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Terms of service

Terms and Conditions of Service and Content Licence Agreement

This English translation is provided for convenience only. The Italian version is the sole binding version and prevails in the event of any discrepancy.

Leggi l’originale italiano

Terms and Conditions of Service and Content Licence Agreement

"Ciakli" Platform

0. Introduction and definitions

This document (the "Terms") governs access to and use of the short-film streaming platform called "Ciakli" (the "Platform"), provided by Gianmarco De Bernardinis, VAT number 02131400661 (ATECO code 59.13 — Motion picture, video and television programme distribution, activation in progress), whose registered address is Via Jean Emile Baudot, 9, 00132 Rome (RM), Italy (the "Provider" or "Ciakli").

Ciakli operates as a provider of on-demand audiovisual media services under Legislative Decree 208/2021 (the Consolidated Act on Audiovisual Media Services) and undertakes to comply with its requirements within the time limits and in the manner it establishes. These include the certified notification of commencement of activity (SCIA) and registration in the Register of Communications Operators (ROC) held by the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM), where applicable under the size and turnover thresholds established by current legislation.

0.1 Definitions

  • • "Viewer": a registered user who accesses the Platform's content solely as a viewer, through the Lite Plan.
  • • "Author": a registered user who uploads one or more short films to the Platform through a Standard or Plus Plan and also accesses the full catalogue as a viewer.
  • • "Short Film": a short audiovisual work uploaded by an Author.
  • • "Plan": the subscription taken out (Lite, Standard or Plus), on a monthly or annual basis.
  • • "Publication Period": the period for which a Short Film remains published on the Platform, corresponding to the entire period during which the Author's relevant Plan (Standard or Plus) remains active, subject to the cancellation provisions in Article 3.2.
  • • "Publication Confirmation": the final approval, given through a dedicated confirmation link sent by email, by which the Author authorises public publication of a Short Film that has already passed editorial review.

0.2 Access requirements

Access to and registration on the Platform are restricted to adults. By registering, users declare that they are at least 18 years old. Ciakli reserves the right to request age verification and suspend accounts found to be in breach of this requirement.

1. Registration and the period before the Platform opens

From 1 September 2026, users may register on the Platform and select their preferred Plan during a period in which the service is not yet accessible to the public (the "Pre-Opening Phase"). The Platform will actually open (the "Opening Date") once the Provider considers the catalogue suitable, indicatively within the months following registration.

1.1 Payment method

During registration, users provide a payment method that is stored securely through the payment service provider Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe") using tokenisation (Setup Intent). This operation does not result in a charge. No amount will be charged before the Opening Date.

1.2 Advance notice

Near the Opening Date, the Provider will email the user with the expected date of the first charge and instructions for cancelling registration at no cost if the user does not wish to proceed.

1.3 Withdrawal during the Pre-Opening Phase

Until a charge is made, users may cancel their registration at any time, without costs or penalties, directly from their account area.

2. Service activation and first charge

On the Opening Date, the Provider charges the user for their selected Plan using the saved payment method, creating a new Stripe charge corresponding to the price of the chosen Plan, monthly or annual, as specified in Article 3.

2.1 Consent to immediate performance and waiver of the right of withdrawal (Viewers and Authors acting as private individuals)

At the time of the first charge, a user acting as a consumer (an individual who does not provide a VAT number during registration) is required to make the following express declaration through an unticked consent checkbox:

"I expressly request immediate access to the digital content/service from the activation of my subscription and acknowledge that, by doing so, I lose the 14-day right of withdrawal provided for in the Consumer Code, pursuant to Article 59(o) of Legislative Decree 206/2005."

Without this express consent, the service is not activated and no charge is made.

2.2 Authors with a VAT number

Providing a VAT number during registration is optional. Where an Author acts in the course of a professional activity and provides a valid VAT number, the relationship is a business-to-business (B2B) relationship. The consumer protection provisions of the Consumer Code, including the right of withdrawal referred to in Article 2.1, do not apply; the contractual terms in this document continue to apply.

3. Subscription Plans

The Lite Plan is reserved for registered Viewers and is intended solely for watching content. The Standard and Plus Plans are reserved exclusively for registered Authors and include access to the full catalogue as viewers, in addition to the ability to upload Short Films within the Plan's limits. A Viewer cannot subscribe to a Standard or Plus Plan without completing registration as an Author under this document.

3.1 Automatic renewal

All Plans, monthly and annual, renew automatically at the end of the current period unless cancelled by the user. Cancellation may be requested at any time through a dedicated function in the account area, with the same ease and no more steps than were required to subscribe, taking effect as provided in Article 3.2.

3.2 Cancellation and termination of the service

Following cancellation, the subscription and any published Short Film remain active until the end of the period already paid for, whether monthly or annual. For example, a user who cancels a monthly Plan halfway through a month retains access (and, for an Author, the Short Film remains published) until that paid month ends; a user who cancels an annual Plan likewise retains access until the end of the 12 months already paid for. At the end of the period, the Viewer's access to content ends and, for an Author, the Short Film is removed from the Platform, with no subsequent automatic renewal. No refund, including a partial refund, is due for the unused remainder of the period, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

3.3 Changing Plans — Upgrades and Downgrades

Users may request a change of Plan at any time under the following arrangements:

  • • Upgrade (moving to a higher Plan, including moving from Viewer to Author): takes effect immediately upon request, with Stripe charging the difference due or the new applicable amount under the higher Plan's terms. If the upgrade involves moving from Viewer to Author, the user must also accept the Content Licence Agreement in Article 4.
  • • Downgrade (moving to a lower Plan): takes effect only at the end of the current monthly or annual period already paid for, consistently with Article 3.2. Until that date, the user retains all the terms of the higher Plan already subscribed to.

If a downgrade involves moving to a Plan allowing fewer published Short Films than the Author already has published, the Author must specify, before the current period ends, which Short Films they wish to retain within the new limit. If no choice is made, Ciakli will retain the most recently uploaded Short Films up to the new Plan's limit, removing the others when the downgrade takes effect.

4. Content Licence Agreement — specific terms for Authors

4.1 Grant of rights

By accepting these Terms and each time they upload a Short Film, the Author grants Ciakli a non-exclusive worldwide licence, for the Publication Period applicable to their Plan, to exploit the Short Film through on-demand streaming on the Platform, including promotional and advertising uses under Article 4.2.

Each Short Film's Publication Period corresponds to the period during which the Author's Plan (Standard or Plus) remains active: a Short Film remains published as long as the Plan is regularly renewed and is removed as provided in Article 3.2 in the event of cancellation or non-renewal. Authors are not required to upload the maximum number of Short Films allowed by their Plan immediately; they may add to the catalogue at any time during the Plan's term, within its limits.

The licence granted is expressly non-exclusive: the Author remains fully free to distribute the same Short Film through other platforms, festivals, channels or services, subject to Article 4.4.

4.2 Promotional and advertising uses

Within the licence granted under Article 4.1, the Author authorises Ciakli to use excerpts, clips, frames, the title, synopsis, poster and the Author's/director's name relating to the Short Film for Ciakli's promotional and advertising purposes. This includes publication on social channels, both organic and paid, the website, newsletters and other Platform communications, including outside the Short Film's own page on the Platform.

This use is granted free of charge as an integral part of the licence under Article 4.1, without further authorisations or additional remuneration being required for each promotional publication, subject to the Author's right to be correctly credited as the Short Film's author/director wherever technically possible given the published content's format.

Promotional materials already published by Ciakli on social or advertising channels before a Short Film is removed from the Platform may remain accessible after its removal, since retroactive removal of content already publicly distributed on third-party platforms, such as social networks, cannot technically or reasonably be required. The Author may nevertheless ask Ciakli to remove specific promotional materials still under Ciakli's direct control; requests will be assessed individually.

4.3 Ownership of rights and the Author's declarations

For each Short Film uploaded, the Author represents and warrants that:

  • • they hold all necessary rights in the Short Film, including, for example, rights in the screenplay, performances, soundtrack and music used, and any visible trademarks and logos; or they have obtained the express, documentable consent of the director and/or producer holding those rights to publish the Short Film on Ciakli, including the promotional use under Article 4.2;
  • • the Short Film contains no third-party copyright material used without permission, nor trademarks or logos lacking the necessary authorisation;
  • • where the Short Film depicts identifiable people, appropriate model releases have been obtained from them, and where it depicts minors, consent has been obtained from their parents or those exercising parental responsibility;
  • • the Short Film contains no defamatory, discriminatory, obscene or otherwise unlawful content under applicable Italian and European law;
  • • for the territory and period specified in Article 4.1, the Short Film is not subject to exclusive agreements with other platforms, distributors or streaming services that prohibit its simultaneous distribution on Ciakli;
  • • if the Short Film was made wholly or partly with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems, for example to generate images, video, voices, music or a screenplay, they declared this to Ciakli when uploading it, specifying how and to what extent those systems were used, for the purposes of Article 4.9.

4.4 Indemnity

The Author indemnifies and holds Ciakli harmless against any claim, demand for compensation, penalty or cost, including legal expenses, arising from a breach of the representations and warranties in Article 4.3. Ciakli reserves the right to remove any Short Film immediately following a substantiated report of infringement of third-party rights, and to suspend the Author's account in the event of repeated infringements.

4.5 Intellectual property

The Author retains full intellectual property ownership of the Short Film. The licence under Article 4.1 transfers no ownership rights to Ciakli, which acts solely as licensee for distribution and promotion on the Platform and through Ciakli's channels.

4.6 Ciakli's content review

Before publication, every uploaded Short Film undergoes an editorial review by Ciakli covering two distinct aspects:

  • • a compliance check against these Terms, including the declarations in Article 4.3 and the prohibited content in Article 5;
  • • an editorial assessment of the work's professional, technical and artistic quality, including, for example, writing, direction, acting, and the technical quality of filming and editing, as well as its suitability for ensuring a variety of genres, forms of expression and styles within the Platform's catalogue, consistently with its nature as an editorial platform with a curated catalogue, as described in these Terms.

The assessment in the second point falls within Ciakli's editorial discretion and follows the criteria set out above, applied in good faith and consistently across the Short Films submitted for review, without discrimination unrelated to editorial reasons. Ciakli informs the Author of the review outcome within a reasonable time after upload, indicating whether a rejection is based on compliance reasons, editorial reasons, or both.

If approval is refused, Ciakli informs the Author of the reasons. The Author may either:

  • • upload a replacement Short Film in place of the rejected one, which will undergo the same review process; or
  • • request a refund under Article 4.8 if they decide not to proceed with publication.

If, at the end of the current paid period, none of the Short Films proposed by the Author under their Plan has been approved, Ciakli offers the Author the option of moving to a lower Plan compatible with the number of Short Films actually published, under the downgrade arrangements in Article 3.3, or requesting a refund under Article 4.8.

4.7 Publication Confirmation

Following Ciakli's approval under Article 4.6, Ciakli sends the Author an email containing a Publication Confirmation link. By clicking that link, the Author expressly and definitively authorises the Short Film's public publication, which takes place immediately. Without this explicit confirmation, the Short Film is not made public.

After publication, the Author may ask Ciakli, through the support service, for specific changes to the Short Film's metadata, such as its title, description or cover image. Ciakli will assess those changes and may apply them. This option does not include replacing the Short Film's audiovisual file or removing it from the Platform; these remain governed by Article 4.6 and Articles 3.2–3.3 respectively.

4.8 Refunds (Authors)

For Authors without a VAT number, refunds are permitted only where none of the Author's proposed Short Films has been approved during review under Article 4.6, or in the event of objective technical malfunctions of the Platform that are not attributable to the Author. No refund is permitted for purely subjective dissatisfaction after the Publication Confirmation under Article 4.7, because that confirmation constitutes express and specific consent to completion of the publication service and a consequent waiver of the right of withdrawal under Article 59(a) of the Consumer Code. The same conditions apply to Authors acting with a VAT number as contractual terms agreed between the parties, excluding consumer protections that do not apply to B2B relationships.

4.9 Content created using artificial intelligence

Ciakli permits publication of Short Films made wholly or partly with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems, subject to the rights ownership provisions in Article 4.3 and the quality assessment under Article 4.6.

Authors must declare the use of artificial intelligence systems in making a Short Film when uploading it, as provided in Article 4.3. As the party making content publicly available, Ciakli appropriately labels Short Films for which that declaration has been made where required by applicable legislation on transparency of artificially generated or manipulated content, including Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the "AI Act").

Ciakli reserves the right to ask Authors for further information or documentation about how artificial intelligence was used in a Short Film, for correct labelling and the assessment under Article 4.6. An untrue declaration about the use of artificial intelligence breaches the declarations in Article 4.3, and the indemnity in Article 4.4 applies.

5. Prohibited content

Uploading Short Films containing the following is prohibited, by way of example and without limitation:

  • • music, soundtracks or other audio elements that are unauthorised or lack the relevant licence;
  • • trademarks, logos or other third-party content lacking the necessary authorisation;
  • • people filmed without consent or a release where required by applicable law;
  • • minors filmed without the consent of their parents or those exercising parental responsibility;
  • • defamatory, discriminatory, obscene or otherwise unlawful content, or content inciting hatred or violence.

Ciakli reserves the right to remove Short Films found to breach this Article at any time, including without notice, while allowing the Author to provide explanations.

6. Personal data and privacy

The processing of users' personal data is governed by the Platform's Privacy Policy, which is available separately and forms an integral part of the relationship with the user. Payment method data are processed directly by Stripe as an independent controller for that specific purpose, under its own privacy notice.

6.1 Account deactivation

Following cancellation, the user's account is deactivated and becomes inaccessible, without permanently deleting personal identification and tax data. Those data are retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting law, currently 10 years, without prejudice to the data subject's other rights under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

7. Changes to the Terms

Ciakli reserves the right to amend these Terms, including the Plans' financial conditions, by notifying users at least 30 days before the changes take effect. If users do not accept the changes, they may withdraw from the contract without penalty, effective before the new conditions apply. Continued use of the service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of them.

8. Governing law and jurisdiction

This contract is governed by Italian law. For disputes with users acting as consumers, the courts of the consumer's place of residence or domicile have exclusive jurisdiction under applicable law. For relationships with Authors acting with a VAT number in the course of their professional activity, the courts of Rome have exclusive jurisdiction.

Annex — Declarations for each upload (Authors)

Whenever uploading a Short Film, before completing the operation the Author must confirm the following through a dedicated consent checkbox:

  • • "I declare that I am the director/producer holding the rights in this Short Film, or that I have obtained the rights holder's express consent to its publication on Ciakli."
  • • "I declare that this Short Film is not subject to exclusive agreements with other platforms or distribution services that prohibit its simultaneous publication on Ciakli."
  • • "I declare that this Short Film contains no unauthorised elements subject to third-party rights, such as music, trademarks or images of people without the necessary release, and no prohibited content under Article 5 of the Terms."
  • • "I declare whether this Short Film was made wholly or partly with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems and, if so, specify how and to what extent they were used, under Article 4.9 of the Terms."