TERMS & CONDITIONS

Zion Publications is trading as Authors International. The below terms and conditions are applicable in all situations, unless otherwise stated in writing by Zion Publications.

GENERAL

 

PRIVACY

  • Zion Publications is 100% committed to user’s and clients’ privacy.
  • Zion Publications uses online contact forms for customers to request information and services. The information we collect is used solely to answer inquiries or fill requests submitted by our customers.

 

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS

Zion Publications reserves the right to:

  • Display sample copies of client artworkto potential customers in digital and/or printed formats.
  • Display the Zion Publications company name, logo and relevant company contact details on websites, book and magazine publications that are produced by Zion Publications.
  • Use similar concepts from a client artworkfor another job.
  • Keep and withhold the original files of client artwork. Clients may not obtain these files.
  • Withhold all client artwork, printed materials and/or suspend domain(s) and hosting accounts, if the client’s account with Zion Publications has not been paid in full by the required deadline date.
  • If the client’s job has been cancelled or the client’s account with Zion Publications has not been paid in full by the required deadline date, Zion Publications reserves the right to use the same client artwork, printed materials and/or domain(s) for another job/client.

 

COPYRIGHT

  • Copyright of the artwork and/or literature, supplied by the client, will remain with the original owner of that specific material.
  • Zion Publications artwork may not be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted and/or distributed in any form or by any other means without prior written consent from Zion Publications.
  • Zion Publications retains full copyright of all their artwork, and they may not be altered by the client, or third party.

 

3RD PARTY SERVICES

  • Zion Publications makes use of 3rd Party Services. These 3rd Party Services, with written consent from Zion Publications, reserve the right to work/trade under the Zion Publications’ name or under their own name/company name(s). In both cases, these 3rd Party Services remain 3rd Party Services and Zion Publications is not liable for any/all damages incurred by these 3rd Party Services.
  • Zion Publications reserves the right to withhold any/all contact information of these 3rd Party Services.

 

DURATION / TIME-FRAME AND DEADLINE OF SERVICES

  • An estimated duration/timeframe and/or deadline may be given by Zion Publications on the date of the quote submitted by Zion Publications for a specified job. Should the client delay in supplying Zion Publications with the relevant information (and images, if required) or if circumstances occur that are out of Zion Publications control, Zion Publications shall not be held liable to keep to the previously mentioned estimated duration/time-frame and/or deadline date. Zion Publications also then does not guarantee that the specified job will be completed by the expected deadline date.

 

ADMINISTRATION SERVICES

  • Once Zion Publications has supplied the client with the relevant information and/or design(s), and the client has acknowledged receipt of the item(s), it is the client’s sole responsibility to keep track of where this information and/or design(s) are stored once in their possession. Zion Publications will only resend this same information and/or deign(s) twice. If Zion Publications is required to repeatedly resend the same information and/or design(s), this “administration” service will be charged for at an hourly fee. Minimum 1 hour charge. However, if the client is subject to computer theft and/or a virus attack whereby the information on their computer is removed, Zion Publications shall resend this same information and/or design(s) to the client once more.

PUBLISHING, WEBSITE DESIGN AND ALL OTHER DESIGN SERVICES

 

LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION  

  • Zion Publications will not be held responsible if any changes/modifications made by the client, or third party, to any artwork.
  • In the case of websites: Zion Publications cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading through the client’s website will be free of infection or viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code that may manifest contaminating or destructive properties. The client is responsible for the safety of the downloads that the client supplies. Zion Publications is not liable for any loss or damage of any sort as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of merchants, advertisers, or users on the site. Zion Publications does not operate or control in any respect any information, products or services on such third-party websites. The client assumes sole responsibility for use of third-party links and pointers and disclaimers set forth herein are equally applicable to such third-party sites.
  • In the case of hosting and domains: Zion Publications uses a third party for these services. In the unlikely event that there will be a problem, Zion Publications will not be liable for any loss arising, whether any incidental, consequential, or indirect loss, damages including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, business interruption, loss of programs or information, and the like.
  • In the case of emails: Zion Publications cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that the information and/or files sent/emailed will be free of infection, viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code that may manifest contaminating or destructive properties. The client is responsible for the safety of the information and files that are sent/emailed.
  • In the case of printing and/or branding on items: Once the client has signified his/her approval on a project, all liability for errors, changes, or alterations, whether the original fault of the client, 3rd Party Service or Zion Publications, shall become the sole responsibility of the client. The signature of approval will be accepted and assumed either in writing, email, sms, or through the final payment from the client. Zion Publications shall not be liable for any reprint/manufacturing costs or damages of any kind resulting from such an error. Charges for alterations or changes made after the client approval shall be made at the discretion of Zion Publications, and the client shall be liable for any changes if imposed. It is the client’s full responsibility to check all copy.
  • In the case of illegal use of images and information: Jobs are completed at the exclusive direction of and based on information and images provided by each individual client. The sole and entire responsibility for that same information and images rest with each individual client. By submitting those items to Zion Publications, Zion Publications assumes they have permission to use those items without infringing any intellectual property rights by using them. Zion Publications will not be liable for breach of intellectual property rights or using items supplied by the client.
  • If a client chooses to transfer their website, hosting, domain and/or emails to another hosting company, Zion Publications will send/email the client and/or new hosting company all the relevant website files (except the original editable artwork files). It is the client and the new hosting company’s sole responsibility to accurately set up the client’s website on the new hosting account. It is not the responsibility of Zion Publications to set up the client’s website with the new hosting company. Zion Publications will only do so provided that the client pays a service fee. Zion Publications will not be held responsible for any damage and/or loss that occurs.

 

PAYMENTS, FEES AND CANCELLATIONS

  • Zion Publications offers quotes free of charge.
  • Deposits and final payments on invoices/statements/accounts are non-refundable.
  • A minimum of a 50% deposit of the total quoted balance will be required on all jobs before commencement. The remainder of the balance will be required upon completion. In the case of printed materials, the remainder of the balance will be required upon completion and before printer materials are released to the client.
  • If a client has requested work to be done by Zion Publications, with or without a quote, the client is still required to pay Zion Publications for the hours that it took to complete the requested job.
  • Jobs that are quoted on an hourly basis will then have the final quantity of hours (that were used on the job) calculated and stated on the final invoice / upon job completion. All excess hours used on a job are to be paid by the client in full.
  • If the job has not already begun, and the client cancels, the client is not liable to pay any additional fees. The deposit is, however, non-refundable. If the job has already begun or completed, and the client cancels, the client is still liable for the full balance on the quote/invoice/statement.
  • In the case of additions/changes to existing websites, Zion Publications will allow the client a maximum of 3 days in which to make payment on the invoice. This 3 day period starts directly after finalization on the additions/changes. If the client fails to make this payment, Zion Publications will suspend those pages, until payment has been received.
  • Final payment of the total balance on the invoice/statement is to be made, by the client, within 7 days of the date on the invoice. Penalty fees shall be payable, by the client, on overdue accounts at the rate of 5% per overdue month, of the total balance.
  • Zion Publications will not continue with any further work if the client has not paid their invoice/statement/account with Zion Publications in full.
  • Zion Publications reserves the right to withhold all client artwork, printed materials and/or domain(s), if the client’s invoice/statement/account with Zion Publications has not been paid in full by the required deadline date.
  • Clients are required to submit all relevant information and/or images within 14 days after the initial deposit is made by the client. If the client delays submitting this information and/or images, they shall be required to pay an additional 25% of the quoted balance on the invoice to secure the job. No additions/changes will be done unless this fee is paid. Failure to do so will deem the job as ‘cancelled’.
  • If the client’s job has been cancelled or the client’s invoice/statement/account with Zion Publications has not been paid in full by the required deadline date, Zion Publications reserves the right to use the same client artwork, printed materials and/or domain(s) for another job.

HOSTING, DOMAINS AND WEBSITES

 

LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION

  • The parties agree that in no event shall Zion Publications be liable to any third party for Client’s breach or alleged breach of any of the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
  • Client agrees that it will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Zion Publications from any and all demands, fines, liabilities, losses, costs, claims, and expenses, including attorney’s fees, asserted against Zion Publications, its employees, officers, agents, and directors that may arise or result from any service provided or performed, or agreed to be performed, or any product sold by Client, its employees, officers, agents, and directors
  • Zion Publications assumes no liability of the Client for failure to follow this Agreement and any results caused by the acts, omissions or negligence of the Client, sub-contractor or an agent of Client or an employee of any one to them, including, but not limited to, claims of third parties arising out of or resulting from or in connection with the Client’s products, messages, programs, caller contracts, promotions, advertising, infringement or any claim for libel or slander or for violation of copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights.

 

PAYMENTS, FEES AND CANCELLATIONS

  • Establishment of this service is dependent on receipt of payment of stated charges. Payments are due and will be automatically deducted from your credit card on the monthly anniversary date of the day you opened your account. Clients who chose to pay via bank deposit should make payment on or before it’s due date based on day you opened your account.
  • Zion Publications reserves the right to temporary deny service or terminate all/any website hosting, email hosting and/or domain services if the client fails to make the required payments.
  • All website hosting and email hosting cancellation requests must be sent to info@zion.za.com and must be made at least 14 days prior to future renewals/billing. The client must have all account information in order to cancel.
  • All domain cancellations must be sent to info@zion.za.com and must be made at least 45 days prior to future renewals/billing. The client must have all account information in order to cancel.

 

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

  • Zion Publications offers a full 7-day money back guarantee on its hosting service. After the first 7 days, all payments are non-refundable. Violations of the AUP and/or TOS automatically void the 7-day money back guarantee. A full refund will be given within the first 7days of account activation, if you cancel with us.
  • If account cancellations are due to hosting faults, Zion Publications must be made aware of such issues using our support trouble ticket system and have ample time to correct such issues before refunding payment back to customer. All set up fees, domain name registration/transfer payments, and leased software, are non-refundable. After the customers initial 7 days, you may cancel at any time within 14 days written notice to us. At such time, monthly subscribers will not be billed for the following full month’s payment. There is no pro-rated hosting refund offered when you cancel your account after your initial 7-day period. Money Back Guarantee does not apply to dedicated server hosting, domain name registrations, SSL Purchases, or Software Leases. If you cancel a package/account which includes a SSL Certificate, that certificate will be cancelled, and all leased software licenses will be cancelled.

 

UPTIME GUARANTEE

Zion Publications guarantees that the servers and connectivity will be available at least 99% per calendar month, excluding scheduled maintenance outages and circumstances beyond our control (i.e. down routers, DoS attacks, web site configuration issues, mis-configured customer scripts and applications, etc.). In the event that the monthly outages exceed 1% or 437.76 minutes, Zion Publications will credit, at the request of the Client, 10% of the Client’s monthly fee per additional 30 minutes of outages, up to 100% of the Client’s monthly fee. The Client must request the credit within 30 days of the end of the calendar month where the outages occurred. Violations of the AUP and/or TOS automatically void the Uptime Guarantee. How is the 437.76 minutes calculated? There are 365 days per year divided by 12 months in a year = 30.4 days per month. And there are 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day so 1440 minutes in one day. So 30.4 days per month times 1440 minutes each day is 43776 minutes per month. 1% of that is 437.76 minutes a month, or 7.2 hours a month. This guarantee applies to the network connectivity and server uptime but does not apply to “acts of god” or “war” or other issues outside of our control. If you have a dedicated server through our network, the same applies. Both web hosting and dedicated server customers SLA does not cover any load issues caused by illegal or mis-configured customer software running on the server. Connectivity is measured as the ability of the server to transmit and receive data, which means if MySQL is down, but your website is still working and/or your email is working there is no downtime. Downtime is complete website inaccessibility. To be eligible for this SLA, your account must be in good standing. To be have your account credited under the SLA a trouble ticket must be submitted and verified and you must provide third party documentation verifying the downtime. All requests for credit should be made to the billing department with a trouble ticket number. Any customer within the Zion Publications Network automatically qualifies to participate in this SLA.

 

BANDWIDTH

Customer agrees that bandwidth and disk usage shall not exceed the number of megabytes/gigabytes per month for the Services ordered by the Customer. Zion Publications will monitor Customer’s bandwidth and disk usage. Zion Publications shall have the right to take corrective action if Customer’s bandwidth or disk usage exceeds the Agreed Usage. Such corrective action may include assessment of additional charges, disconnection or discontinuance of any and all Services, or termination of this Agreement. Which actions may be taken is in Zion Publications’ sole discretion. If Zion Publications takes any corrective action under this section, the Customer shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid in advance prior to such action. In the event that a customer exceeds the included allocation, Zion publications may, at its sole discretion, collect a deposit, in an amount determined by Zion Publications, against the customer’s credit card on file with Zion Publications.

 

SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY

Users are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the ZION PUBLICATIONS Network. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. ZION PUBLICATIONS will investigate occurrences, which may involve such violations and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting Users who are involved in such violations. These violations include, without limitation:

  • Accessing data not intended for such user or logging into a server or account, which such User is not authorized to access.
  • Attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization.
  • Attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, via means of overloading, “flooding”, “mail bombing” or “crashing”.
  • Forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or forum posting.
  • Taking any action in order to obtain services to which such user is not entitled.
  • Attempting to couple many hosting packages together to take advantage of massive space or bandwidth allocations. Each hosting package purchased is unique to a domain name and use – please do not purchase multiple “plan 1′s” for instance to get the combined bandwidth & space. ZION PUBLICATIONS will stop such transactions and label them as deceptive. We have an upgrade path for all services, and we can often times work out special deals for users if they ask us for the assistance.

 

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

If you are found to be promoting illegal activities, including but not limited to Warez, FXP, Hacking Tools, Cracks, MP3 that you do not own the rights to or if you are linking to such materials and/or storing such materials on Zion Publications’ servers, your account will be terminated without further notice. Monies paid to Zion Publications will be forfeit and you will be charged a R2500 per hour charge for Administration Fee and Investigation costs if you are directly responsible.

 

NO SPAM

  • Client agrees not to SPAM using ZION PUBLICATIONS’s servers and/or network, explained in the AUP. Violations of this policy carry severe penalties, including termination of account.
  • ZION PUBLICATIONS reserve the right to charge a R5000 administration fee and investigation cost due to violation(s) of this policy if you are directly responsible.
  • ZION PUBLICATIONS reserve the right to terminates the Client’s account without further notice due to violation(s) of this policy.
  • ZION PUBLICATIONS reserve the right to take legal actions against the violator due to violation(s) of this policy.

 

BULK EMAILS

We monitor “Bulk Email”. While cPanel has a mailing program installed, any mailing over 2500 messages must be pre-approved. In addition, any site sending over 500 messages per day will be considered “Bulk”. Bulk email ties up the mail queue and delays messages for other users. Therefore, we must limit the amount of use on any shared server. There are some arrangements that can be made to accommodate a user with a large list which includes extra fees and special mail scheduling software. Please be aware that posting a Free for All web pages could generate “bulk email” from auto responders of the FFA list users you have posted to. We may need to take action if these auto responders are spamming the server and causing the mail queue too many delays.

 

ADULT CONTENT AND SUCKS SITES

Pornography, nudity, and sex-related merchandising are prohibited. This includes sites that may infer sexual content; links to such adult content elsewhere are also prohibited. We disallow adult content due to the high resource such sites can use. If you are not sure whether your site is considered to have adult content or not, please contact us
Sites that are attacking in nature – specifically “sucks” types sites and sites that use others corporate names to promote them as sucking or use their corporate image / logo exactly or in slightly altered ways are expressly disallowed.

 

BACKUP

The client is responsible for the backup of their website(s) and files. We will make every reasonable attempt to void unexpected server downtime and to ensure that all accounts are well taken care of. We cannot predict server downtime.

CONCLUSION

 

REFUSAL OF SERVICES

Zion Publications reserves the right to refuse or discontinue service to anyone at Zion Publications’ sole discretion. Zion Publications may deny client access to all or part of the service without notice if client engages in any conduct or activities that Zion Publications’ in its sole discretion believes violates any of the terms and conditions of this agreement. Zion Publications shall have no responsibility to notify any third-party providers of services, merchandise, or information, nor any responsibility for any consequences resulting from such discontinuance or lack of notification. You agree that Zion Publications has the right to monitor the service electronically from time to time and to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy the law, or to protect itself or its subscribers.

 

DEFAULT

In the event a client defaults in any provision or fails to perform pursuant to this Agreement, Zion Publications will be entitled to damages, costs, and attorney’s fees from the client.

 

TERM

The term of this agreement will continue until notice of cancellation by Zion Publications or client is given, or until terminated under other provisions of this agreement. Zion Publications reserves right to terminate its Agreement without cause upon notification to the client. Zion Publications may further terminate this agreement immediately without notice at any time the client breaches any part of this agreement, or if any program or facility used by Zion Publications to implement this agreement is disrupted or terminated for any reason.

 

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

Zion Publications will not be held responsible for any damages that your personal reputation and/or business may suffer. Zion Publications makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, for services rendered. Zion Publications disclaims any warranty or merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Zion Publications assumes no liability for disruptions or improper operation of its equipment or software for any reason, including, but not limited to, vandalism, theft, phone service outages, internet disruptions, human error, extreme or severe weather conditions or any other causes in the nature of “Acts of God” or force majeure. Zion Publications will not be responsible for consequential damages or punitive or exemplary damages under any circumstances. In no case will a client be entitled to recover damages from Zion Publications.

 

AGREEMENT

If any of the provisions, or portions thereof, of this agreement are found to be invalid under any applicable statute or rule of the law, then, that provision notwithstanding, this agreement shall remain in full force and effect and such provision or portion thereof shall be deemed omitted. This agreement, including the exhibits, attachments and/or addenda, if any, represents the entire agreement of the parties with respect of the subject matter thereof and supersedes all prior and/or contemporaneous agreements or understandings, written or oral between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. This agreement and the rights granted, and obligations undertaken hereunder may not be transferred, assigned or delegated in any matter by the client, but may be so transferred, assigned or delegated by Zion Publications. Any waiver or any provision of this agreement, or delay by any party in the enforcement of any right hereunder, shall neither be construed as a continuing waiver nor create an expectation of non-enforcement of that or any other provision or right. In any legal proceeding between the parties under this agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its costs, expenses and reasonable attorneys’ fees. This agreement and Zion Publications policies are subject to change by Zion Publications without notice.