Terms and Conditions

Maeum Story Last updated: May 16, 2026 Effective date: May 16, 2026

IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. These Terms and Conditions govern your access to and use of Maeum Story. By creating an account, joining the beta waitlist, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms:

• "Service" means the Maeum Story platform, including the website, web application, application programming interfaces, AI-generated narrative content, and all related features, tools, and communications.
• "Data Controller," "we," "us," or "our" means Francesco Rugiati, an individual operating under the brand name Maeum Story, contactable at legal@maeum-story.com.
• "User," "you," or "your" means any individual who accesses or uses the Service.
• "Account" means the personal account you create to access the Service.
• "AI-Generated Content" means any text, narration, dialogue, story scenarios, character descriptions, or other content produced by artificial intelligence models operated or integrated by the Data Controller.
• "User Content" means any input, choices, text, or other data you submit while using the Service, including gameplay choices and free-text inputs.
• "Beta Service" means the current pre-release version of the Service, offered to a limited number of users for testing and evaluation purposes.

2. About the Service

Maeum Story is an AI-powered interactive narrative role-playing experience in which players engage in evolving romantic storylines with AI-driven characters. Players may select from prebuilt fictional worlds or allow the AI to generate a world based on their preferences. The narrative is shaped by player choices and powered by a multi-agent large language model system.

The Service is currently in closed beta. Access is limited and subject to invite codes or waitlist approval. Features, availability, content, and functionality may change at any time without notice during the beta phase.

3. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Service in any way (including browsing the website, registering for the waitlist, entering an invite code, or playing any portion of the game), you represent and warrant that:

1. You have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
2. You meet the eligibility requirements set out in Section 4.
3. You have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement in your jurisdiction.

4. Eligibility and Age Requirements

4.1 Minimum Age

Maeum Story contains romantic and emotionally mature narrative content. Access to the Service is subject to the following age requirements:

We currently rely primarily on self-declaration of age at registration. By registering, you confirm that you meet the applicable age requirement. We reserve the right to implement additional technical age verification measures in the future, in compliance with applicable law including the EU Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) and national regulations. If we discover that a user is under the minimum age, we will terminate their account and delete associated data without notice.

4.2 Parental Consent (16 to 17)

Where applicable law (including Article 8 GDPR and Member State derogations permitting a minimum age of 16) requires parental consent for users aged 16 to 17, such users must obtain and maintain the consent of a parent or legal guardian before using the Service.

4.3 Geographic Restrictions

The Service is intended for users located in jurisdictions where such a service is lawful. You are responsible for compliance with local laws. We do not knowingly offer the Service in jurisdictions where it is prohibited.

5. Account Registration

5.1 Registration

To access the Service, you must register using a valid email address and, during the beta phase, a valid invite code. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to update it promptly if it changes.

5.2 Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials. You agree to notify us immediately at legal@maeum-story.com if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your account. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain account security.

5.3 One Account Per Person

You may not create more than one account per person. Duplicate accounts may be suspended or terminated without notice.

6. Beta Service: Specific Terms

6.1 Beta Disclaimer

The Service is provided as a beta release for testing purposes. Beta software is inherently unstable. Features may be incomplete, unavailable, or removed at any time. We make no commitment that the beta Service will be continued, that any particular feature will be included in a future release, or that any data created during beta will be migrated to a production environment.

6.2 No Commercial Reliance

You agree not to rely on the beta Service for commercial, professional, or mission-critical purposes.

6.3 Feedback

By providing feedback, bug reports, or suggestions about the Service ("Feedback"), you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, and incorporate such Feedback into the Service or other products, without compensation to you. This licence does not affect your moral rights as an author under applicable law (including Article 20 of Italian Law no. 633/1941), which remain inalienable.

6.4 Free Tier and Turn Limits

During the beta phase, the Service is provided free of charge subject to a maximum of 10 gameplay turns per session under the free tier. We reserve the right to modify, reduce, or remove the free tier at any time, with reasonable advance notice where practicable.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Ownership of the Service

The Service, including its design, software, architecture, brand, trademarks, logos, prebuilt worlds, narrative frameworks, and all AI-Generated Content produced by our systems, is owned by Francesco Rugiati or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of any intellectual property to you.

7.2 User Content Licence

You retain ownership of any User Content you submit (e.g., your text inputs and choices during gameplay). By submitting User Content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, process, store, and analyse your User Content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Service, in accordance with our Privacy Policy. This licence does not extend to selling your User Content to third parties or using it to train third-party AI foundational models without your separate consent.

7.3 AI-Generated Content: No IP Guarantee

AI-Generated Content produced during your session is generated dynamically and is not pre-authored. We do not guarantee the originality, accuracy, or legal status of AI-Generated Content. We make no representation that AI-Generated Content is free from third-party intellectual property rights, given the current legal uncertainty regarding AI-generated works under EU and Italian copyright law (L. 633/1941). You may use AI-Generated Content for personal, non-commercial purposes only unless otherwise agreed in writing. You acknowledge that AI-Generated Content may occasionally be inconsistent, unexpected, or outside the intended experience. This is a known characteristic of current AI technology.

7.4 Prohibited Use of Content

You may not reproduce, republish, distribute, or exploit any AI-Generated Content or Service content for commercial purposes without prior written consent from us.

8. Acceptable Use

8.1 Permitted Use

You may use the Service solely for your personal, non-commercial entertainment purposes, in accordance with these Terms.

8.2 Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Use the Service if you do not meet the age requirements in Section 4.
• Attempt to circumvent, manipulate, or exploit the AI systems in ways that generate content that is illegal under applicable law.
• Use the Service to harass, harm, or impersonate others.
• Attempt to extract, reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service or its AI models.
• Use automated bots, scrapers, or scripts to access or interact with the Service without express written consent.
• Circumvent rate limits, access controls, invite code systems, or other technical restrictions.
• Use the Service in connection with any fraudulent, misleading, or unlawful activity.
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or any code designed to disrupt or damage the Service.
• Attempt to access systems, data, or networks beyond your authorised scope.

8.3 Content Restrictions

The AI system is designed to generate romantic and emotionally mature narrative fiction between adult characters. You agree not to attempt to manipulate the AI into generating content that:

• Involves sexual content depicting minors.
• Constitutes non-consensual sexual scenarios presented approvingly.
• Promotes, glorifies, or instructs in violence, terrorism, or self-harm.
• Constitutes hate speech targeting protected characteristics.

Violations of this section may result in immediate account termination and, where required by law, reporting to relevant authorities.

9. AI Transparency

In compliance with Article 50 of the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), we inform you that:

• All narrative content, character dialogue, and story developments are generated by artificial intelligence systems.
• Characters in Maeum Story are fictional AI entities and are not real people. Any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental.
• The AI system is designed to create emotionally engaging narratives; interactions with AI characters are not human relationships.
• We use a multi-provider AI pipeline composed of multiple large language models. The current list of AI sub-processors is available on request at legal@maeum-story.com and is described in the Privacy Policy at a general categorical level.

We encourage users to maintain a healthy perspective when engaging with AI narrative systems.

10. Privacy and Data Protection

Your use of the Service is subject to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Service, you acknowledge that your personal data will be processed as described in the Privacy Policy.

11. Explicit Consent to AI Processing Outside the EEA (Article 49(1)(a) GDPR)

You acknowledge and accept that the AI pipeline supporting the Service includes processors located in countries that do not benefit from an EU adequacy decision, currently including the People's Republic of China (DeepSeek, used for narrative reasoning agents only). As described in detail in Section 8.2 of the Privacy Policy, the transfer of your pseudonymised gameplay context to such processors is performed under Article 49(1)(a) GDPR, which permits transfers to a third country in the absence of an adequacy decision and of appropriate safeguards where the data subject has explicitly consented after having been informed of the possible risks.

By accepting these Terms, by confirming the dedicated check box during account activation, and by confirming the in-product consent prompt presented at first gameplay interaction, you separately and explicitly:

1. Confirm that you have read Section 8.2 of the Privacy Policy and that you understand the specific risks of transfers to the People's Republic of China set out therein (including the possibility of access by Chinese authorities under PIPL and DSL, the limited availability of administrative or judicial redress, and the fact that the level of protection is not equivalent to the EEA level).
2. Provide your explicit, specific, freely given and informed consent under Article 49(1)(a) GDPR to the transfer of your pseudonymised gameplay context to AI reasoning processors located in the People's Republic of China, for the limited purposes described in the Privacy Policy.
3. Acknowledge that this consent is given in the context of a free closed beta with no commercial relationship between you and us, in respect of pseudonymised non-identifying data only, and that you may withdraw it at any time without losing access to the Service: upon withdrawal, your gameplay turns will be automatically routed to alternative AI processors based in the EEA or in adequacy-decision jurisdictions.

Withdrawal procedure. You may withdraw this consent at any time by emailing legal@maeum-story.com with the subject line "Withdraw DeepSeek consent". We will action the withdrawal within five (5) business days. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of consent before its withdrawal (Article 7(3) GDPR), and it does not restrict, suspend, throttle, downgrade or otherwise penalise your access to the Service.

Right to refuse before account activation. If you do not wish to consent to transfers to the People's Republic of China at all, you may either request "EEA-only mode" provisioning by writing to legal@maeum-story.com before invite-code activation, or simply decline to activate the invite code and remain on the waitlist with no obligation.

This Section 11 reflects the conservative reading of Chapter V GDPR adopted by the European Data Protection Board (Guidelines 02/2018) and by the Italian Garante (cautionary advisories on AI providers based in the People's Republic of China issued during 2025).

12. Digital Services Act: Contact Point

In compliance with Article 9 of the EU Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), our single point of contact for authorities and users is:

Email: legal@maeum-story.com

We will respond to official communications from EU Member State authorities in Italian or English.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, the Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, or uninterrupted availability.

We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be error-free, secure, or available at any particular time.
• AI-Generated Content will be accurate, appropriate, or consistent.
• Any data or progress will be preserved across sessions or beta phases.
• The Service will meet your expectations.

Nothing in this section limits rights you may have under applicable mandatory consumer protection laws, including the Italian Consumer Code (D.Lgs. 206/2005) and EU Directive 2019/771.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

1. Our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed €50 (fifty euros) or the total amount paid by you to us in the 12 months preceding the claim, whichever is greater. This cap applies only while the Service is provided free of charge; it will be reviewed before any paid tier is introduced.
2. We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including loss of data, loss of profits, loss of goodwill, or loss of business opportunity, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory applicable law. Your statutory rights as a consumer under Italian and EU law are not affected.

15. User Responsibility for Misuse

If you breach these Terms (in particular Sections 8.2 and 8.3) and this causes damage to us or to third parties, you may be liable for such damage to the extent provided by applicable law. This provision does not affect your rights as a consumer under mandatory applicable law and does not impose obligations beyond what is legally permitted in B2C relationships under Italian law (D.Lgs. 206/2005) and EU Directive 93/13/EEC.

16. Third-Party Services and Links

The Service integrates third-party AI providers and services (see Privacy Policy for details). We are not responsible for the practices, content, or availability of third-party services. Links to third-party websites do not constitute endorsement.

17. Termination

17.1 By You

You may stop using the Service at any time. To delete your account and associated data, contact us at legal@maeum-story.com.

17.2 By Us

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, if:

• You breach any provision of these Terms.
• Your conduct is deemed harmful to other users or the Service.
• Continued operation would expose us to legal liability.
• The beta programme is discontinued.

Upon termination, your licence to use the Service ceases immediately. Sections 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, and 19 survive termination.

18. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Repubblica Italiana, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Italian courts competent by territory, unless mandatory consumer protection laws in your country of residence grant you the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.

If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, you also have the right to refer disputes to the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

19. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email (to the address associated with your account) or by posting a prominent notice on the Service at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service and request account deletion before the effective date by contacting legal@maeum-story.com.

20. Miscellaneous

• Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.
• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
• No Waiver: Failure to enforce any provision does not constitute a waiver of the right to enforce it in the future.
• Assignment: You may not assign your rights under these Terms. We may assign our rights and obligations without restriction, provided we notify you of any such assignment.
• Language: These Terms are written in English. Where we make these Terms available in Italian or another language, in the event of any conflict, the version in the language of the consumer's country of residence shall prevail for that consumer. For all other purposes, the English version prevails.

21. Contact

For questions, complaints, or legal notices regarding these Terms:

Francesco Rugiati (Maeum Story) Email: legal@maeum-story.com Physical address: available upon request

Maeum Story is a fictional narrative experience. All characters, worlds, and events are entirely fictional and generated by artificial intelligence. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, is coincidental.