Copyright, Intellectual Property & User Content Policy

This Copyright, Intellectual Property & User Content Policy (“Policy”) explains the ownership and permitted use of intellectual property associated with the DKK Publishing (PTY) Ltd website, Children’s Story Book Creation Platform, Educational Aids, published books, preset themes, custom stories and related services.

This Policy should be read together with DKK Publishing’s:

• Terms and Conditions of Use;
• Privacy Policy and POPIA Notice;
• Parental / Legal Guardian Consent;
• Child Author Publishing & Royalty Agreement;

Refund, Cancellation, Production & Delivery Policy; and

Website, Cookie & Electronic Communications Policy.

DKK Publishing distinguishes between:

A. The Child’s Original Written Work

Original story text created by the Child remains the Child Author’s literary work, subject to applicable law and the publishing licence granted to DKK Publishing.

B. DKK Publishing Intellectual Property

Original illustrations, preset themes, templates, Educational Aids, software, website materials, designs and other original material created by or for DKK Publishing remain subject to DKK Publishing’s applicable intellectual property rights unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

Where a Child independently creates original:

• sentences;
• paragraphs;
• dialogue;
• descriptions;
• storyline;
• plot elements;

character descriptions; and

other written expression,

DKK Publishing recognises the Child as the Author of that original written contribution.

Publication by DKK Publishing does not, by itself, transfer ownership of the Child’s original story copyright to DKK Publishing.

In order to publish and sell the Child’s book, DKK Publishing requires permission to use the Child’s original written work.

The applicable licence is contained in the Child Author Publishing & Royalty Agreement.

The licence permits DKK Publishing, subject to that agreement, to:

• reproduce;
• edit;
• format;
• typeset;
• print;
• publish;
• distribute;
• display;
• market;

promote; and

sell

the authorised book.

DKK Publishing may create and provide picture-guided preset themes.

Examples may include themes such as:

• Fun At The Beach;
• Holiday Adventures;
• Safari Adventures;
• Christmas Stories;
• Diwali;
• Celebration of Eid;
• Zoo Adventures;
• Dragon Stories;
• Aquarium Adventures;

My First Pet; and

other themes introduced by DKK Publishing.

The availability of particular themes may change.

Unless otherwise stated, DKK Publishing retains applicable intellectual property rights in original elements of its preset themes, including:

• illustrations;
• artwork;
• picture sequences;
• prompts;
• page structures;
• templates;
• designs;
• original characters;
• layouts;

theme graphics; and

associated creative materials.

The Child is permitted to use those materials to create a book through the DKK Publishing Platform in accordance with the applicable package.

The Child’s use of a DKK Publishing preset theme does not prevent the Child from owning copyright in their own original written contribution.

Accordingly:

DKK Publishing may own the underlying illustrations/theme materials.

The Child may own their original written story text.

These separate rights may coexist in the completed book.

Where the Child selects the Create Your Own Story / Theme option, the Child may submit an original storyline from which DKK Publishing creates illustrations.

The Parent is responsible for reasonably supervising the Child and ensuring, to the best of the Parent’s knowledge, that the submitted story is genuinely original and does not deliberately copy protected third-party material.

Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, copyright and other applicable rights in illustrations created by or for DKK Publishing remain with DKK Publishing or the relevant rights holder from whom DKK Publishing has obtained appropriate rights.

This may include:

• characters;
• backgrounds;
• landscapes;
• objects;
• page illustrations;
• cover artwork;

decorative artwork; and

other artistic works.

Payment for a custom story package or custom illustration service does not automatically constitute an assignment of copyright in the illustrations to the Parent or Child.

The Parent purchases the agreed publishing and production service.

The illustrations may be incorporated into the authorised published book in accordance with the applicable agreements.

Original layouts, templates, graphic arrangements, design elements and production materials created by DKK Publishing may remain the intellectual property of DKK Publishing.

The Parent may not take DKK Publishing’s book files or production templates and commercially reproduce them through another publisher without permission where doing so infringes DKK Publishing’s rights.

Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, original cover artwork created by DKK Publishing remains subject to DKK Publishing’s intellectual property rights.

The cover may be used to:

• identify the book;
• advertise the book;
• promote the book;

display the book online; and

sell authorised copies.

The DKK Publishing Platform and website may contain intellectual property including:

• software;
• source code;
• object code;
• database structures;
• interfaces;
• workflows;
• page designs;
• text;
• icons;
• logos;
• graphics;
• images;
• templates;

processes; and

original content.

Users receive only the limited right to use the Platform for its intended purpose.

The following may be protected by intellectual property law:

• DKK Publishing name;
• DKK Publishing logo;
• branding;
• slogans;
• mascot;

graphic identity; and

other brand elements.

No licence is granted to use DKK Publishing branding in a manner that falsely suggests endorsement, partnership or ownership.

Educational Aids provided through the Platform may include:

• reading comprehension exercises;
• problem sums;
• word problems;
• mathematics worksheets;
• addition exercises;
• subtraction exercises;
• multiplication exercises;
• division exercises;
• mazes;
• logic puzzles;
• spot-the-difference activities;
• sequencing exercises;

literacy activities; and

creative thinking resources.

Unless otherwise stated, these materials remain the intellectual property of DKK Publishing or the relevant rights holder.

Where Educational Aids are included in a paid package, DKK Publishing grants the authorised user a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to:

• download permitted resources;

print permitted resources; and

use those resources for the Child’s personal educational purposes.

This licence does not transfer ownership.

Users may not:

• resell Educational Aids;
• redistribute them commercially;
• upload them to public download websites;
• package them into another commercial product;
• remove DKK Publishing branding;
• claim authorship;
• sell photocopies;

sell digital copies; or

commercially licence them to others.

Unless a separate licence is granted, a Parent’s personal-use licence does not automatically permit a:

• school;
• tutoring business;
• learning centre;
• educational company;

after-school programme; or

other organisation

to reproduce DKK Publishing Educational Aids for multiple learners.

Separate licensing may be required.

“User Content” includes content submitted by a Parent or Child through the Platform.

This may include:

• story text;
• titles;
• descriptions;
• custom story ideas;
• character descriptions;
• instructions;

uploaded material where permitted; and

communications relating to the book.

Users must not knowingly submit material as their own where that material has been unlawfully copied from another person.

Parents are expected to provide reasonable supervision appropriate to the Child’s age.

Children may naturally be inspired by books, films, television programmes, games and popular characters.

However, a book intended for commercial publication should not knowingly reproduce protected third-party characters, artwork, storylines or branding without appropriate permission.

Examples may include protected characters or worlds owned by major entertainment, publishing or gaming companies.

DKK Publishing may request changes before publication where a story appears to create an intellectual property risk.

DKK Publishing may decline to commercially publish fan fiction or other derivative material involving third-party intellectual property where appropriate rights or permissions have not been obtained.

Users should exercise care when including identifiable real persons in stories.

DKK Publishing may request that names or identifying details be changed where publication may create:

• privacy concerns;
• reputational harm;
• defamation risk;

safety concerns; or

other legal risks.

Users may not knowingly submit content that:

• unlawfully infringes copyright;
• unlawfully infringes trade marks;
• is defamatory;
• contains unlawful hate speech;
• contains child sexual abuse material;
• contains pornography inappropriate for the service;
• promotes unlawful conduct;
• contains malicious software;
• unlawfully invades another person’s privacy;

impersonates another person for fraudulent purposes; or

otherwise violates applicable law.

DKK Publishing is a children’s publishing service.

DKK Publishing may refuse content that it reasonably determines is materially inappropriate for its children’s publishing environment even where the content is not necessarily unlawful.

DKK Publishing may review submitted content before publication.

Review does not mean DKK Publishing guarantees that every possible legal issue has been identified.

Parents remain responsible for information and third-party material they knowingly provide or authorise for submission.

DKK Publishing may refuse or suspend publication where it reasonably believes that content:

• infringes another person’s rights;
• creates significant legal risk;
• is inappropriate for the service;

violates DKK Publishing policies; or

is unlawful.

A person who believes material published through DKK Publishing infringes their copyright may contact:

Email:

info@dkkpublishing.com

The complaint should include sufficient information to identify:

• the complainant;
• the protected work;
• the allegedly infringing material;
• the relevant book;

the nature of the complaint; and

appropriate contact details.

DKK Publishing may investigate reasonable intellectual property complaints.

During an investigation DKK Publishing may:

• contact the Parent;
• request additional information;
• temporarily suspend a listing;

temporarily stop new sales; or

remove allegedly infringing material where appropriate.

Persons submitting intellectual property complaints should act honestly.

DKK Publishing reserves its rights in relation to knowingly false, fraudulent or abusive complaints.

DKK Publishing may use AI-assisted tools as part of certain creative or production workflows.

Such tools may assist with:

• illustration;
• concept development;
• editing;
• layout;

production; and

quality control.

Where AI-assisted tools are used, DKK Publishing may combine automated assistance with human creative direction, selection, editing or review.

DKK Publishing should avoid providing unnecessary identifying information about a Child to an external AI provider where the relevant production task can reasonably be completed without that information.

Processing of personal information remains subject to DKK Publishing’s Privacy Policy and applicable law.

Users may not use automated systems to systematically:

• scrape;
• copy;
• harvest;
• download;

reproduce; or

extract

DKK Publishing’s protected Platform content except where expressly authorised.

Users may not attempt to:

• reverse engineer;
• decompile;
• bypass;

interfere with; or

unlawfully access

the Platform or its protected technical systems.

Publication of a Child’s book does not place the Child’s story or DKK Publishing’s illustrations into the public domain.

Applicable intellectual property rights continue after publication.

Parents may share reasonable images of the Child’s book for personal promotional purposes, subject to:

• the Child’s privacy;
• third-party rights;

DKK Publishing’s rights; and

applicable law.

This permission does not authorise commercial exploitation of individual DKK Publishing illustrations outside the book.

Users may not intentionally remove copyright or ownership notices from DKK Publishing materials where doing so would facilitate unauthorised reproduction or redistribution.

Termination of an account does not automatically transfer intellectual property ownership.

Copyright and intellectual property ownership continue according to applicable law and the relevant agreements.

This Policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

• Website:

www.dkkpublishing.com

Email:

info@dkkpublishing.com

Telephone:

+27 64 515 8628

Business Hours:

08:30 to 16:30Monday to Friday