These Terms of Use (“TU”) set forth the terms and conditions for certain services (“Services”) provided by SocialDog, Inc. (the “Company” or “We”), which are called “SocialDog”. You (sometimes called a “User”) must not use the Services if you don’t comply with TU.

Article 1. Applicability

• TU will apply to all relationships to use of the Services between you and us.
• Any rules and regulations relating to the Services as from time to time posted by the Company on the Services-related website (“Website”) whose domain is social-dog.net will constitute part of TU.

Article 2. How to register and subscribe

• Upon our approval to your application for subscription registration in accordance with such manner as specified by us, the procedures for subscription registration will be deemed complete.
• If we determine that an applicant falls under any of the following, we may not give approval to the application without obligations of stating and explaining the reasons for any refusal or retention of our approval.
  • (1) You submit materially false or misleading information in applying for subscription registration;
  • (2) You have violated any of these TU;
  • (3) You are likely to violate any of these TU, as determined by the Company;
  • (4) You are a minor, adult ward, person subject to a curatorship or person under assistant, without consent of your legal representative, guardian, curator or assistant;
  • (5) You are, as determined by the Company, any Anti-Social Forces (including an organized crime group, a member of an organized crime group, a quasi-member of an organized crime group, a former member of an organized crime group for whom less than five (5) years have passed since ceasing to be the same, a company related to an organized crime group, a corporate extortionist, a racketeer advocating a social movement, a special intelligence criminal organization, or any other entity or person pursuing financial interest using violence, force, or fraudulent means. Hereinafter the same will apply), or you have an association or involvement with any Anti-Social Forces wherein you assist or are involved in maintenance, operation, or management of the Anti-Social Forces, such as by supplying funds or otherwise; and
  • (6) In addition, we determine that your registration is not appropriate.

Article 3. Responsibility to keep user ID and password safe

• It is your responsibility to keep your user ID and password for the Services safe.
• Under no circumstances, will a User assign or provide to any third parties its user ID and password. Log-in using a combination of a user ID and password coinciding with that of a User who registered such ID will be deemed the use by that User.
• You will be liable, and the Company will not be held liable for any loss or damage arising out of your insufficient maintenance or misuse or any use by third parties of your user ID and password, except in a case arising from our willful or gross negligence.

Article 4. Fee and payment

• In consideration of your use of the Services, you agree to pay fee as identified on our Website (“Fee”) in accordance with such manner as specified by us.
• If you fail to pay an amount of Fee, you will pay to the Company interest calculated from day to day at the rate of fourteen point six (14.6%) per annum on the outstanding sum.
• In the event of earlier termination for any reasons prior to expiry of subscription period, the Company will not be obligated to refund any amount of Fee received from you.

Article 5. Dos and don'ts

You are prohibited from:

• (1) illegal or unlawful act;
• (2) act that is associated with a crime;
• (3) act of destroying or interfering with any functions of our servers or network;
• (4) act that threatens to unreasonably interfere with operation of our services;
• (5) collecting or accumulating personal information related to other users;
• (6) making impersonation such as spoofing;
• (7) providing benefits, directly or indirectly, to any Anti-social Forces in relation to our services;
• (8) violating or infringing intellectual property rights, portrait rights, privacy, reputation or other right or interest of the Company or other users of the Services and any third parties;
• (9) posting or sending material that is too much violent or pornographic or discriminatory on the grounds of race, nationality, creed, gender, social status or birth, or influences or facilitates suicide, self-harm or drug abuse, or otherwise indecent or objectionable containing anti-social content;
• (10) recruiting for religious activities or religious organizations;
• (11) acts that violate the terms of use for any service linking with the Services (e.g. X (Twitter))(“Linking Services”) and any other applicable rules or regulations relating thereto; and
• (12) All other acts that are inappropriate as reasonably determined by the Company at its sole discretion.

Article 6. Suspension of provision of Services

• The Company reserves the right to suspend or discontinue the Services in whole or in part without giving advance notice to you, if:
  • (1) we perform maintenance testing or renewal for our computer system relating to the Services;
  • (2) it is difficult for us to provide the Services due to events of Force Majeure, such as earthquakes, lightning, fires, power failure or acts of God;
  • (3) computers or communication lines or other infrastructure are interrupted by reasons of incidents;
  • (4) you fail to pay Fee for the Services;
  • (5) any service linking with the Services (e.g. X (Twitter)) has troubles, or suspends or discontinues its service, or suspends linking with the Services, or modifies its specification;
  • (6) it is necessary for us to suspend or discontinue the Services on a temporal basis for any operational or technical reasons or for User’ convenience; and
  • (7) In addition, it is impracticable for us to provide the Services, as determined by us at our sole discretion.
• UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SUSPENSION OR DISCONTINUANCE OF THE SERVICES, EXPECT IN A CASE ARISING FROM OUR WILLFUL OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO REQUIRE US TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF THE FEE OR MAKE ANY CLAIMS IN THE EVENT OF SUCH SUSPENSION OR DISCONTINUANCE PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE SIX.

Article 7. Copyrights

• You agree to use the Services or post or edit the content to the extent that you own any intellectual property rights (e.g. copyrights) necessary to do so, or solely in connection with text, images or videos licensed from a licensor;
• Copyrights in or to all text, images, or videos and other data that are posted or edited by you using the Services (“Posted Data”) will be expressly reserved by you or other existing owner thereof. However, we reserve the right to use, copy, reproduce, alter, sublicense to third parties, or otherwise exploit such Posted Data to the extent necessary to provide the Services to our users.
• Except for those stated in the first sentence of preceding paragraph, all copyrights and other intellectual property rights relating to the Services and information related thereto are expressly reserved by the Company or its licensor, and an unauthorized reproduction, assignment, provision, translation, alteration, reprinting, public transmission (including making ready for public transmission), transfer electronically, distribution, publication, commercial use, reverse-assembling, reverse-compile, and reverse-engineering thereof by you are strictly prohibited.

Article 8. Restrictions; deletion of registration

• We may delete Posted Data, and restrict your use of the Services in whole or in part, or delete your registration as a User without giving advance notice, in the event that:
  • (1) you are in breach of any of the provisions contained herein;
  • (2) your registered information is found to be materially false or misleading;
  • (3) you use or attempt to use the Services in a manner or for purposes which may cause damage to the Company, other users or any third parties;
  • (4) unreasonably interfere with our operation of the Services by any means;
  • (5) You have dishonored draft(s) or check(s) drawn or accepted by you, or receive a disposition to suspend transactions with a clearing house or other similar measures are taken against you;
  • (6) you file or are filed against you a petition for a provisional or permanent attachment, interim order, compulsory execution or compulsory sale by auction, or you are subject to preservative attachment for tax receivables;
  • (7) you suspend payments of its debts or become insolvent, or file or are filed against you a petition for bankruptcy, civil rehabilitation, corporate reorganization or special liquidation;
  • (8) you have not used the Services for at least one year;
  • (9) you failed to respond to our inquiry or question for at least 30 days;
  • (10) you fall within any of subparagraphs of Article 2.2; and
  • (11) In addition, your use of the Services is inappropriate as reasonably determined by the Company.
• In the event of any of the foregoing, any amount then due from you to us will be accelerated and become due and payable immediately.
• UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, WILL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE INCURRED BY YOU ARISING FROM OUR ACT THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE EIGHT, EXCEPT IN A CASE ARISING FROM OUR WILLFUL OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.

Article 9. Termination by User

User may terminate the Services by giving us notice in a manner as may be specified by the Company. If the User has any amount due to us at the time of the termination, such amount will be accelerated and become due and payable immediately. Upon termination by a User, the Company may delete all information pertinent to the User without its consent.

Article 10. Elimination of Anti-Social Forces

• Each Party represents and warrants to the other party that:
  • (1) it is not Anti-Social Forces;
  • (2) it does not have a relationship with any Anti-Social Forces wherein such Anti-Social Forces are recognized as controlling the management thereof;
  • (3) it does not have a relationship with any Anti-Social Forces wherein such Anti-Social Forces are recognized as being substantially involved in the management thereof;
  • (4) it does not have a relationship with any Anti-Social Forces wherein such Anti-Social Forces are recognized as being wrongfully utilized for the purpose of unjustly securing a benefit for itself or a third party, or for the purpose of causing damage to any third party;
  • (5) it does not have a relationship with any Anti-Social Forces wherein you are recognized as assisting or being involved in maintenance, operation, or management of the Anti-Social Forces, such as by supplying funds or providing favors thereto;
  • (6) in relation to the Services, it will not take or cause to be taken any action as set out below:
    • (a) Violent demand;
    • (b) Undue demand beyond legal responsibilities;
    • (c) Threatening or violent behavior regarding transactions;
    • (d) Damaging the other party’s credit or obstructing the other party’s business by spreading false rumors or by the use of fraudulent means or forces; and
    • (e) Any other act equivalent to any of the previous items.
• User may immediately terminate the Services without any demand to the other party if any representation, warranty or covenant made by the Company under the above paragraph 1 turns out to be untrue or false, without any liability to the Company which is sustained by the Company in connection with such termination.
• The Company may immediately delete any posted data and restrict the User’s use of any or all of the Services, or remove the User registration without any prior notice to the User if any representation, warranty or covenant made by the User under the above paragraph 1 turns out to be untrue or false without any liability to the User that is sustained by the User in connection with our action pursuant thereto, except in a case arising from our willful or gross negligence.

Article 11. Disclaimer of warranty

• THE COMPANY MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR OTHER COMMITMENT REGARDING THE SERVICES AND ALL OTHER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESSLY OR BY IMPLICATION, THAT THE SERVICES ARE FREE OF ANY DEFECTS EITHER IN FACT OR BY OPERATION OF LAW, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF SAFETY, RELIABILITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AVAILABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR DEFECT RELATING TO SECURITY, ERRORS AND BUGS, OR INFRINGEMENT.
• THE COMPANY WILL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM THE SERVICES INCURRED BY YOU; PROVIDED THAT DISCLAIMER UNDER THIS ARTICLE TEN WILL NOT APPLY TO ANY AGREEMENT (INCLUDING THESE TERMS OF USE) CONCLUDED BETWEEN YOU AND US IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES CONSTITUTING A CONSUMER CONTRACT WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE APPLICABLE CONSUMER CONTRACT ACT.
• IN THE CASE OF THE PROVISO OF THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH, WE WILL NOT ASSUME LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE INCURRED BY THE USER DUE TO OUR DEFAULT OR TORT THAT ARISES FROM EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (INCLUDING THE CASE WHERE THE OCCURRENCE OF SUCH DAMAGE IS FORESEEN OR FORESEEABLE BY THE COMPANY OR A USER), EXCEPT IN A CASE ARISING FROM OUR WILLFUL OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE. AMOUNTS OF ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE INCURRED BY THE USER DUE TO OUR DEFAULT OR TORT WILL BE CAPPED AT THE AMOUNT OF THE FEES WE RECEIVED FROM THE USER FOR THE MONTH IN WHICH SUCH DAMAGE ARISES, EXCEPT FOR A CASE ARISING FROM OUR WILLFUL OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.
• YOU WILL NOT ASSUME LIABILITY FOR ANY TRANSACTIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND DISPUTES ARISING BETWEEN YOU AND OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES, EXCEPT IN A CASE ARISING FROM OUR WILLFUL OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.
• YOU SHALL COMPLY WITH ANY RULES AND REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO YOUR USE OF LINKING SERVICES AT YOUR OWN COST AND RESPONSIBILITY, AND WE WILL NOT ASSUME LIABILITY FOR DISPUTES OR PROBLEMS ARISING BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD PARTIES THAT OPERATE SUCH LINKING SERVICES, EXCEPT IN A CASE ARISING FROM OUR WILLFUL OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.

Article 12. Change in Services

The Company reserves the right to change or discontinue the Services without giving notice to you.

Article 13. Amendment

• We reserve the right to amend these TU at any time whenever necessary;
• Upon amendment hereof, we will give you notice of or make public (including, but not limited to, posting on this Website) such amendment. Thereafter, use by you of the Services or failure by you to carry out termination procedures will indicate your consent to such amendment.

Article 14. Notices/communications

All notices and communications from you to us or vice versa will be made in accordance with such manner as prescribed by the Company.

Article 15. No assignment of rights and duties

• You will not assign, transfer or encumber the status under these TU or the rights and duties hereunder except with our prior written consent.
• Upon the business related to the Services having been assigned or transferred to third parties by reasons of business transfer, company split or otherwise operation of law, we may assign or transfer to the assignee or transferee the status under these TU or the rights and duties hereunder, as well as User’s registration information or other customer information. User hereby agrees to such assignment or transfer.

Article 16. Laws and jurisdiction

• These Terms of Use are governed by and are made under the laws of Japan.
• Any legal action involving the Services hereunder shall be initiated solely in the District Court of Tokyo.

Article 17. Translations

These Terms of Use have been executed by the Parties hereto in Japanese. If any translation of these TU is prepared, it will be prepared solely for convenience.

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Made on June 1, 2016

Amended on July 28, 2017

Amended on February 1, 2019

Amended on February 25, 2019

Amended on January 30, 2020

Amended on February 10, 2020

Amended on March 16, 2021

Amended on September 1, 2021

Amended on September 7, 2021

Amended on May 29, 2023

Amended on September 25, 2023