Contributor Publishing Agreement

This is a previous version (Version 1.1, effective Oct 13, 2026), kept for reference. It was replaced by Version 1.2, effective Oct 15, 2026.

1. Parties and eligibility

GATHWAY INC. (“GATHWAY”, “we”, “us”), a Canadian corporation, operates The Insight Docket (“Platform”) at theinsightdocket.com. Contact: legal@gathway.app; privacy@gathway.app for privacy requests. Registered office: 230-7737 Lundy’s Lane, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

This Agreement supplements the Terms of Use and binds contributors when affirmatively accepted before their first submission. Contributors must hold a paid CAD $10/month or CAD $120/year membership as applicable and satisfactorily complete identity/qualification verification before publication approval. Payment does not guarantee approval. Contributors must have the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement and, where a paid membership applies, the subscription agreement. Eligibility to register as a reader from age 16 does not by itself confer eligibility to contribute; any future programme for younger writers will operate only under separate terms and safeguards.

2. Submissions and warranties

Contributor confirms they own or have sufficient rights to submit the work, that required consents, permissions and clearances have been obtained, and that it does not infringe intellectual property, privacy, confidence or other rights. Submissions must be original or properly attributed, truthful as to source material, and compliant with the Editorial Standards. Professional credentials must be accurate and verifiable.

3. Editorial assessment and approval

GATHWAY may request changes, reject, postpone, fact-check, annotate or correct submissions. Initial approval authority resides with the Super Admin and may be delegated by an auditable, revocable permission to an Editor-in-Chief or other qualified team member. Verification status and editorial approval are distinct decisions. No submission is published until approved.

4. Retention of copyright; licence

Contributor retains copyright in their original content. Upon formal publication, Contributor grants GATHWAY a non-exclusive, worldwide, continuing licence to store, reproduce, format, publicly display, communicate, distribute, index, preserve, archive and promote the published work on The Insight Docket and its authorized channels, with reasonable technical adaptations. Promotional excerpts must identify the author where reasonably possible. Any sublicensing beyond technical service providers and ordinary syndication needs clearer separate authorization.

5. Duration, account closure and archived publications

For a work once published, the archive licence survives membership cancellation, expiry and account deletion. Deleting an account does not ordinarily remove previously published works; appropriate author attribution may persist. GATHWAY may correct, anonymize, restrict or remove work when needed for law, safety, privacy, third-party rights, editorial integrity or court orders. Unpublished drafts and verification documents are subject to applicable deletion/export rights and retention obligations.

6. Moral rights and modifications

No blanket waiver of moral rights is presumed. Contributor consents to customary copyediting, formatting, accessibility adaptations and technically necessary changes that do not materially distort the work. Material substantive edits, uses outside the express licence or a moral-rights waiver require further agreed terms where applicable. Corrections and takedowns may still be required by law.

7. Distribution, third-party republication and exclusivity

The licence is non-exclusive: Contributor may publish the original work elsewhere, subject to warranties that third-party agreements are not breached. A separate signed addendum is required for exclusive submissions, translations, audiobook rights, print compilations or paid syndication not adequately covered by this Agreement.

8. AI-assisted works

AI assistance may be used, but the Contributor remains responsible for original expression, fact-checking, source verification and legal compliance. Material AI-generated passages or imagery must be disclosed under the Editorial Standards. Fabricated judicial decisions, quotations, research citations or purported sources are prohibited.

9. Monetization and attribution

Monetization is governed exclusively by the separately accepted Monetization and Earnings Policy. The Contributor retains any contractually earned amounts notwithstanding later account closure, subject to payment-provider, legal and compliance requirements. No guaranteed revenue arises from acceptance or publication alone.

10. Disputes and records

GATHWAY maintains dated submission, revision, decision and acceptance histories and a fair path for correction requests or rights complaints. The Contributor agrees to cooperate reasonably in rights investigations. Indemnities or liability allocation require founder legal approval before being introduced.