1. Applicability
1.1 These Terms and Conditions govern the contractual agreements made through the website www.combinatorialpress.com and its subdomains (collectively referred to as the “Website”), as well as through associated email communications. They encompass all services offered by Combinatorial Press (hereinafter referred to as “CP”), based in Manitoba, Canada.
1.2 Any individual using the Website or purchasing services is referred to as the “Customer” or “You/Your” in these Terms and Conditions.
1.3 Any business terms presented by the Customer that deviate from these Terms and Conditions will not be valid unless explicitly confirmed by CP in written form.
1.4 In the event of a conflict between these Terms and Conditions and any other terms or information provided by CP, these Terms and Conditions shall take precedence
2. CP’s Offerings
2.1 CP exclusively provides scientific publication services through its Journals on the Website and editorial services, as further detailed in the next section.
2.2 CP commits to making reasonable efforts to enhance the post-publication coverage of all CP’s journals within major academic databases, scope-specific databases, and country-specific journal ranking lists. However, beyond what is outlined in § 2.1, CP does not undertake any additional services or guarantee specific results to the Customer under these Terms and Conditions. This includes, but is not limited to, CP not providing or ensuring indexation or abstracting of Customer publications, repository delivery services, digital preservation of publications, or similar services. The Customer acknowledges that CP lacks influence or control over journal rankings, indexation or de-indexation of publications, and the number of publication citations.
3. Ordering and Procurement of Services from CP
3.1 To initiate a publication service request through the Website, the Customer must first complete the registration process on the Website.
3.2 Registration requirements include the Customer being of legal age and possessing full legal capacity.
3.3 The Customer formally engages in contracting publication and editorial services with CP upon the submission of an original scientific article (“Article”) for peer-review evaluation and potential publication by CP.
3.4 The Customer commits to supporting either open-access publishing, allowing unlimited access to the published paper, or subscription-based (non-open access) publication, wherein authors transfer copyrights to Combinatorial Press.
3.5 The Customer acknowledges that any withholding tax (WHT) obligations and applicable taxes, levies, duties, or similar governmental assessments (“Taxes”) are the sole responsibility of the Customer. Payments to CP should be made in full, without deductions for Taxes. If payments are subject to Taxes, the Customer agrees to pay additional amounts to CP to ensure the net amount received is equal to what CP would have received without tax deductions.
3.6 The Customer holds the right to withdraw the Article and cancel the contract during the evaluation (peer-review) process. Once the Article is accepted for publication, withdrawal is no longer permitted. Any benefits received by the Customer up to cancellation must be restituted to CP.
3.7 CP retains the right to reject the Article at any time without specifying a reason, canceling the contract. Upon CP’s cancellation, both parties are released from prior commitments outlined in these Terms and Conditions. The Customer receives a full refund if any service fees were already paid before contract cancellation, excluding English editing charges.
3.8 If a Customer pays more than invoiced by CP, any bank or transaction charges will be deducted from a partial refund of the overpaid amount.
3.9 Refunds to authors after an article is published will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, with decisions made on a case-by-case basis.
4. Manuscript and Copyright Compliance
4.1 If your manuscript includes material from other publications, you must provide evidence that you have obtained the necessary copyright permissions. The Customer affirms a full warranty of title, ensuring that the Article authored by the Customer does not violate any third-party rights. The Customer indemnifies CP and agrees to defend and fully compensate CP against any claims, suits, actions, proceedings, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs) arising from third-party claims related to the published Article authored by the Customer.
4.2 Submission of your manuscript implies that it has not been published elsewhere or submitted to another journal. Exceptions may include papers presenting material disclosed at conferences; however, please inform us of such instances. For papers with multiple authors, confirmation is required that all authors are familiar with and in agreement with the manuscript’s contents. We reserve the right to contact all authors to verify this in cases of uncertainty.
4.3 Upon acceptance, your Article will be presented as an article in press. If you choose Open Access publication, your article will be distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
5. Patent Considerations
Upon submission of your manuscript, you must confirm that all applicable patent applications related to your manuscript have been filed prior to submission. It is important to note that the publication of a manuscript may potentially diminish or nullify the patentability of any unpatented ideas presented in the manuscript.
6. Publication of Email Addresses
6.1 Combinatorial Press (CP) may publish the email addresses of all authors. Consequently, these email addresses will be visible to both registered users and unregistered visitors on the website. By submitting the Article, the Customer explicitly consents to the publication of their email address in connection with their Article.
6.2 In cases where multiple authors have contributed to the Article, it is the responsibility of the Customer to ensure that all co-authors are informed about the potential publication of their email addresses as stipulated in § 6.1. The Customer is required to obtain the explicit consent of their co-authors for the publication of their respective email addresses.
6.3 The Customer, by providing CP with the email addresses of all authors involved in the Article, expresses consent to the conditions outlined in § 6.1 and 6.2. CP requires the submission of all email addresses of the authors involved, including at least one institutional email address. For indexing and abstracting services, it is essential to furnish all names, addresses, email addresses of the authors, and their affiliations.
7. Prices, Terms of Payment
7.1 The prices for services are explicitly outlined on the CP website. CP retains the right to modify these prices, and any adjustments will be communicated on the website before they become effective. The applicable price for the publication service concerning an accepted Article is determined based on the date of the original submission of the Article to CP.
7.2 Discounts on the service price are applicable only upon mutual agreement with CP.
7.3 Payments to CP are expected within 5-10 days from the issuance of the invoice to the Customer.
7.4 Invoices will be dispatched via email to the designated payment contact person provided by the Customer.
8. Contract Document
CP does not provide a separate contract document distinct from these Terms and Conditions. Nevertheless, the Customer can access information about the ordered services and the status of the Article at any time through their personal account on the Website.
9. Limitation of Liability
In no event shall CP, or their respective licensees, employees, agents, suppliers, or contractors be liable for any damages of any nature. This includes, but is not limited to, consequential loss, damages for loss of income or profit, loss or damage to property, loss of goodwill, use, data, or other intangible losses, claims of third parties, or any other loss, cost, claim, or expense of any kind or character arising out of or in connection with the use of any website, its content, or any website to or from which any links may be established.
In particular, CP holds no liability if published articles infringe third-party rights (§ 4.1). Claims cannot be asserted against CP if the Customer fails to inform its co-authors of the publication of their email addresses and breaches its obligation to obtain consent for such publication (§ 6.1-6.3).
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall limit or exclude, or be interpreted as intending to limit or exclude, liability for gross negligence (as defined under Canadian law) or for deliberate wrongdoing, or for any other matter for which, under any applicable law, liability cannot be limited or excluded.
10. Force Majeure
CP is not liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations due to circumstances beyond its control (e.g., war, fire, explosion, pandemic, etc.).
11. Privacy Policy
The scope and purpose of collecting, processing, and using personal data necessary for the performance of CP’s tasks are specified in our Privacy Policy.
12. Miscellaneous
12.1 Manitoba, Canada, shall be the place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes arising from these Terms and Conditions, even if the Customer has their domicile outside of Canada.
12.2 Canadian law applicable at the place of jurisdiction of CP shall apply exclusively, excluding the conflict of laws provisions, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 11 April 1980 (“Vienna Sales Convention”), and any other international conventions.
12.3 If any provisions of the Terms and Conditions are found invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In such a case, the contracting parties shall negotiate on the invalid clause to substitute it with a valid arrangement as close as possible to the original provision.
12.4 CP reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions at any time by posting changes to this page of the website without prior notice. Please check these Terms and Conditions periodically for any modifications.
Your continued use of any Service following the posting of any changes will mean that you have accepted and agreed to the changes.
These Terms and Conditions were last updated on 2 January 2024.
