Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions govern the rights and obligations relating to the purchase of personalized children's books through the Hero of the Book web application.

1. Introductory provisions and contact details

These Terms and Conditions (the "Terms") govern, in accordance with Section 1751(1) of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Czech Civil Code (the "Civil Code"), the mutual rights and obligations of the contracting parties arising in connection with or on the basis of a purchase contract concluded between the seller and the buyer through the web application operated at heroofthebook.com (the "website").

The operator and seller is:

• Name: Lukáš Kantor
• Company ID (IČO): 03177009, VAT ID (DIČ): CZ9109235410
• Registered office: Milíkov 244, 739 81 Milíkov
• Contact e-mail: contact@heroofthebook.com
• Registration: registered in the Trade Register maintained by the competent municipal trade licensing office; a self-employed natural person not registered in the Commercial Register.

(the "seller"). The buyer is a consumer or a business that concludes a contract with the seller through the website (the "buyer").

Orders may be placed and user accounts created only by persons over 18 years of age with full legal capacity. If the book is to be a gift for a child, or if a child is to appear in it, the order is placed by the child's legal guardian or by a person who has the legal guardian's consent (see Art. 9).

2. Product description

The subject of the purchase is a personalized children's book created to order on the basis of details entered by the buyer (in particular the child's name, an uploaded photo and an optional dedication), in the form of:

• a digital book — an electronic file in PDF format made available in the user account; and/or
• a printed book — a physical A4 hardcover copy produced according to the selected and approved content.

An audiobook can be ordered for the digital book — an audio recording of the text of the created book, narrated by a synthetic voice and made available in the user account. In its gift workshop, the seller also offers gifts made from the illustrations of the buyer's book (see Art. 14) and gift vouchers (see Art. 13).

The illustrations are created using artificial intelligence tools. Due to the nature of the generation process, the final appearance of a character may differ from the uploaded photo; it is an artistic rendering, not a faithful reproduction of the photo.

3. User account

A book can be started without registering. To save books, edit them and order printing, it is advisable to create a user account. The buyer must provide correct and truthful information and protect the login details of the account. The seller may cancel the account, in particular if the buyer breaches their obligations under these Terms.

4. Creation process and conclusion of the contract

The book is created in the following steps:

• the buyer chooses the theme of the book, enters the child's name and uploads a portrait photo of the child; the book can have up to five characters (e.g. siblings, a friend, parents or grandparents), and a name and portrait photo can be entered for each of them,
• the system creates free story proposals (title and short outline), of which the buyer selects one and may edit its title; neither the illustrations nor the characters' appearance are created at this step,
• to generate the complete book (all pages and illustrations), the buyer places an order and pays.

The presentation of products on the website is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to conclude a contract within the meaning of Section 1732(2) of the Civil Code. The contract is concluded at the moment the buyer completes the order and pays the price; the seller will confirm acceptance of the order to the buyer by e-mail. The buyer acknowledges that generation of the entire book begins after payment.

5. Price and payment terms

Prices on the website include all taxes. The price of the digital book is stated with the product (currently $7.99). The price of the printed book and any shipping costs are communicated to the buyer as part of the print order, or confirmed by e-mail before its binding acceptance.

The buyer chooses the payment method when completing the order. The seller offers card payment and bank transfer; the options may differ between the language versions of the website, and the list shown in the order is always binding.

Card payments are processed through the Stripe payment gateway. The seller does not store payment card details.

Payment by bank transfer. If the buyer chooses bank transfer, the seller issues a payment request stating the account number, amount, variable symbol (payment reference) and due date, and sends the same details to the e-mail address given in the order. The variable symbol is the only detail used to match the incoming payment to the order — the buyer must therefore include it in the payment order. The price is paid at the moment the amount is credited to the seller's account; only then is the condition under Art. 4 met. If an amount different from the one stated in the payment request arrives, the payment will not be matched automatically: the seller will contact the buyer by e-mail, the buyer will pay any shortfall, and the seller will refund any overpayment to the account from which the payment came. If the amount is not credited within the period stated in the payment request, the request expires and the order remains unpaid; the buyer may request a new payment request at any time and pay for the order again.

The seller issues a tax document (invoice) and sends it to the buyer's e-mail.

6. Delivery

The digital book is delivered by making it available in the user account, or by sending a download link, usually immediately after generation is complete (typically within minutes). The printed book is usually dispatched within 5 working days of order confirmation and payment; the buyer is informed by e-mail when it is handed over for shipping.

If the order is paid by bank transfer, the periods under this Article begin only when the amount is credited to the seller's account (Art. 5), not when the order is completed — until then, the seller does not begin creation or production.

7. Right of Withdrawal

A consumer generally has the right to withdraw from a distance contract within 14 days (Section 1829 of the Civil Code). However, this right does not apply to books made to order (including the audiobook for them) or to gifts from the workshop (Art. 14), as these involve:

• the supply of goods made to the consumer's specifications or tailored to their personal needs (personalized book, gifts from the workshop) — Section 1837(d) of the Civil Code; and
• the supply of digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, where performance began before the withdrawal period expired with the consumer's prior express consent and after the consumer was informed of the loss of the right of withdrawal — Section 1837(l) of the Civil Code.

By completing the order, the buyer expressly requests that creation of the book begin before the withdrawal period expires and acknowledges that the right to withdraw from the contract is thereby lost. This does not affect rights arising from defective performance.

This exclusion does not apply to gift vouchers — withdrawal from their purchase is possible within 14 days, see Art. 13.

8. Rights arising from defective performance and complaints

Rights and obligations arising from defective performance are governed by the Civil Code and Act No. 634/1992 Coll., on Consumer Protection. The buyer may notify the seller of a defect at the contact e-mail.

What quality is agreed. The book is illustrated — the characters are drawn by artificial intelligence, and the uploaded photo serves as its inspiration, not as a template to be traced; the result is a drawing, not a faithful reproduction of the photo. The buyer sees the story proposal (title and short outline) free of charge before ordering; the illustrations and the characters' appearance are created only after payment. For a printed book, the buyer approves the appearance of the entire finished book before it is sent to print, and the delivered printed book is measured against this approved appearance (Section 2161(1) of the Civil Code); for a digital book, the agreed quality is an illustrated book created according to the buyer's specifications, not a faithful likeness of the uploaded photo. The same applies to the colours of digital printing, which naturally differ from how they appear on a screen.

What counts as a defect. In particular: a hero's name or dedication different from what the buyer entered; a missing, blank, out-of-order or damaged page; illegible, garbled or cut-off text; a book that does not match the appearance approved before it was sent to print; a damaged, soiled or incomplete printed copy; a non-functional or corrupted PDF file, or a non-functional online flipbook or audiobook. This list is not exhaustive and in no way limits the buyer's rights arising from defective performance.

The seller will handle a complaint without undue delay and no later than 30 days from the date it was filed, unless the parties agree on a longer period. Where a complaint about a digital book is justified, the seller will usually provide a remedy (e.g. correcting the text or regenerating the affected page).

9. Licence and intellectual property

By uploading a photo, the buyer declares that they are entitled to use it for the purpose of creating the book or a gift. This applies to the photo of every character — for a child, the buyer declares that they are the child's legal guardian or have the legal guardian's consent; for an adult, that they have that person's consent — and equally to the buyer's own photo uploaded into a greeting card that will be printed. The buyer grants the seller a non-exclusive licence to use these photos to the extent necessary to create the book and the ordered gifts.

The buyer obtains a licence to the created book for personal, non-commercial use (printing for their own use, viewing, giving as a gift). The story templates and illustration style remain the intellectual property of the seller or its providers.

The seller does not depict characters from TV series, films, games or books. These are copyrighted works or designations protected by trademarks, and the seller holds no licence for them. A book that is sold is not covered by the exception for reproduction for personal use (Section 30(1) of the Czech Copyright Act), and owning a plush toy, toy or picture does not constitute a licence either (Section 9(3) of the Czech Copyright Act); the buyer's consent does not change this, as the publisher of the book is the seller.

If the buyer uploads a photo of such a character or enters it by name, the seller will point this out while the book is being created and offer an original character instead: it keeps the name, species, colour and other characteristics entered by the buyer and plays the same role in the book, but will not visually resemble the protected original. The buyer may also replace the character with another photo or remove it from the book. If the buyer insists on depicting the protected character, the seller is entitled to refuse the order and refund any price already paid in full.

10. Liability and limitations

The buyer must not upload content that is unlawful, infringes the rights of third parties or is contrary to good morals. The seller is not liable for damage caused by incorrectly or unlawfully uploaded data. Outputs generated by artificial intelligence are creative in nature and their exact appearance is not guaranteed.

11. Personal data protection

The processing of personal data, including the handling of the child's uploaded photo, is described in detail in the Privacy Policy.

12. Out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes

The body competent for the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes with the seller is the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (Česká obchodní inspekce, Gorazdova 1969/24, 120 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic). The seller is established in the Czech Republic, and Articles 5(1) and 13(1) of Directive 2013/11/EU attach that duty to the body competent for the trader, not for the customer. A dispute-resolution body in your own country is therefore not competent to hear a dispute with us.

If you live in another Member State of the European Union, in Iceland or in Norway, the European Consumer Centres Network will help you free of charge in your own language; the centre in your country will pass the matter on to the Czech centre. Outside the European Economic Area there is no cross-border consumer dispute-resolution body for a dispute with us. You may still complain to us directly at the contact address, and the courts remain open to you.

The European Commission's online dispute resolution platform (ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr) no longer exists: Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 repealed Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 with effect from 20 July 2025. Any reference to it in an older document is out of date.

Out-of-court resolution is voluntary for both sides and does not affect your right to go to court, nor the protection afforded to you by the mandatory provisions of the law of your own country under Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008.

13. Gift vouchers

The seller sells gift vouchers entitling the holder to redeem products offered on the website. After payment, the seller sends the voucher by e-mail as a unique code; the code is redeemed in the order.

• The voucher is for a specific product or number of books (e.g. a digital book, audiobook, printed book, or a bundle of several books), not for a monetary amount — so its value is not reduced by later price increases. We also offer a voucher for open credit in a chosen amount, which can be redeemed for any product.
• The voucher is valid for 1 year from its issue; this period is communicated to the buyer before the order is completed. After it expires, the voucher cannot be redeemed.
• The voucher can also be redeemed in parts (for a bundle of several books); it cannot be exchanged for money, nor can cash be paid out from it.
• Redeeming the voucher gives rise to a separate contract for the supply of a book, which is governed by these Terms, including Art. 7.
• For a printed book voucher, shipping is not included unless the buyer expressly paid for it when buying the voucher (the "pay for shipping too" option); in that case, the voucher holder pays nothing extra when ordering the print. Otherwise, the voucher holder pays shipping when ordering the print according to the price list valid at the time of the order.

Withdrawal from the purchase of a voucher. The voucher itself is neither goods made to the consumer's specifications nor supplied digital content, so the exclusions under Section 1837(d) and (l) of the Civil Code do not apply to it. A buyer who is a consumer may therefore withdraw from the purchase of a voucher within 14 days of buying it without giving any reason; the seller will refund the amount paid within 14 days of the withdrawal. If the voucher has been redeemed in the meantime, the performance already provided (the book) is governed by Art. 7, and only the unused part of the voucher's value is refunded. You can withdraw using the function on the Right of Withdrawal page, which is available throughout the withdrawal period; the seller will promptly confirm the content of the withdrawal and the date and time it was sent to the buyer by e-mail. A notice sent by e-mail or letter is equally effective.

14. Gifts from the workshop

As part of its "gift workshop", the seller offers gifts (e.g. a greeting card, a colouring book, a canvas print) made to order from the illustrations and characters of a book the buyer has already created.

• A gift is ordered and paid for separately, independently of the book from which the illustrations come.
• These are goods made to the buyer's specifications (see Art. 7) — the 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to this purchase. By completing the order, the buyer expressly requests that production begin before the withdrawal period expires and acknowledges the loss of this right.
• Rights arising from defective performance are governed by Art. 8 and the Complaints Policy. The agreed quality of a gift is a print of illustrations from the buyer's already created book, the colours of which naturally differ from how they appear on a screen; defects include in particular text different from what the buyer entered, a gift that does not match the approved preview, and a damaged, soiled or incomplete product.
• Delivery times and shipping follow the same rules as for the printed book (Art. 6).
• Manufacturer details and safety warnings for physical gifts are given in Art. 15.

15. Manufacturer details and product safety

Physical goods (printed book, additional copies of the book, greeting card, canvas print and other gifts from the workshop) are made to order according to the buyer's specifications, and the seller places them on the market under its own name and brand. Within the meaning of Article 3(8) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety, the manufacturer is therefore the seller:

• Name: Lukáš Kantor
• Postal address: Milíkov 244, 739 81 Milíkov
• Electronic address: contact@heroofthebook.com

The seller is established in the European Union, so its own responsibility under that Regulation applies and there is no need to designate a responsible person under Article 16 thereof. Printing and assembly are provided for the seller by contracted production partners in the European Union.

The product on offer is identified by its name, description, image and the dimensions stated in the offer; the specific item produced is identified by the order number given in the order confirmation.

Safety warning: the goods offered are not toys within the meaning of Directive 2009/48/EC and are not intended for play. Give the product to children under three years of age only under adult supervision. The canvas print is stretched over a wooden frame — hang it out of the reach of small children.

If the seller finds that a product it has supplied poses a risk, it will inform the buyers concerned without undue delay and take corrective action in accordance with Articles 35 and 36 of that Regulation. Suggestions and questions regarding product safety can be sent to contact@heroofthebook.com.

16. Final provisions

Relationships not governed by these Terms are governed by the law of the Czech Republic. If the buyer is a consumer habitually resident in another country, the choice of Czech law does not deprive them of the protection afforded by the mandatory provisions of the law of their country (Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008). The seller is entitled to amend the wording of the Terms; contracts already concluded are governed by the wording in effect at the time the contract was concluded. If any provision is invalid, this does not affect the validity of the other provisions.