Sentam Research
and Publishing
Terms of Use
1. Agreement to Terms
By accessing or using the website at sentam.org and its associated subdomains, including the author and reviewer portal at journals.sentam.org (collectively, "the Services"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must immediately cease use of the Services.
These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and Sentam Research and Publishing ("Sentam", "we", "our", or "us").
We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Services after any change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. The "Last Reviewed" date at the bottom of this page will always reflect the most recent version.
2. Eligibility
By using the Services you represent and warrant that:
- You are at least 16 years of age
- You have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement
- Your use of the Services complies with all applicable laws in your jurisdiction
- You are not barred from using the Services under any applicable law or regulation
- Where you act on behalf of an institution, you have authority to bind that institution to these Terms
3. Description of Services
Sentam Research and Publishing provides an open-access academic publishing platform that includes:
- Public-facing journal websites and article archives
- An online manuscript submission and peer review system
- Author and reviewer account management
- Article tracking and communication tools
- Open-access publication and dissemination of accepted research
The Services are provided for legitimate academic, research, and educational purposes only.
4. User Accounts
4.1 Account Registration
To submit manuscripts or participate in the review process, you must register for an account. You agree to:
- Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration
- Keep your account details updated
- Maintain the confidentiality of your password and access credentials
- Notify us immediately at support@sentam.org of any unauthorised use of your account
You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
4.2 Account Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or permanently terminate your account, with or without notice, if you:
- Violate these Terms or any associated policy
- Provide false or misleading registration information
- Engage in conduct that is harmful to other users, Sentam, or the integrity of academic publishing
- Engage in fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activities
5. Manuscript Submission
5.1 Author Warranties
By submitting a manuscript, you represent and warrant that:
- The manuscript is original and has not been published previously in any form, nor is it under simultaneous review by any other journal
- You have obtained all necessary permissions for the use of any third-party materials, including figures, tables, and quotations
- All authors listed have made a genuine intellectual contribution and have approved the final submitted version
- The research was conducted ethically and in accordance with relevant professional standards
- All conflicts of interest, funding sources, and relevant disclosures have been declared
- Submission does not infringe any third party's intellectual property, privacy, or other legal rights
5.2 Submission as Offer
Submission of a manuscript constitutes an offer to publish. No contract for publication exists until Sentam communicates a formal acceptance decision in writing. Payment of an article processing fee prior to formal acceptance does not constitute acceptance.
5.3 Editorial Discretion
Sentam reserves the sole and absolute right to accept, reject, or require revisions to any submitted manuscript. Editorial decisions are final and are not subject to appeal except in accordance with our Editorial Policies.
6. Intellectual Property
6.1 Published Articles — Author Licence
Upon acceptance, authors grant Sentam Research and Publishing a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, transmit, and display the article in all media and formats, now known or hereafter developed, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Under CC BY 4.0, readers and third parties may freely share, adapt, and build upon the published work, provided appropriate credit is given to the authors and original publication in Sentam Journals is acknowledged.
Authors retain copyright of their work. The CC BY 4.0 licence does not transfer copyright to Sentam.
6.2 Website Content
All content on sentam.org that is not a published article — including but not limited to website design, editorial policy documents, logos, graphics, text, and software — is the exclusive property of Sentam Research and Publishing and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable intellectual property laws.
You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, or commercially exploit any Sentam website content without our prior written consent, except as permitted under applicable law or these Terms.
6.3 Trademarks
"Sentam", "Sentam Research" "Sentam Research and Publishing", and associated logos are trademarks of Sentam Research and Publishing. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right to use our trademarks, trade names, or branding without our express written permission.
7. Acceptable Use
You agree not to use the Services to:
- Submit manuscripts that are plagiarised, fabricated, falsified, or otherwise dishonest
- Harass, threaten, impersonate, or intimidate editors, reviewers, or other users
- Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or any other malicious code
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Services or any connected system
- Scrape, crawl, or systematically harvest data from the Services without prior written permission
- Use the Services for any commercial purpose not expressly authorised by Sentam
- Engage in any form of data mining, reverse engineering, or decompilation of the Services
- Submit false or misleading information in any form, including reviewer suggestions
- Attempt to circumvent, disable, or interfere with security features of the Services
- Violate any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation
We reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates these provisions.
8. Peer Review Confidentiality
Peer reviewers access unpublished manuscripts in confidence. By accepting a review assignment, you agree to:
- Treat all manuscript content as strictly confidential
- Not share, cite, discuss, or use the manuscript content for any purpose outside the review
- Not retain copies of manuscripts after completing your review
- Disclose any conflicts of interest before undertaking a review
- Complete your review within the agreed timeframe
Breach of reviewer confidentiality is a serious violation of these Terms and of publication ethics standards, and may result in account termination and notification of your institution.
9. Article Processing Fees
Article processing fees (APCs) are governed by our Article Processing Fees page and APC Refund Policy, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference.
Key points:
- APCs are only charged after formal acceptance of a manuscript
- Payment of an APC does not guarantee acceptance or publication
- Published articles will not be taken down due to non-payment unless an invoice dispute is raised in bad faith
- Sentam does not offer retrospective fee waivers except in exceptional circumstances
10. Open Access and Licensing
All articles published by Sentam Journals are made freely available online under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence immediately upon publication, consistent with our Open Access Policy. No subscription or registration is required to read published content.
11. Disclaimers
11.1 No Warranty
The Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that:
- The Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components
- Any content on the Services is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free
- The Services will meet your specific requirements
11.2 Published Research
The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in published articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Sentam Research and Publishing. Publication of an article does not constitute endorsement by Sentam.
11.3 Third-Party Content and Links
The Services may contain links to third-party websites. We do not control, endorse, or assume responsibility for the content, privacy practices, or accuracy of any third-party site. Access to third-party sites is at your own risk.
12. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Sentam Research and Publishing and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors shall not be liable for any:
- Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
- Loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunity
- Damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Services
- Unauthorised access to or alteration of your data
In jurisdictions where limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages is not permitted, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
Our aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) USD $100.
Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for fraud, gross negligence, or wilful misconduct, or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, where such limitation is prohibited by law.
13. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sentam Research and Publishing and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:
- Your use of the Services
- Your violation of these Terms
- Your submission of inaccurate, plagiarised, or otherwise problematic content
- Any infringement of third-party rights by your submitted content
14. Privacy
Your use of the Services is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Services, you consent to the collection and use of your personal data as described in the Privacy Policy.
15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with applicable law. We are committed to resolving disputes amicably:
- Informal Resolution — Contact us at support@sentam.org. We will attempt to resolve any dispute within 30 days.
- Mediation — If informal resolution fails, the parties agree to attempt mediation before pursuing litigation.
- Jurisdiction — Where legal proceedings are necessary, you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of the applicable territory, subject to any mandatory consumer protection laws in your country of residence that cannot be excluded.
Nothing in this clause limits your right to seek urgent injunctive relief in any competent court.
16. Modifications to the Services
We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Services at any time, with or without notice. We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any such modification, suspension, or discontinuation.
17. Force Majeure
We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, acts of government, internet outages, pandemics, or third-party service failures.
18. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed severable from the remaining provisions, which shall continue in full force and effect.
19. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and other policies incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and Sentam Research and Publishing with respect to your use of the Services, and supersede all prior agreements, representations, or understandings.
20. Contact
For questions about these Terms, please contact:
Sentam Research and Publishing
Email: support@sentam.org
Phone: +1 (757) 987-7576
Effective Date: 18 June 2026 · Last Reviewed: 18 June 2026 · Policy Version: 1.0