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Terms of Use

May 31th 2023

Welcome to the hachette.com website, a corporate website providing information about the Hachette Livre Group (hereinafter the "Website"). The Website presents the history, businesses, strategies and news relating to Hachette Livre Group.

This document sets out the general terms and conditions of use (hereinafter the “Terms of Use”) of the Website.

By accessing the Website, you agree to respect the Terms of Use.

 

ARTICLE 1 – DEFINITIONS

"Content" means, but is not limited to, the structure/architecture of the Website, the editorial contents, texts, illustrations, photos, videos, sounds, graphics, and any other content on the Website relating to Hachette Livre Group and its affiliates and/or their activities.

"Press Content" refers to all content provided to Professionals by Hachette Livre's communications department in the Press Section, such as press releases and photos, for the only purpose of communicating about Hachette Livre Group and/or its news and/or activities and/or the works it publishes and to which the content relates.

"Press Area" refers to the section of the Website, accessible here, in which Professionals may consult and use Press Content under the strict conditions set forth in the Terms of Use.

"Professional" means any journalist or any other professional, in particular in the editorial industry, who has access to the Website and the Press Content published thereon.

"User" means any physical person who navigates on the Website, including Professionals.

 

ARTICLE 2 - PURPOSE OF TERMS OF USE AND AMENDMENTS

The purpose of these Terms of Use is to govern the use of the Website by Users.

Hachette Livre reserves the right to update and amend these Terms of Use at any time, without the User’s prior consent. Any amendments made will be effective from the day they are published online. Users are therefore encouraged to check them regularly.

 

ARTICLE 3 - OBLIGATIONS AND LIABILITIES

3.1 User obligations and liabilities

3.1.1 General obligations

When using the Website, all User undertakes to respect the stipulations of these Terms of Use and any other conditions or policy in effect on the Website and in particular to:

  • use the Website for the purposes set out in these Terms of Use;
  • use the Website for strictly personal purposes. In particular, Users undertake not to use the Website for commercial purposes or to send unsolicited advertising or promotional materials;
  • not to breach or attempt to breach the security or integrity of the Website;
  • not to commit or attempt to commit an act of counterfeiting, by any means whatsoever;
  • not to seek to damage, as defined in articles L.323-1 et seq. of the French Penal Code, the automated data processing systems implemented to operate the Website.

Users are informed that any breach of these stipulations is likely to result in legal proceedings and sanctions in respect of their actions.

When using the Website, Users undertake not to contravene the applicable legislative and regulatory provisions as well as these Terms of Use. Users declare that they are aware that any violation of these Terms of Use may result in legal proceedings and/or any other sanctions against them.

Users are liable to Hachette Livre for any direct and/or indirect damage of any nature caused by their use of the Website which does not comply with these Terms of Use.

In this respect, Users expressly and irrevocably undertake, without reservation, to warrant and indemnify Hachette Livre against any action, claim, complaint or demand by a third party relating to a breach by them of these Terms of Use and/or of any applicable regulations in connection with their use of the Website.

The present warranty covers in particular all compensation and lawyers' fees.

3.1.2 Technical obligations and constraints

A number of technical prerequisites are necessary for the Website to run smoothly. Due to the constant technical evolution of the Internet system, these conditions are subject to change.

Hachette Livre cannot be held liable under any circumstances for interruptions resulting from the normal operational limitations of the internet and the consequences that may arise as a result.

In general terms, Users undertake not to take any action that might hinder or disrupt the smooth operation or accessibility of the Website, in particular in relation to its IT configuration or the operational status of its hardware.

The cost of access to and browsing the Website are borne exclusively by the User.

3.2 Hachette Livre obligations and liabilities

Hachette Livre’s general obligation as the publisher of the Website is an obligation to use its best endeavours and Users acknowledge that Hachette Livre is under no obligation to achieve a specific result or commit additional resources of any kind.

The Website is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, continuous access to the Website is not guaranteed. However, Hachette Livre reserves the right to suspend, interrupt or limit access to all or part of the Website, without prior notice, in particular for maintenance and upgrading operations necessary for the proper functioning of the Website and related materials, or for any other reason, without the User being able to take any action against Hachette Livre. Hachette Livre cannot be held responsible for any prejudice of any kind that may result from these changes and/or the unavailability of the Website.

Hachette Livre cannot guarantee that the Website or the server on which it is hosted are free from viruses or other hazards. Users must take all appropriate measures to protect their own data and/or software from contamination by any viruses that may be circulating on the internet.

Users are hereby informed that Hachette Livre may shut down or change the nature of the Website at any time, without notice.

Hachette Livre makes every effort to ensure the quality of the content published on the Website. However, it cannot guarantee the accuracy, current nature, completeness or updating of the information and documents published on the Website and cannot be held liable for existing errors or omissions.

Hachette Livre is not responsible for the content of Website accessed through the hypertext links featured on the Website, or which are linked to it by any means whatsoever.

Hachette Livre declines any responsibility in the event of:

  • a viral attack leading, in particular, to intrusion into its information systems or a theft of data;
  • abnormal or illegal use of the Website;
  • a User’s breach of the contractual documents, in particular these Terms of Use;
  • accidental, material and/or immaterial, direct and/or indirect harm that could result from access to or use of the Website, including inaccessibility, loss of data, deterioration, destruction or viruses that could affect the User’s computer equipment, and/or the presence of viruses on its Website.

Under no circumstances can Hachette Livre be held liable except in the case of proven fault.

 

ARTICLE 4 – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

4.1 – General provisions

THE WEBSITE IS A PROTECTED WORK.

HACHETTE LIVRE AND, WHERE APPLICABLE, ITS PARTNERS ARE THE HOLDERS OF ALL EXPLOITATION RIGHTS RELATING TO THE CONTENT OF EACH PAGE MAKING UP THE WEBSITE, AS WELL AS TO ITS STRUCTURE.

ACCESS, CONSULTATION AND USE OF THE WEBSITE BY USERS IS EXCLUSIVELY PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL, WHICH USERS EXPRESSLY ACCEPT WITHOUT RESERVATION.

In general, Users shall not infringe the intellectual property rights (in particular copyright, neighbouring rights, sui generis rights of database producers, trademark rights, domain names, etc.) of Hachette Livre, its affiliates and/or any partner.

Hachette Livre is a registered trademark of LAGARDERE SA.

©HachetteLivre as well as all other brands, denominations, logos, book titles, collection names, visuals, graphics, illustrations, photographs, animations, videos, texts, extracts from books, etc. published on the Website belong to Hachette Livre and/or, where applicable, its partners. As a result, they may not be reproduced, represented, adapted, copied, extracted, modified, translated, exchanged and/or exploited in whole or in part by Users, by any means whatsoever and in any form whatsoever, without the prior authorization of Hachette Livre, under penalty of legal proceedings, in particular criminal and/or civil, except in the context of the exceptions to copyright limited by law.

Users are reminded that any book appearing on the Website, in particular its cover and title, are the exclusive property of Hachette Livre and are reserved for the strictly personal use of Users, who are prohibited from distributing them in any way whatsoever. It is also forbidden to proceed, in any manner whatsoever and for any purpose whatsoever, to the monitoring or extraction of all or part of the Content of the Website. Therefore, unless authorized by Hachette Livre, the use of automated systems or software to extract and collect data from the Website (screen data capture / screen scraping, data and/or text extraction and date and/or text retrieval) is prohibited. In particular, Hachette Livre exercises its right to oppose all harvesting and data mining operations within the meaning of Article L. 122-5-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code. Any harvesting and searching of texts and data on the Website and its Contents, including by automated data collection devices, therefore constitutes an act of infringement unless a specific, formally expressed agreement is obtained from Hachette Livre. As article R. 122-28 of the French Intellectual Property Code specifies that the opposition mentioned in III of article L. 122-5-3 may be expressed by any means, including by recourse to the general terms of use of an Internet Website or service, the absence of metadata associated with the Website, directories of the Website, and any other Content has no bearing on the exercise of the right of opposition expressed by the present T&Cs.

The same applies to the underlying computer developments, technologies and developments that make up the Website. They may not therefore be reproduced, decompiled or disassembled without the express prior authorization of Hachette Livre, under penalty of legal action.

Hachette Livre grants the User the right to use the Website for strictly personal, private, non-professional and non-profit-making purposes only. With the exception of what is authorized in article 4.2, any reproduction of the Content, in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, is prohibited and constitutes a counterfeit punishable by articles L.335-2 et seq. and articles L.713-1 et seq. of the French Intellectual Property Code. The User undertakes not to use any of the Content of the Website outside the scope of the present Terms of Use.

ANY VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE EXPOSES THE USERS TO LEGAL ACTIONS WITH CIVIL AND/OR PENAL SANCTIONS.

4.2 – Terms of authorized use for Press Content in the Press Area

The Press Area is a section of the Website in which Hachette Livre's Communications Department allows Professionals to access, consult and use the Press Content under the strict conditions set out in this article 4.2.

Professionals are authorized, free of charge, to use the Press Content solely for the purpose of communicating about the Hachette Livre Group and/or its news and/or its activities and/or the works it publishes and to which the Press Content relates, subject to mentioning the credits associated with said Press Content. Reproductions and representations on any medium of communication to the public and by any means of transmission (e.g., print and digital media, website, social networks) are authorized throughout the whole world (unless specifically restricted in the credits).

The Professionals undertake not to distort the Press Content. Thus, this Press Content may not be modified or misappropriated by the User for the aforementioned purpose. Professionals also undertake not to harm the image of individuals or of the Hachette Livre Group, including its affiliates, its activities and the works it publishes.

The Professional uses this Press Content under his or her sole responsibility. Any violation of the general terms and conditions of use shall engage the responsibility of the Professional and Hachette Livre may take any measure to put an end to such violation.

 

ARTICLE 5 – PERSONAL DATA

For more information on the treatment of personal data and to exercise his rights, the User is advised to consult the Privacy Policy.

 

ARTICLE 6 – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Failure to rely on a particular clause in these Terms of Use, either permanently or temporarily, cannot under any circumstances be deemed a waiver of the rights arising from this clause. Should any of the provisions in these Terms of Use be declared null and void, it will be deemed never to have existed and will not in any way affect the remaining clauses, which will retain their full effect.

 

ARTICLE 7 – APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTES

The Website and these Terms of Use are subject to French law. The French courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from the use of the Website in the event of failure to resolve the dispute amicably.