Terms of Service

01 Acceptance of Terms

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("the user," "you") and Sarkon Plus L.L.C., operating under the publishing imprint Sarkon Plus Publishing ("Sarkon Plus Publishing," "we," "us"). By accessing, browsing, downloading, purchasing, subscribing, submitting information, or otherwise using any of our services, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and that you have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement.

These Terms govern access to and use of:

• sarkonplus.com and associated subdomains
• digital publications and preview chapters
• downloadable materials and newsletters
• subscription services and research materials
• commentary, reports, books, and forms
• mailing lists and digital tools
• future services made available through the website

If you do not agree with these Terms, you must discontinue use of the website and all services immediately.

02 Description of the Services

Sarkon Plus Publishing is an independent publishing and research platform producing evidence-based books, strategic analysis, and long-form publications on diplomacy, governance, geopolitics, regional integration, and economic transformation.

Our services may include:

• publication and sale of books
• publication previews and sample chapters
• research reports and strategic analysis
• policy commentary and educational content
• newsletters and author information
• event announcements and research collaboration inquiries
• publishing inquiries and digital downloads
• marketing communications and email subscription services
• links to third-party retailers and online marketplaces
• forms, contact services, and future digital products

Services may be added, modified, suspended, restricted, or discontinued at any time without liability, subject to applicable law.

03 Eligibility

Users must be legally capable of entering into binding agreements. The website is not directed to children under 13. Users under the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction must use the website only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian.

04 No Professional Advice

The website, publications, reports, previews, commentary, articles, newsletters, and communications do not constitute:

• legal, financial, investment, tax, or accounting advice
• diplomatic instructions or governmental policy
• official institutional advice or medical advice
• security advice or business guarantees
• professional consulting advice unless separately agreed in writing

Users must obtain advice from qualified professionals before making legal, financial, investment, commercial, regulatory, security, or policy decisions.

05 Investment and Economic Content

Sarkon Plus Publishing publishes material concerning investment, economics, infrastructure, trade, development, markets, corridors, and national or regional opportunities. The following applies to all such content:

• investment-related information is general analysis only
• it is not a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell, finance, invest in, or enter any transaction
• no return, profit, performance, safety, feasibility, or outcome is guaranteed
• investments may result in partial or total loss
• political, economic, regulatory, currency, security, logistical, and market conditions may change rapidly
• users must conduct their own due diligence
• users must consult appropriately licensed legal, financial, tax, regulatory, and investment advisers
• Sarkon Plus Publishing is not responsible for decisions made in reliance on such content

06 Research, Analysis, Forecasts, and Opinions

Research materials may contain interpretations, estimates, forecasts, scenarios, judgments, opinions, historical information, third-party information, forward-looking observations, and policy analysis. Such materials involve uncertainty and may become outdated.

• no representation is made that forecasts will occur
• historical performance does not guarantee future results
• opinions may change without notice
• authors may express views in their personal capacity
• content does not necessarily represent any government, embassy, international organization, employer, institution, partner, or affiliated entity

07 Accuracy and Completeness

Reasonable efforts may be made to provide accurate and useful material, but Sarkon Plus Publishing does not warrant that all information is complete, current, error-free, suitable for every purpose, available continuously, free from omissions, or independently verified. Users are responsible for verifying important information through authoritative sources. Sarkon Plus Publishing may correct, revise, update, or remove content without notice.

08 Intellectual Property Rights

Unless otherwise indicated, all original content is owned by or licensed to Sarkon Plus L.L.C. and Sarkon Plus Publishing, including books, manuscripts, research reports, articles, commentary, page designs, logos, trademarks, trade names, graphics, maps, illustrations, photographs, videos, downloadable files, previews, excerpts, branding, website text, digital products, databases, compilations, layout, and source materials.

The material is protected under United States and international intellectual-property laws. The U.S. Copyright Office confirms that copyright protects original works once fixed in a tangible form, including books, websites, photographs, illustrations, computer programs, and other creative works.

Users are prohibited from:

• copying, reproducing, republishing, uploading, or distributing
• selling, licensing, translating, adapting, or modifying
• scraping, harvesting, framing, or mirroring
• creating derivative works
• training artificial-intelligence systems on protected content
• using content for commercial purposes
• removing copyright or attribution notices

unless prior written permission has been obtained. Limited personal, non-commercial use of publicly available materials is permitted, provided that the content is not altered, copyright notices remain visible, attribution is preserved, no commercial use is made, and no false endorsement is implied.

09 Books, Previews, and Digital Downloads

Preview chapters and digital samples are supplied only for personal evaluation. They may not be redistributed, sold, uploaded to other platforms, posted publicly, reproduced in full, used to create competing works, incorporated into databases, used for machine learning or automated training, or shared beyond reasonable personal use. Digital products may be subject to technical, territorial, retailer, or platform restrictions.

10 Trademarks and Branding

Sarkon Plus, Sarkon Plus Publishing, associated logos, taglines, designs, and brand identifiers may be trademarks or protected business identifiers. No license is granted to use them without prior written authorization. Users must not imply sponsorship, partnership, endorsement, affiliation, or authorization without written consent.

11 User Submissions and Communications

This section applies to contact forms, publishing inquiries, research proposals, article submissions, collaboration requests, media inquiries, testimonials, messages, uploaded files, and comments or future interactive features.

Users retain ownership of original material they submit. However, by submitting material for evaluation or publication, the user grants Sarkon Plus Publishing a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to receive, store, review, reproduce internally, and process the submission for the purpose for which it was provided.

No publication, partnership, confidentiality, payment, agency, employment, or contractual relationship is created merely by submitting material. Users warrant that they own the submitted material or have authority to submit it, that it does not infringe intellectual-property rights, that it is not defamatory or unlawful, that it does not contain malware, and that it does not contain confidential information belonging to another person without authority. Sarkon Plus Publishing does not claim ownership of unsolicited manuscripts or research submissions.

12 Unsolicited Ideas and Proposals

Sarkon Plus Publishing may receive similar concepts from multiple sources. Submission of an idea, proposal, title, concept, research theme, manuscript, or business suggestion does not create confidentiality, exclusivity, fiduciary duty, obligation to review, obligation to respond, obligation to compensate, obligation to publish, or obligation to enter into an agreement. Confidential material should not be submitted unless a separate written confidentiality agreement has been signed.

13 Acceptable Use

Users are prohibited from using the website or services to:

• violate any applicable law or infringe intellectual-property rights
• distribute malware or interfere with website security
• attempt unauthorized access or impersonate another person
• submit false information or send spam
• scrape, harvest, or conduct automated extraction
• interfere with website functionality or evade access restrictions
• misrepresent affiliation or engage in fraudulent conduct
• use content to train unauthorized artificial-intelligence systems
• use the site for unlawful surveillance
• engage in harassment, threats, or defamation

Sarkon Plus Publishing reserves the right to restrict or terminate access where misuse is suspected.

14 Third-Party Links, Platforms, and Services

The website may link to or integrate with third parties, including Amazon, Kindle, payment processors, email platforms, analytics providers, social-media platforms, hosting providers, GroovePages, GrooveMail, PageBuilder, SparkPost, Google services, Meta services, external retailers, research sources, news organizations, and partner websites.

Sarkon Plus Publishing does not control and is not responsible for third-party content, pricing, availability, delivery, privacy practices, security, accuracy, product quality, policies, outages, transactions, refunds, or representations. Use of third-party services is governed by their own terms and policies. Links do not necessarily constitute endorsement.

15 Purchases, Payments, and Third-Party Retailers

Books and other products may be sold through third-party retailers. Pricing, taxes, shipping, delivery, refunds, returns, payment processing, and customer-service matters may be governed by the retailer's policies. Sarkon Plus Publishing is not responsible for unauthorized charges caused by third-party systems, payment processing failures, retailer delays, delivery failures, lost packages, inventory errors, currency conversion, customs charges, taxes, bank fees, platform suspensions, or third-party refund decisions.

Where Sarkon Plus Publishing processes a payment directly, the applicable checkout terms and refund policy must be clearly disclosed before purchase.

16 Subscriptions and Automatic Renewal

This section applies to current or future recurring services. No recurring charge may be imposed unless the price, frequency, renewal terms, and cancellation method are clearly disclosed before the user gives informed consent. Users must be provided with a reasonable cancellation method where recurring services are offered. We do not state that all subscriptions automatically renew unless that functionality actually exists.

Federal consumer-protection requirements concerning negative-option and recurring-payment arrangements continue to evolve, so the operational checkout and cancellation process must be legally reviewed before subscriptions are launched.

17 Refunds and Digital Products

Refund eligibility depends on the nature of the product, the retailer's policy, whether the product is physical or digital, whether access or download has occurred, and applicable consumer law. We do not promise that all sales are final unless legally reviewed and operationally accurate. For purchases through third-party retailers, users must contact the retailer. For direct purchases, any applicable refund policy must be displayed at checkout.

18 Privacy and Data Protection

Personal information is handled according to our Privacy Policy. Users should review the Privacy Policy before submitting personal information. We do not claim that any system is completely secure. Reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards may be used, but internet transmission and electronic storage carry inherent risks.

Texas law imposes privacy and security obligations on covered businesses, including requirements affecting personal-data processing and data safeguards.

19 Security

Users must not attempt to bypass security controls, test vulnerabilities without authorization, access restricted systems, introduce malicious code, interfere with data, obtain credentials, or disrupt hosting or communications. Sarkon Plus Publishing may investigate suspected violations and cooperate with lawful authorities where appropriate.

20 Availability and Technical Performance

The website and services are provided subject to availability. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, continuous uptime, error-free operation, compatibility with every device, preservation of every submission, permanent availability of content, or absence of harmful components. Access may be interrupted due to maintenance, hosting failures, cyber incidents, software errors, force majeure, telecommunications failures, third-party platform changes, governmental restrictions, or events beyond reasonable control.

21 Disclaimer of Warranties

To the extent legally permitted, we disclaim all warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, accuracy, reliability, availability, security, uninterrupted service, and suitability for a particular decision or outcome. We do not attempt to exclude warranties that cannot lawfully be excluded.

22 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Sarkon Plus L.L.C., Sarkon Plus Publishing, their officers, members, managers, employees, contractors, authors, editors, contributors, licensors, service providers, and agents will not be liable for:

• indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages
• lost profits, lost revenue, lost business opportunities, or lost data
• reputational harm, investment losses, or trading losses
• business interruption or loss of anticipated savings
• decisions based on publications or website content
• third-party conduct, service interruptions, or unauthorized access beyond reasonable control

These limitations apply regardless of the legal theory asserted, where permitted by law. Where liability cannot be fully excluded, aggregate liability arising from the services shall be limited to the greater of: (a) the amount paid directly to Sarkon Plus Publishing by the claimant for the specific service giving rise to the claim during the preceding twelve months; or (b) US$100.

This limitation does not apply where prohibited by applicable law.

23 Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by law, users agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Sarkon Plus L.L.C., Sarkon Plus Publishing, their officers, members, managers, employees, contractors, authors, editors, contributors, agents, licensors, and service providers from third-party claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, losses, costs, and reasonable legal fees arising from the user's misuse of the services, violation of the Terms, unlawful conduct, infringement of third-party rights, user submissions, false representations, unauthorized commercial use, security violations, or violation of applicable law.

This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim was caused solely by conduct for which indemnification cannot lawfully be required.

24 Release Regarding Third Parties

Users acknowledge that disputes involving third-party retailers, platforms, payment processors, shipping providers, advertisers, or linked websites must generally be resolved with the applicable third party. This release does not waive liability that cannot legally be waived.

25 Termination and Suspension

Sarkon Plus Publishing reserves the right to suspend access, terminate access, block misuse, remove submissions, discontinue services, or restrict automated activity where reasonably necessary for legal, security, operational, intellectual-property, or policy reasons. Provisions concerning intellectual property, disclaimers, liability, indemnification, governing law, and dispute resolution survive termination.

26 Copyright and Infringement Reporting

To report alleged infringement, contact [email protected]. Notices must include identification of the protected work, identification of the allegedly infringing material, the location of the material, contact information, a good-faith statement, a statement of accuracy and authority, and an electronic or physical signature where legally required. We do not claim formal DMCA-agent registration unless Sarkon Plus L.L.C. has actually registered a designated agent with the U.S. Copyright Office.

27 International Users

The website may be accessed from multiple countries. Users are responsible for compliance with the laws applicable in their jurisdiction. Sarkon Plus Publishing does not represent that all content or services are appropriate, lawful, or available in every country and may restrict access where legally or operationally necessary.

28 Export Controls and Sanctions

Users may not use the services in violation of applicable United States export-control, sanctions, anti-money-laundering, or trade-restriction laws. We do not make country-specific accusations or exclusions unless legally required.

29 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, except where mandatory consumer law requires otherwise.

30 Dispute Resolution and Venue

The parties should first attempt in good faith to resolve disputes informally by written notice. A reasonable response period of 30 days is provided. Subject to applicable law, legal proceedings shall be brought in the state or federal courts having jurisdiction in Harris County, Texas. This clause preserves any non-waivable consumer rights. We do not include a class-action waiver or mandatory arbitration provision unless separately reviewed and approved by a Texas attorney.

31 Equitable Relief

Unauthorized use of intellectual property, confidential information, security systems, or restricted content may cause irreparable harm. Sarkon Plus L.L.C. may seek injunctive or equitable relief where permitted by law, in addition to other available remedies.

32 Force Majeure

Sarkon Plus Publishing is not responsible for delay or failure caused by events beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, armed conflict, civil unrest, terrorism, government action, sanctions, internet failure, cyberattack, labor disruption, epidemic, pandemic, utility failure, hosting failure, transport disruption, or third-party platform failure.

33 Changes to the Terms

The Terms may be revised periodically. Material revisions should be reflected by updating the "Last Updated" date and, where appropriate, providing additional notice. Continued use after revised Terms become effective constitutes acceptance, subject to applicable law. Changes should not retroactively remove rights where prohibited.

34 Severability

If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain effective.

35 No Waiver

Failure to enforce any provision does not constitute waiver of that provision or any other right.

36 Assignment

Users may not assign their rights or obligations without written consent. Sarkon Plus L.L.C. may assign the Terms in connection with a merger, restructuring, sale, transfer of assets, or change of control, subject to applicable law.

37 Entire Agreement

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Copyright Notice, applicable purchase terms, and any written service-specific agreement constitute the entire agreement concerning use of the website and services. Where a separately signed written agreement conflicts with the website Terms, the signed agreement governs the specific matter covered by it.

38 No Agency or Partnership

Use of the website does not create partnership, joint venture, employment, agency, fiduciary relationship, diplomatic representation, government representation, franchise, or exclusive relationship between the user and Sarkon Plus Publishing.

39 Headings and Interpretation

Headings are for convenience only and do not limit interpretation. Words such as "including" should mean "including without limitation."

40 Contact Information