app) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or an email).

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Alternatively, you can submit your withdrawal directly via our withdrawal page.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

Early expiry of the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal expires prematurely for contracts for the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium if the Operator has begun performance after the User (a) has expressly consented to the Operator beginning performance before the expiry of the withdrawal period, and (b) has confirmed their knowledge that they lose their right of withdrawal upon the beginning of performance (§ 356(5) BGB).

When purchasing a credit package, the User is asked to provide the aforementioned declarations before completing the order. Performance is deemed to have begun once the credits are activated in the user account; the right of withdrawal expires at that point.

Model withdrawal form

(If you wish to withdraw from the contract, please complete this form and return it.)

§ 6 Rights to generated content

(1) The User receives a non-exclusive, comprehensive, unlimited right of use in terms of time and territory to the content generated for them (texts, chapters, story foundations, summaries). The User may read, edit, publish, and use the content commercially.

(2) The Operator retains no rights to content generated for the User and does not reuse it, except as required to provide the Service (e.g. storage in the user account, use as context for generating subsequent chapters).

(3) User inputs (premises, instructions, feedback) remain the property of the User. They are processed solely to provide the Service and transmitted to the AI provider.

(4) Under current German law, AI-generated texts generally do not enjoy copyright protection, as they lack a personal intellectual creation within the meaning of § 2 UrhG. The Operator makes no warranty that generated content is eligible for copyright protection.

(5) AI models may coincidentally produce phrasings that resemble existing third-party works. The Operator makes no warranty that generated content is free from similarities to third-party works. The User bears responsibility for reviewing and using generated content, particularly before publication.

(6) AI-generated cover images are subject to the same provisions as the text content described in paragraphs 1 through 5.

§ 7 User obligations

(1) The User may not use the Service to generate content that violates applicable law, in particular content constituting incitement to hatred, glorification of violence, child sexual abuse material, or pornography within the meaning of §§ 130, 131, 184 ff. StGB.

(2) The User may not circumvent technical safeguards of the Service, in particular the credit system, rate limiting, or CAPTCHA verification.

(3) Automated use of the Service beyond the intended user interface (scraping, bots, API abuse) is prohibited without prior written consent of the Operator.

(4) Reverse engineering of the Service, its underlying software, or the AI models is prohibited.

(5) In the event of a violation, the Operator is entitled to temporarily suspend the user account or, in the case of serious or repeated violations, permanently delete it. In the event of permanent deletion, remaining credits are forfeited without compensation. The Operator will inform the User of the reasons before a permanent deletion, unless this is unreasonable due to legal requirements or the need to prevent further violations.

§ 8 Liability and warranty

(1) The Operator is liable without limitation for damages arising from injury to life, body, or health caused by an intentional or negligent breach of duty by the Operator, its legal representatives, or its vicarious agents.

(2) The Operator is liable without limitation for damages caused by intentional or grossly negligent conduct of the Operator, its legal representatives, or its vicarious agents.

(3) In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations (cardinal obligations) through simple negligence, the Operator's liability is limited to foreseeable, typically occurring damage. Material contractual obligations are those whose fulfillment is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on whose compliance the User may regularly rely.

(4) Liability for other damages caused by simple negligence is excluded.

(5) Liability under the Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) and from the assumption of a guarantee remains unaffected by the foregoing limitations.

(6) The Operator makes no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of AI-generated content. In particular, the Operator is not liable for content defects in AI output such as logic errors, contradictions, stylistic weaknesses, or factual inaccuracies.

(7) The Operator is not liable for outages or limitations of the Service caused by disruptions at third-party providers (in particular OpenRouter, AI model providers, Polar.sh).

(8) The User is responsible for regularly backing up their content. The Service provides an export function (EPUB, Markdown, text) for this purpose.

§ 9 Term and termination

(1) The usage agreement is concluded for an indefinite period.

(2) The User may delete their user account at any time without giving reasons in the Service settings. Termination takes effect upon deletion of the user account.

(3) Upon deletion of the user account, all User data is permanently deleted, including: account data, projects, generated chapters, story notes, credit transactions, token usage data, and user settings. The linked customer profile at Polar.sh is also deleted. Complimentary credits (in particular the welcome credit grant) are forfeited without compensation upon account deletion. For purchased, unused, and non-expired credits, the User will be offered a refund via the original payment method before deletion. If the User expressly waives the refund, the credits are forfeited upon deletion.

(4) The User is advised to export desired content (EPUB, Markdown, text) and download a data export (JSON) via account settings before deletion.

(5) The Operator may terminate the usage agreement with 30 days' notice by email. In the event of ordinary termination by the Operator, remaining credits purchased for a fee and not yet expired will be refunded.

(6) The right of either party to terminate for good cause pursuant to § 314 BGB remains unaffected. Good cause for the Operator exists in particular if the User violates their obligations under § 7 of these GTC.

§ 10 Final provisions

(1) The laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). For consumers habitually resident in a Member State of the European Union, this choice of law shall not deprive them of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of their country of habitual residence (Art. 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 - Rome I).

(2) If the User is an entrepreneur within the meaning of § 14 BGB, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract shall be Soest. For consumers, the statutory place of jurisdiction applies.

(3) Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. The relevant statutory provisions shall apply in place of the invalid provision.

(4) The contract language is German. The English version of these GTC is for informational purposes only and is not legally binding. In the event of discrepancies between the German and English versions, the German version shall prevail.

(5) The Operator is neither obligated nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

(6) Changes to these GTC will be communicated to the User by email at least 30 days before taking effect. The amended GTC shall only take effect once the User has expressly consented to them. If the User does not consent, the contract shall continue under the existing terms. In that case, either party shall have the right to terminate the contract with 30 days' notice. The Operator will inform the User of the consent requirement and the option to terminate in the change notification. The current version of these GTC is identified by a version date.