Publishing Policy
One clear policy for VOC Publishing authors, contributors, partners, readers, customers, and website users.
This policy combines three connected areas while keeping each one clearly separated. Project-specific agreements may add or change terms for an individual publication. When a signed project agreement conflicts with these general terms, the signed agreement takes priority.
By submitting material, joining a project, purchasing or downloading a product, or using a service that clearly links to this policy:
Core principle: VOC Publishing asks for the minimum information needed, applies standards proportionately, and communicates one clear next step. Simplicity does not remove responsibility; it makes responsibility understandable.
Clear expectations for submissions, projects, services, purchases, and published materials.
These terms apply to people and organizations that contact VOC Publishing, submit an idea or manuscript, contribute to an edited publication, provide editorial or review services, enter a publishing project, purchase or download a publication, or use a VOC Publishing service or website feature. They apply unless a written project agreement states otherwise.
Authors, contributors, editors, creators, and authorized representatives remain responsible for the material they provide. They must:
The editorial pathway will be proportionate to the publication. It may include developmental editing, copyediting, specialist or practitioner review, proofreading, design review, accessibility checking, permissions checking, and final production review.
Copyright ownership and the rights granted to VOC Publishing will be defined in each signed project agreement. Authors generally retain copyright unless a lawful written agreement expressly provides otherwise. No submission alone transfers copyright or grants an exclusive licence. The applicable agreement will specify the permitted uses, formats, territories, languages, and duration.
Customers purchasing printed publications, ebooks, downloads, or other VOC Publishing offerings receive the mandatory consumer rights applicable to their purchase. Product-specific information about prices, taxes, delivery, access, and any exceptions will be presented before an order is placed.
Requests about orders, returns, or refunds may be sent to robert@voicesofchange.education. A separate customer-facing order or return instruction may provide additional practical details, including the return address.
AI may support the work. Human purpose, judgment, accountability, and responsibility must remain clear.
VOC Publishing welcomes responsible use of generative AI as an assistant. Depending on the project, AI may support brainstorming, outlining, organization, language refinement, accessibility, translation assistance, metadata, design exploration, or other approved tasks.
Anyone using AI remains responsible for the final work. Authors, contributors, editors, reviewers, designers, translators, and staff must:
VOC Publishing may use approved AI tools for limited administrative, editorial, accessibility, translation, metadata, or design support.
Private submissions or personal data will not be entered into an external AI tool unless the use is authorized, necessary, proportionate, and supported by suitable privacy, security, retention, and transfer arrangements.
Final acceptance, rejection, authorship, safeguarding, rights, and complaint decisions will remain human decisions.
AI declaration: Where requested, contributors should briefly state the tools used, the tasks supported, the human checking completed, and any material AI-generated content. Failure to disclose significant or irresponsible AI use may lead to revision, pause, rejection, correction, or termination.
How VOC Publishing collects, uses, shares, protects, retains, and responds to requests about personal information.
This Privacy Policy is intended for an international audience. VOC Publishing will handle personal information under the law that applies to the person, activity, and organization.
This may include, where relevant, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the UK GDPR, California privacy law, Canada’s PIPEDA, Singapore’s PDPA, Australia’s Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles, Vietnam’s personal data protection law, and other national or regional requirements. This list is not exhaustive, and rights may differ by location.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Contact and identity | Name, email, telephone, postal address, country, signature, and communication preferences. |
| Professional and contributor information | Affiliation, role, biography, qualifications, photograph, profile links, contributor order, and payment or tax details where needed. |
| Submissions and project records | Ideas, proposals, manuscripts, chapters, resources, images, review comments, contracts, permissions, AI declarations, and correspondence. |
| Purchases and services | Order details, invoices, delivery information, downloads, customer support, and transaction references. Full card details are normally handled by the payment provider. |
| Website and device information | IP address, browser, device, pages visited, forms, downloads, cookies, and security logs where used. |
Where the law requires a legal basis, VOC Publishing may rely on steps requested before a contract, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, consent, legal obligations, protection of rights, or another lawful basis appropriate to the activity.
Consent can be withdrawn where consent is the basis, although earlier lawful processing remains valid.
VOC Publishing does not sell personal information for money. If an activity is legally treated as a sale, sharing, or targeted advertising in a person’s jurisdiction, VOC Publishing will provide any notice and opt-out mechanism required by law.
Publishing and cloud services may process information outside the country where a person lives.
When transfer rules apply, VOC Publishing will use an appropriate safeguard, such as an adequacy decision, approved contractual clauses, another recognized transfer mechanism, or consent only where lawfully appropriate. Additional information about the safeguard can be requested from the privacy contact.
VOC Publishing retains personal information only for as long as necessary for the relevant publishing, contractual, legal, or administrative purpose. Retention periods vary by record type; information is securely deleted or anonymized when it is no longer needed, unless a legal obligation or justified claim requires longer retention.
| Record | Default period or criterion |
|---|---|
| Declined or withdrawn submissions | Ordinarily up to 12 months after the final decision or withdrawal to complete correspondence and address routine follow-up. Earlier deletion may be requested where applicable. Relevant records may be retained longer if a specific legal claim, rights dispute, or legal duty justifies it. |
| Accepted projects and editorial correspondence | For the duration of the project and thereafter only for the applicable contract, rights, dispute-resolution, or other justified purpose. Drafts and editorial working copies are reviewed for deletion once no longer necessary. |
| Contracts, copyright and permissions records | For the relevant contractual or licensing period and the applicable legal-claims period; essential publication ownership, authorship, license and permissions records may need to remain available while the publication is distributed and for a justified period afterward. |
| Accounting, invoices and transaction records | For the period required by Polish accounting and tax law, generally at least five years, calculated from the statutory reference date. Certain records may need longer retention where a tax matter, claim or other legal obligation remains open. |
| Published contributor and attribution records | For as long as necessary to identify contributors, administer publishing rights, maintain accurate attribution and support lawful distribution or archival records. Public-facing profiles are reviewed separately from essential rights records. |
| Marketing subscriptions | While the subscription or other lawful basis continues. Following an unsubscribe or withdrawal, only the minimal suppression or consent record needed to respect the request or demonstrate compliance is retained. |
| Website and security logs | For a period proportionate to security, troubleshooting and technical needs under an internal retention schedule; access and retention are limited to the relevant purpose. |
VOC Publishing applies a risk-based approach to protecting personal information and seeks to maintain appropriate technical and organizational controls, including limited user access, secure account administration, confidentiality obligations, and proportionate oversight of service providers. Specific measures, such as backup schedules, recovery arrangements, incident workflows and processor safeguards, are established and reviewed in VOC’s internal operating procedures; this notice does not guarantee any particular technology or absolute security.
No system is completely secure. People should avoid sending highly sensitive information through ordinary email unless a secure method has been agreed.
Suspected personal-data incidents are assessed and documented. Where legally required, VOC will notify the competent supervisory authority and affected individuals within the applicable legal time limits.
Depending on the law that applies, a person may have the right to:
Requests should be sent to VOC Publishing, and it may need to verify identity. A request may be limited or refused where the law permits, for example when information must be kept for contracts, rights records, legal claims, freedom of expression, public interest, or another lawful reason.
VOC Publishing will respond within the period required by the applicable law and will not discriminate against a person for exercising a legal privacy right.
VOC Publishing’s general services are intended mainly for adults, but selected educational projects may include people under 18.
VOC Publishing will minimize the information collected, consider the child’s interests, and request parent or guardian consent, school or teacher confirmation, or other authorization when required.
Names, images, voices, school details, stories, and student work will be published only with appropriate consent and safeguards. Services directed to younger children will follow any additional child-privacy rules that apply.
Privacy and publishing enquiries may be sent to robert@voicesofchange.education. Individuals may also lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority, including Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) where applicable. The full registered identity and postal address of the data controller must be disclosed in VOC’s official legal/contact notice.
VOC Publishing may update this document when laws, services, providers, or publishing practices change. The effective date will be updated, and material changes will be communicated when required.
By continuing with a process that clearly links to this policy, you confirm that you have read and agree to the General Terms and Conditions and the Responsible AI Use Policy. You also acknowledge the Privacy Policy. Project-specific rights, payments, timelines, and responsibilities will be confirmed separately in writing.
