Terms of Service — Journals & Publishers

Version 1 | Effective: April 2026 | Governed by German law | B2B Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your journal's or publishing organization's ("Journal", "you") use of the PeerDesk platform. PeerDesk is operated by Lennart Sieden & Stefan Bechtel GbR ("PeerDesk", "we", "us"), Heuspachstr. 79, 72644 Oberboihingen, Germany. These Terms constitute a business-to-business (B2B) contract. Consumer protection regulations do not apply.

By registering a journal on PeerDesk or by using the platform services, you confirm that you have the authority to bind your journal or organization to these Terms.

§ 1 — Scope and Parties

1.1 PeerDesk provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) editorial management platform for academic journals. Services include reviewer search and matching, review invitation management, peer review coordination, editorial workflow tools, and reviewer compensation processing.

1.2 With respect to personal data of researchers (reviewers, authors) processed on the platform, the Journal acts as Data Controller and PeerDesk acts as Data Processor under GDPR Art. 28. The Data Processing Agreement (DPA) at /legal/dpa forms an integral part of these Terms.

1.3 With respect to PeerDesk's own operations (platform accounts, billing, support), PeerDesk acts as an independent Data Controller.

§ 2 — Platform Services

PeerDesk provides the following services (subject to the subscribed tier):

Reviewer registry access and algorithmic reviewer matching by discipline, expertise, and availability
Invitation management: send, track, and manage review invitations with deadline management
Conflict-of-interest (COI) workflow: automated detection, declaration, and auditing
Structured review submission and scoring interface
Editorial decision workflow (desk rejection, assignment, accept/reject/revise)
Reviewer compensation processing via Stripe Connect (marketplace model)
Manuscript file storage (PDF, supplementary materials) via secure object storage
Audit logs and reporting for editorial quality management
API access for EMS integration (depending on tier)

§ 3 — Subscription and Pricing

3.1 Platform access is provided on a subscription basis. Available tiers and pricing are set out on the PeerDesk pricing page and may be updated from time to time. Subscription fees are invoiced in advance (monthly or annually as agreed).

3.2 In addition to subscription fees, a per-review platform fee (percentage of reviewer compensation) applies when reviewer compensation is processed through PeerDesk. This fee is disclosed at the time of subscription and in each transaction record.

3.3 We reserve the right to adjust pricing with 60 days' prior written notice. Price changes take effect at the start of your next renewal period. If you do not accept the new pricing, you may terminate with 30 days' notice before the new price takes effect, without penalty.

3.4 Free tier: A limited free tier may be offered at our discretion. Free-tier access may be discontinued with 60 days' notice.

§ 4 — Payment Terms

4.1 Invoices are payable within 30 days of the invoice date (NET 30). Invoices are sent by email to the billing contact you designate.

4.2 Late payments bear interest at 9 percentage points above the base interest rate (Basiszinssatz) per annum, pursuant to § 288 para. 2 BGB (German Civil Code). We also reserve the right to charge a reminder fee (Mahngebühr) of EUR 5 per reminder.

4.3 If you dispute an invoice, you must notify us in writing within 10 days of the invoice date, specifying the amount in dispute and the reason. Undisputed portions of invoices must be paid by the due date.

4.4 In the event of persistent non-payment (more than 30 days overdue after a second reminder), we reserve the right to suspend platform access until full payment is received.

§ 5 — Journal Obligations

5.1 You must provide accurate and up-to-date information about your journal (name, ISSN, scope, review model, compensation rates) and update it promptly if it changes.

5.2 You are solely responsible for all editorial decisions made through PeerDesk, including desk rejection, reviewer assignment, and acceptance or rejection of manuscripts. PeerDesk does not influence editorial decisions.

5.3 You must comply with applicable ethical publishing standards (e.g., COPE guidelines, ICMJE recommendations) and not use PeerDesk to facilitate retaliatory reviewing, biased assignments, or other editorial misconduct.

5.4 You must not use PeerDesk to process manuscripts from institutions subject to applicable sanctions lists, or for any purpose prohibited by applicable law.

5.5 You must ensure that reviewer compensation rates you set are communicated to reviewers transparently via the invitation system. You are responsible for the correct setting of compensation amounts.

§ 6 — Data Processing (GDPR Art. 28)

6.1 As the Data Controller for manuscripts, author data, and reviewer relationships relating to your journal, you are responsible for ensuring that your use of PeerDesk complies with applicable data protection law.

6.2 PeerDesk processes personal data on your behalf as a Data Processor. The full terms of this processing relationship are set out in the Data Processing Agreement (DPA), which you accept by entering into these Terms.

6.3 You warrant that you have a valid legal basis to share the personal data of authors and any manuscripts submitted to your journal with PeerDesk for the purposes of editorial management.

§ 7 — Service Level

7.1 PeerDesk targets a monthly platform availability of 99.5%, measured excluding scheduled maintenance windows.

7.2 Scheduled maintenance will be announced at least 48 hours in advance. We will endeavor to schedule maintenance outside typical working hours (CET weekdays 09:00–18:00).

7.3 If actual availability in a calendar month falls below 99.5%, you may request a service credit of 10% of that month's subscription fee. Service credits are your sole remedy for SLA breaches and must be requested within 30 days of the affected month.

7.4 The SLA does not apply to unavailability caused by: your own actions or systems; third-party infrastructure failures (Stripe, cloud hosting) beyond our control; force majeure events; or scheduled maintenance.

§ 8 — Intellectual Property

8.1 You retain all rights to manuscript content, author data, and review reports processed through PeerDesk. PeerDesk does not acquire any ownership of or license to manuscript content except as strictly necessary to provide the contracted services.

8.2 PeerDesk retains all rights to the platform software, algorithms, and infrastructure. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the platform during the subscription term.

8.3 On termination, all your data will be exportable for 30 days via standard export tools; thereafter it will be deleted subject to any legal retention obligations.

§ 9 — Confidentiality

9.1 Each party agrees to keep the other's confidential business information (including pricing, technical specifications, and customer data) strictly confidential and not to disclose it to third parties.

9.2 Confidentiality obligations do not apply to information that: (a) is or becomes publicly available through no fault of the receiving party; (b) was already known to the receiving party without restriction; (c) is independently developed; or (d) must be disclosed by law or court order (in which case, prompt advance notice must be given where legally permissible).

9.3 Confidentiality obligations survive termination of these Terms for a period of 3 years.

§ 10 — Liability

10.1 PeerDesk is liable for damages caused by gross negligence or willful misconduct without limitation.

10.2 For slight negligence, PeerDesk is only liable for breaches of cardinal obligations (Kardinalpflichten), and in such cases liability is capped at the total subscription fees paid by you in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

10.3 PeerDesk is not liable for: (a) your editorial decisions or their consequences; (b) review quality (reviews are provided by independent third-party researchers); (c) indirect, consequential, or loss-of-profit damages; (d) data loss caused by your failure to export data during the post-termination export window.

§ 11 — Termination

11.1 Ordinary termination. Either party may terminate the subscription with 60 days' written notice to the end of a billing period.

11.2 Extraordinary termination. Either party may terminate immediately for cause. Cause for PeerDesk includes: (i) material breach of § 5 (journal obligations) or the DPA; (ii) non-payment for more than 60 days after a second reminder; (iii) insolvency proceedings or cessation of operations.

11.3 Data export and deletion. After termination, you have 30 days to export your data via the platform export tools. After this window, all journal data will be deleted, and we will provide a deletion certificate upon request. Reviewer compensation records are retained for 10 years pursuant to tax obligations.

§ 12 — Final Provisions

12.1 Governing law. These Terms are governed by German law, excluding conflict-of-law rules and the CISG.

12.2 Jurisdiction. Exclusive place of jurisdiction for B2B disputes is Stuttgart, Germany.

12.3 Amendments. We may update these Terms with 60 days' prior notice. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

12.4 Severability. If any provision is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining Terms remain in full force.

12.5 Entire agreement. These Terms, the DPA, and any executed Order Form constitute the entire agreement between the parties.

Version: 1 | Effective: April 2026 | Lennart Sieden & Stefan Bechtel GbR — moreNetwork / PeerDesk