Ika Terms of Service

Welcome to Ika (the "Platform"). The Platform is a service provided by IKA MEDIA GROUP (PTY) LTD, a private company registered in the Republic of South Africa ("Ika", "we", "us", "our"). It enables writers ("Creators") to publish newsletters and other content ("Posts") and allows users ("Readers") to subscribe to these Posts.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding contract between you ("you", "your", or "User") and Ika. They govern your access to and use of the Platform and all related services. By creating an account or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms, which include and incorporate our Privacy Policy and Content Guidelines. If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you may not use the Platform.

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Platform. To use most features, you must register for an account and provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information. This is critical for our services and for complying with the "Know Your Customer" (KYC) requirements of our payment processor, Paystack. You are responsible for all activities under your account and for maintaining the confidentiality of your password.

As an account holder, you may act as both a Creator and a Reader. As a Creator, you can publish and distribute your Posts through paid subscriptions. As a Reader, you can subscribe to Posts, entering into a direct contractual relationship with the Creator for that content.

• You Own Your Content: Any original content you provide to the Platform remains yours and is protected by copyright and other applicable intellectual property laws.
• License Grant to Us: To operate the Platform, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, publish, and distribute your content solely for the purpose of operating, developing, providing, and improving the Platform and its services.
• Creator's Responsibility for Content: You are solely responsible for your content. You warrant that you have all necessary rights to your content and that it complies with our Content Guidelines and all applicable laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

You are responsible for all your activity on the Platform and must comply with all applicable laws. You may not use the Platform for prohibited activities such as jeopardizing account security, spamming, scraping data, or reverse-engineering the Platform. Furthermore, you may not publish content related to categories prohibited by our payment processor, Paystack, including but not limited to:

• Illegal Activities
• Hate Speech and Offensive Material
• Intellectual Property Infringement
• Unlicensed Regulated Products/Services (e.g., financial services, gambling)
• Fraudulent Schemes
• Dangerous or Harmful Items
• Adult Content and Pornography
• Misinformation and Deception
• Unauthorized sale or disclosure of personal information.

We reserve the right to remove any content or suspend/terminate your account for any violation.

• Platform Fee: Ika charges a 10% Platform Fee on the gross subscription payment.
• Payment Processing: All payments are processed exclusively through Paystack and are subject to Paystack's transaction fees. Your final payout will be the total price minus the Ika Platform Fee and Paystack's fees.
• No Circumvention: You agree not to use alternative payment methods to bypass our Platform Fee.
• Payouts: Your net earnings will be settled directly by Paystack to your designated bank account according to their payout schedule.
• Chargebacks and Disputes: As a Creator and Paystack sub-merchant, you are solely and directly responsible for all disputes, chargebacks, and reversals. You must manage these directly within your Paystack dashboard, adhering to strict response deadlines. Ika is not a party to these disputes and is not liable for any associated losses.
• Tax Obligations: You are solely responsible for determining and fulfilling all tax obligations, including VAT, associated with the revenue you generate.
• Refunds: You are responsible for establishing your own refund policy and for processing any refunds directly through your Paystack dashboard. Ika is not a party to refund negotiations.

The Platform, including its logos and software, is the exclusive property of Ika. We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA). To file a takedown notification, please send all required information as stipulated in Section 77 of the ECTA to our designated agent at irakli@ika-media.com. We will terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

Our collection and use of Personal Information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is compliant with POPIA. For the purposes of POPIA, when you as a Creator collect Personal Information about your Readers, you are the "Responsible Party" for that information. Ika acts as your "Operator," processing this data on your behalf. You agree to handle your Readers' data in full compliance with POPIA and may not sell it or use it for any purpose other than communicating about your Posts without explicit consent.

THE PLATFORM AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS-AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IKA'S LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (I) R1,000 (ONE THOUSAND RAND) OR (II) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO US IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLATFORM IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THE APPLICABLE CLAIM.

You agree to indemnify and hold Ika harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses arising from your use of the Platform, your violation of these Terms, or your content.

You are free to stop using the Platform at any time and may delete your account from your settings. We are free to terminate or suspend your access to the Platform or your account for any reason, including your breach of these Terms. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including ownership, indemnification, and limitations on our liability.

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms will be brought exclusively in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg.

We reserve the right to change the Terms at any time and will notify you of changes. Your continued use of the Platform after a change constitutes your agreement to the new Terms. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Ika. You may not assign these Terms without our consent, but we may assign them freely. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Ika.

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at irakli@ika-media.com.