Terms of Service

ZBookShelf (“ZBookShelf,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is operated by SYNAPSE LLC. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the ZBookShelf website and services (the “Service”), whether you use it as a reader, an author, or both. By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

If you upload and sell books through ZBookShelf, the Author Agreement applies to you in addition to these Terms, and takes precedence for anything specific to selling on the platform.

ZBookShelf's catalog is educational content, and readers may be as young as 12. If you are between 12 and 18 (or the age of legal majority where you live), you may only use the Service, and make a purchase, with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian — they are responsible for any purchase made through your account, since payment is processed on a card or account they control. If you are under 12, you may not create an account; a parent or guardian may use their own account to buy a book for you instead.

Registering as an author — uploading books for sale and receiving payouts — requires you to be at least 18 years old, or the age of legal majority where you live, since it involves entering a commercial agreement (see the Author Agreement) and being paid directly.

You're responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your account credentials secure. You're responsible for activity that happens through your account.

ZBookShelf has three account roles — reader, author, and admin. An admin role is never self-selected; it is granted only by ZBookShelf directly.

Every book submitted by an author is reviewed by ZBookShelf before it becomes visible or purchasable — there are no exceptions, including for books marked “unlisted.” Approval means the book met our review standards at that time; it is not a guarantee of accuracy, quality, or fitness for any particular purpose, and ZBookShelf makes no warranty about the content of any book sold through the Service.

Not every later edit to a published book needs a fresh review. Cover images, categories, and a description with no link or phone number apply instantly. An update to a book's title, price, the book file itself, or its listing visibility always goes through review again before it takes effect.

Prices are shown in the currency displayed at checkout and processed through our payment processor, Stripe. The price you see at checkout, after any promo code discount is applied, is the price you pay — no additional fees are added afterward. ZBookShelf does not store your full payment card details; those are handled directly by Stripe.

A promo code, where an author has opted their book into eligibility, applies a discount you'll see before you confirm the purchase. Promo codes are subject to usage limits, expiry dates, and eligibility rules that ZBookShelf and the code's creator control.

A completed purchase is permanent. Once you buy a book, your right to re-download it is not a courtesy that can be revoked — it is built into how the Service works. A book with any completed sale can never be removed by its author, and cannot be approved for removal by ZBookShelf either, specifically so that a buyer's access is never structurally lost.

Re-download is limited to a maximum number of attempts per purchase, and each generated download link expires after a short time. If you run out of attempts or a link stops working, contact us at contact@thesynapselabs.com and we can issue a fresh link — this restores access to something you already paid for, it is not a refund (see the Refund Policy).

If an author later updates a book's file, the version you originally bought remains available to you. A superseded file version is guaranteed downloadable for a limited retention window after being replaced; the current version remains downloadable indefinitely.

Every download is a freshly generated, personal copy — never a link to a shared original file. Each download is watermarked with identifying information about the buyer (your name, email, and order id, both in a footer and a faint diagonal stamp), so that a leaked or redistributed copy can be traced back to the account that downloaded it. By purchasing a book, you agree that this identifying information will be embedded directly into the file you receive. Watermarking currently applies to PDF files; other formats, where offered, may not be watermarked.

You may not redistribute, resell, or share a purchased file outside of your own personal use, regardless of whether the book is listed publicly or was purchased through an approval-gated, unlisted listing.

An author may mark a book “unlisted,” meaning it won't appear in search, category browsing, or recommendations, and is only reachable by a direct link the author shares. An unlisted book still goes through the same review, purchase, watermarking, and permanence protections as any other book.

An author may additionally require their own approval before a specific person is allowed to buy an unlisted book. If you request to buy such a book, having the link does not entitle you to purchase it — the author (or ZBookShelf) must approve your specific request first. Your account email is shared with the author so they can identify who is requesting access. We make no promise about how quickly, or whether, a request will be approved.

A rejected submission that was never published may be removed by its author at any time. A published book with no completed sales may be removed at the author's request, subject to ZBookShelf's review. A published book with any completed sale cannot be removed through the Service by anyone, for the reasons in Section 5. If content genuinely needs to come down after it has sales (for example, a valid copyright claim), that requires a manual, exceptional process outside the normal product — contact contact@thesynapselabs.com.

During ZBookShelf's current single-seller launch period, a purchase may be refunded or replaced within 14 days of the purchase date. See the Refund Policy for the full policy and how to request one.

We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent or abusive behavior (including abusing the promo code or affiliate system), or upload content that infringes someone else's rights or violates applicable law. Suspending an account disables sign-in and revokes active sessions; an already-open session may continue working for a short time (typically under an hour, usually much less) until it is fully cut off. Suspension does not affect purchase permanence for books you already own.

• Uploading content you don't have the rights to sell or distribute.
• Attempting to circumvent watermarking, download limits, or purchase-approval requirements.
• Using a promo code to purchase your own listing (self-referral) or otherwise manipulating the affiliate system.
• Probing, scraping, or attempting to access another user's account or private data.
• Using the Service for any unlawful purpose.

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. ZBookShelf does not guarantee the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. To the maximum extent permitted by law, ZBookShelf and SYNAPSE LLC will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service, and our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount you paid to ZBookShelf in the 12 months before the claim arose.

You agree to indemnify and hold ZBookShelf and SYNAPSE LLC harmless from any claim, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms, your use of the Service, or, if you're an author, content you upload.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we'll update the “Last updated” date above. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Arab Republic of Egypt, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of Egypt, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at contact@thesynapselabs.com.

During ZBookShelf's current single-seller launch period, every book available on the Service is exclusively owned by ZBookShelf. Each book is written by a specialist in their respective field under a direct contract with ZBookShelf that assigns exclusive ownership of the work to ZBookShelf — no other party, including the specialist who wrote it, retains any ownership interest in the book. For example, a medical book published on ZBookShelf during this period is written by medical specialists and doctors exclusively for ZBookShelf, and is owned exclusively by ZBookShelf.