Terms of Use

Effective August 23, 2026

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern access to and use of the Mercury Merchant Press website (the “Site”). Mercury Merchant Press is an imprint of Cognate Consulting, Inc. (“Cognate,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

1. Purpose of the Site

The Site provides information about books, authors, publishing categories, reader resources, and related editorial recommendations. The Site currently functions as a static publisher website. It does not currently provide customer accounts, memberships, direct checkout, user-submitted content, or paid services.

2. Third-Party Retailers and Services

Books and other products linked from the Site may be sold by Amazon or other independent third-party retailers or platforms. Purchases are completed on the third party’s website, not on this Site. Pricing, availability, shipping, returns, refunds, taxes, payment processing, customer accounts, and fulfillment are controlled by the applicable third party and are subject to that third party’s own terms and privacy practices.

We do not control and are not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, representations, products, or services of third-party websites merely because the Site links to them.

3. Educational and Informational Content

Books, descriptions, articles, resource materials, and other content made available through the Site are provided for general educational and informational purposes. They are not individualized medical, mental-health, legal, financial, tax, or other professional advice. Nothing on the Site creates a professional-client, therapist-client, physician-patient, attorney-client, fiduciary, or similar relationship.

4. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the Site and its original content, including text, page design, graphics, logos, publisher branding, book descriptions, and compilations, are owned by or licensed to Cognate Consulting, Inc. and are protected by applicable copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.

You may make ordinary personal, noncommercial use of publicly available Site content. You may not reproduce, republish, distribute, sell, create derivative commercial products from, scrape at scale, or otherwise exploit Site content without prior written permission, except as permitted by applicable law.

5. Acceptable Use

You may not use the Site to violate law, interfere with Site operation, attempt unauthorized access, introduce malicious code, impersonate another person or entity, misrepresent affiliation with Mercury Merchant Press or Cognate Consulting, or use automated systems in a manner that materially burdens or disrupts the Site.

6. Affiliate Relationships

Some links on the Site may be affiliate links. If you make a qualifying purchase after following an affiliate link, Cognate Consulting, Inc. may receive a commission without increasing your purchase price. See the Affiliate Disclosure.

7. No Guarantee of Availability or Results

We may change, suspend, remove, or update Site content at any time. We do not guarantee that any book, product, retailer listing, price, promotion, or external resource will remain available. We do not guarantee any particular personal, professional, financial, relationship, health, or other outcome from using Site content or products described on the Site.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Site is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We disclaim warranties, express or implied, concerning the Site, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, noninfringement, accuracy, availability, and uninterrupted operation, except to the extent such disclaimers are prohibited by law.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Cognate Consulting, Inc., Mercury Merchant Press, and their officers, directors, employees, contractors, licensors, and agents will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from or relating to use of, inability to use, or reliance on the Site or third-party websites linked from the Site. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

10. Governing Law

Except to the extent federal law governs a particular issue, these Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to the Site or these Terms are governed by the laws of Guam, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

11. Mandatory Binding Arbitration

Except for the limited matters described below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Site, these Terms, or the relationship between you and Cognate Consulting, Inc. shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, to the extent those rules apply.

The arbitration shall be conducted by one neutral arbitrator. The legal seat and place of arbitration shall be Guam. The arbitrator may permit proceedings, conferences, testimony, or hearings to occur remotely when appropriate under the applicable AAA rules, but the juridical seat shall remain Guam.

The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this arbitration agreement. The arbitrator shall apply applicable Guam substantive law except where federal law controls. Fees and costs shall be allocated in accordance with the applicable AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules and fee schedule, unless applicable law requires a different allocation.

12. Individual Proceedings; Class-Action Waiver

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, disputes shall be resolved only on an individual basis. Neither you nor Cognate may bring or participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative arbitration or action against the other, except where applicable law prohibits enforcement of this waiver.

13. Limited Court Proceedings and Guam Forum

Notwithstanding the arbitration requirement, either party may seek temporary or provisional injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction when necessary to protect intellectual-property rights, confidential information, or Site security pending arbitration.

Any court proceeding permitted under these Terms, including an action to compel arbitration or confirm, enforce, modify, or vacate an arbitration award, shall be brought exclusively in the Superior Court of Guam or the District Court of Guam, as applicable and subject to their respective jurisdiction. Each party consents to personal jurisdiction and venue in Guam for those proceedings.

14. Severability

If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it shall be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law and the remaining provisions shall remain in effect, except where applicable law requires a different result for the arbitration provisions.

15. Changes

We may revise these Terms as the Site or our services change. The current version will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

16. Future Services

Additional terms may be introduced if the Site later adds memberships, direct sales, user accounts, paid services, or other interactive features.