Terms and Conditions for Water Social Club

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Water Social Club, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must not use the platform.

2. User Responsibilities

• Users must be at least 18 years old to register and use the platform.
• Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials.
• Users must not engage in any activity that violates applicable laws or these Terms.

3. Intellectual Property and Copyright

• All photographs and content uploaded by photographers remain their intellectual property.
• Users (buyers) are not allowed to use materials that are under copyright unless they have obtained the appropriate license from the photographer.
• Users may only use purchased photographs according to the specific license terms provided by the photographer at the time of sale.

4. Licensing and Usage Rights

• Photographers grant a non-exclusive usage license to the buyer (surfer) for the purchased photograph.
• Buyers are not permitted to resell, redistribute, or sublicense the purchased photographs.
• Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of photographs may result in legal action.

5. Prohibited Activities

• Users must not upload, share, or use content that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others.
• Users must not attempt to bypass any security measures or access restricted areas of the platform.
• Users must not engage in fraudulent activities, including misrepresenting ownership of photographs.

6. Termination of Accounts

• Water Social Club reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.
• Users may terminate their accounts at any time by contacting support.

7. Disclaimers and Liability

• Water Social Club is not liable for any damages arising from the use or inability to use the platform.
• Water Social Club does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any content on the platform.

8. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

• These Terms are governed by the laws of France.
• Any disputes arising from these Terms will be resolved in the courts of France.

9. Changes to Terms

Water Social Club reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Continued use of the platform constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

10. Contact Information

For questions or concerns regarding these Terms, please contact us at [email protected].

SECTION 11 – ALBUM SECURITY, IMAGE RIGHTS AND PROTECTION OF MINORS

Article 11.1 – Role as technical host

The Platform acts exclusively as a technical host within the meaning of Article 6 of the Law for Confidence in the Digital Economy (LCEN). As such, the Platform provides storage and sales tools but exercises no editorial control, no prior moderation, and no human validation of photographs uploaded by the Photographer. The Photographer is the sole editor of their albums and the sole responsible party for the content they make available to users.

Article 11.2 – Specific obligations related to anonymization and restricted access

The Platform provides the Photographer with technological tools designed to protect individuals' image rights, particularly those of minors, while preserving the commercial potential of the photographs. The Photographer agrees to use these tools in accordance with the following strict rules:

• On the Platform's public spaces (password-free showcase): Blurring of minors' faces is mandatory. The Photographer is strictly prohibited from circumventing, disabling, or altering the automatic blurring mechanisms applied by the Platform on thumbnails and previews visible to the general public.
• On the Platform's private spaces (restricted access): If the Photographer chooses to share unblurred photographs of minors, they are strictly required to lock access to the relevant album with a password.
• Password security: When the Photographer sets a password for a private album, they are solely responsible for its strength and confidentiality. The deliberate use of identical codes across sessions, obviously predictable codes (e.g., related to the day of the week or a simple numerical sequence), or negligent sharing of access credentials engages their exclusive liability.

Article 11.3 – Responsibility for distribution modes and Indemnification Guarantee

The Platform allows the posting and sale of action photographs without obtaining the prior consent of the individuals photographed, which the Photographer and the Platform mutually accept as the standard operating model of the service. In consideration of this absence of prior authorization and in order to guarantee the protection of third parties, the Photographer agrees to strictly comply with the Platform's security policy detailed in Article 11.2.

In the event of any claim, complaint, formal notice, or judicial or administrative proceedings (in particular from parents or legal guardians of a minor, or from the CNIL) arising directly from a deliberate action, gross negligence, or circumvention by the Photographer of the Platform's security systems (such as manually disabling the blurring of a minor in a public area, choosing an obviously predictable password, or negligently sharing normally restricted access):

• The Photographer shall bear sole and full civil, criminal, and financial liability for the consequences of this breach of security rules.
• The Photographer undertakes to fully indemnify the Platform for all damages suffered, including in particular legal fees, attorney fees, as well as damages or financial penalties to which the Platform may be condemned as a result of this technical circumvention.

Article 11.4 – Reporting system and Right to withdraw (Opt-Out)

In accordance with its status as a host and in order to respect the rights of users who do not wish to appear on the Platform, a simplified reporting system is made available to the public on each album.

The Platform reserves the right, upon receipt of a legitimate report by a user or by the legal representatives of a minor, to immediately and without prior notice blur, restrict access to, or permanently remove the photograph(s) in question. The Photographer accepts this post-moderation and waives any claim or demand for compensation against the Platform in the event of photo removal following a report.

Any repeated or malicious circumvention of the Platform's security tools by the Photographer will result in the immediate and permanent suspension of their account, without prejudice to any legal proceedings that the Platform may bring against them.