TC Academy Instructor Terms

Established: September 7, 2026 / Last revised: October 2, 2026

These Terms set out the basic conditions between Style Free LLC ("Company") and persons who provide courses, online lessons, teaching materials, digital content and other educational services as instructors through TC Academy ("Instructor").

1. Separation of instructor activities and product sales

Instructor activities through TC Academy and physical-goods consignment sales, purchases and made-to-order sales through Treasure Castle are separate programs. Becoming an Instructor does not by itself require acceptance of product-sales terms. An Instructor who wishes to use product-sales services must separately accept the applicable sales-program terms and product-specific conditions.

2. Instructor registration and review

An applicant must apply using the method designated by the Company.

The Company may review experience, proposed content, legal compliance, learner safety, rights clearance and other relevant matters when deciding whether to register an applicant as an Instructor.

The Company may request identity, qualification, experience or other reasonable verification where necessary.

Submitting an application or completing identity verification does not guarantee publication of any course, any sales volume or any level of income.

3. Scope of work

Specific courses, lessons, teaching-material production, video production, article production, deliverables, deadlines, delivery dates, compensation and other work conditions are confirmed separately for each course or engagement.

4. Compensation, revenue share and confirmation

Unless otherwise agreed individually, the standard Instructor compensation rate for online courses, online lessons, video courses, PDF materials, digital teaching materials and other eligible services paid through TC Academy is 60% of TC Academy Eligible Sales.

For this purpose, "TC Academy Eligible Sales" means, in principle, the tax-inclusive selling price actually paid by the learner for the eligible course, lesson or material, including Japanese consumption tax, VAT or similar indirect tax where such tax is included in the displayed selling price. Amounts corresponding to refunds, cancellations, chargebacks or similar reversals are excluded or deducted.

The same compensation calculation basis applies to Instructors in Japan and overseas. The fact that compensation is calculated from a tax-inclusive selling price does not mean that Japanese consumption tax or any other tax is necessarily imposed on, included in, or payable in respect of the Instructor's compensation. The tax treatment follows applicable law and the facts of the transaction.

Ordinary payment-processing or platform operating costs are not deducted from the standard 60% share unless an individual agreement or course-specific condition expressly provides otherwise. Payment/settlement fees under Article 5 and legally required tax adjustments or statutory deductions are handled separately.

For domestic transactions to which Japan's qualified invoice system applies, if an Instructor is not a registered qualified invoice issuer, the Company may, for new transactions beginning on or after October 1, 2026, present in advance a compensation adjustment of 3% as a contractual adjustment reflecting the then-applicable transitional input-tax-credit treatment. The adjustment applies only to the extent permitted by applicable law and after the applicable compensation conditions have been presented before the relevant transaction. It is not a retroactive deduction from compensation that has already been fixed.

After the period above, the Company may revise the adjustment rate or method in line with Japan's invoice-system transitional measures, tax-law amendments and other applicable rules. Where prior consultation, renewed consent or another procedure is required by competition law, the Freelance Act, transaction-fairness law or another applicable law, the Company will follow that procedure.

After a lesson or other service is completed, compensation is confirmed after the TC Academy transaction-confirmation period. If there is a learner dispute, reported delivery failure, payment issue or another matter requiring review, confirmation may be held until the review is completed.

If the Company separately commissions production work such as teaching materials, video, writing or design outside the revenue-share arrangement, the applicable contractor fee or calculation method will be presented separately.

5. Payment date, minimum payout, payment fees and overseas Instructors

Unless a different lawful arrangement is agreed individually, Instructor compensation, course revenue shares and teaching-material revenue shares confirmed during a month are closed at month-end and paid on the 15th day of the following month. If the payment date is a financial-institution holiday, payment is generally made on the immediately preceding banking business day. Mandatory law prevails where an earlier payment is required.

For payments for which carrying forward is legally permitted, the standard minimum payout amount is JPY 3,000. If the confirmed unpaid balance is less than JPY 3,000 at the scheduled settlement date, it is carried forward until the balance reaches JPY 3,000 or more. This minimum does not apply where applicable law requires payment by a specific deadline; in that case payment is made within the legally required period even if the amount is below JPY 3,000.

For domestic JPY bank-transfer payouts in Japan, the only bank accounts that may be registered as receiving accounts are (1) a PayPay Bank account, or (2) an account at Mizuho Bank, Hibarigaoka Branch (bank code 0001, branch code 262). The Company does not transfer domestic JPY payouts to any other bank or to any other Mizuho Bank branch. To transact with the Company and receive such payouts, the Instructor must open and register one of these two permitted receiving accounts before a payout can be scheduled.

No transfer fee is deducted from the Instructor's receipt for either permitted domestic receiving account. The Company bears the transfer fee, so the amount deducted from the Instructor is JPY 0. No individually approved exception bank is available.

For Instructors outside Japan, Payoneer is the primary intended service. If Payoneer cannot be used, or the Company otherwise determines it is necessary, PayPal or another Company-designated cross-border payment service, or an individually agreed method, may be used.

Payments to overseas Instructors may be made through a cross-border payment service designated by the Company, including Payoneer, or another method separately agreed with the Instructor.

The Company's compensation calculation is managed on a JPY basis unless otherwise agreed. If the payment service requires a payment in another currency, the amount and currency actually instructed by the Company at the time of payment will be recorded as the payment record.

After funds have been credited to the Instructor's designated receiving account or payment-service account, any later currency conversion, withdrawal, transfer, receiving-bank charge, exchange-rate difference or other cost arising from the Instructor's own movement or conversion of those funds is the Instructor's responsibility.

If the Company is required by Japanese law, an applicable tax treaty or another applicable law to withhold tax or make another statutory deduction, the Company may deduct the legally required amount and pay the balance. The Instructor must provide reasonably requested tax-residency or treaty documentation where necessary.

Each Instructor is responsible for taxes, filings and other obligations imposed on the Instructor in the country or region where the Instructor resides, is established or conducts business, except for taxes or filings that the Company is legally required to handle.

6. Instructor obligations

Teach honestly within the scope of the Instructor's actual knowledge and experience.

Do not make false or misleading claims regarding qualifications, achievements, earnings, effectiveness or results.

Respect learner safety, privacy and confidential information.

Do not infringe third-party copyrights, trademarks, publicity or portrait rights, trade secrets or other rights.

Comply with applicable law and reasonable operational rules established by the Company.

7. Teaching materials and intellectual property

Intellectual property owned by an Instructor before the relevant engagement remains with the Instructor unless separately assigned in writing.

The Instructor grants the Company the rights reasonably necessary to sell, distribute, translate, advertise and provide agreed teaching materials and course content to learners.

Rights in site structure, systems, brands, sales pages and other materials independently created by the Company belong to the Company or their lawful rights holders.

8. Learner interactions and prohibited conduct

Discriminatory, intimidating or unlawful conduct, improper solicitation, false explanations, misuse of confidential information, unauthorized diversion to external payment methods and other conduct that the Company reasonably determines harms the trust or safety of the Instructor service are prohibited.

9. Cancellation, suspension and refunds

Instructor cancellations, learner cancellations and Company-initiated suspensions are handled under these Terms, the TC Academy Learner Terms, Cancellation and Refund Policy, and course-specific conditions.

If a material delivery failure or another matter requiring review is reported, TC Academy may review the parties' explanations, booking records, delivery records, communications and other relevant information and determine an appropriate response, including rescheduling, re-performance, partial refund, full refund or another reasonable remedy. TC Academy manages the final transaction response; an Instructor does not unilaterally decide the final refund outcome.

The Company may suspend a course or Instructor registration in cases of material breach, unlawful conduct, learner-safety concerns or other serious circumstances.

TC Academy Learner Terms, Cancellation and Refund Policy

10. No guarantee of results

The Company does not guarantee Instructor registration, course publication, learner numbers, sales volume, income amount, continuation period or any other result.

11. Personal information and identity verification

Applicant information is handled in accordance with the Instructor Applicant Privacy Notice and other applicable Company privacy policies. If an external service is used for identity verification, information necessary for that service may be processed by the service provider.

12. Changes to these Terms

The Company may amend these Terms prospectively due to changes in law, service content or other circumstances. For changes that materially disadvantage Instructors, notice or renewed confirmation will be provided where appropriate. New disadvantageous conditions will not, in principle, be applied retroactively to work already established.

13. Language, applicable law and mandatory rules

These Terms are provided in Japanese and English. Instructors may review and accept the version appropriate to their language. Both versions are intended to describe the same contractual conditions.

If there is an inconsistency in interpretation between the Japanese and English versions, the Japanese version governs unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

If mandatory law or other applicable legal rules prevail over these Terms, those rules apply. These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan.

14. Contact

Style Free LLC / TC Academy

2-2-17 Baba, Niiza-shi, Saitama 352-0016, Japan

Phone: 080-7612-1108

Email: academy@treasurecastle.online

15. Supplementary provisions (use of materials, copy protection, AI support, exclusion of anti-social forces, record of consent, agreed jurisdiction)

(1) Technical limits of copy protection

For teaching materials delivered as downloads or in similar formats, unauthorised copying, reposting or redistribution by purchasers cannot be completely prevented by technical means. When misuse is reported, the Company will verify the report and take reasonable measures, including suspension of use.

(2) Translation, subtitles and use in learner-facing AI support

For sales, accessibility and learning support, and within the scope the Instructor has permitted for each material, the Company may create translations or subtitles of the material and may use the material as a source for answers in learner-facing AI support. The Company will not unreasonably alter the meaning of the content and will respect the Instructor's rights. AI-generated suggestions do not replace approval for publication, and unapproved materials are not treated as public knowledge.

(3) Exclusion of anti-social forces

The Instructor and the Company each represent that neither they nor any person who substantially controls them is an organised crime group, a member of such a group, a person who ceased to be such a member less than five years ago, an associate member, an affiliated company, a corporate racketeer, a social-movement racketeer, a special intelligence violence group or any comparable anti-social force, and warrant that they will not become one in the future. Neither party has a relationship in which anti-social forces control or substantially participate in its management, a relationship of using anti-social forces, a relationship of providing funds or benefits to them, or any other socially reprehensible relationship. The Instructor shall not, directly or through a third party, make violent demands or unreasonable demands beyond legal responsibility, use threatening words or violence, spread rumours, or damage the Company's credit or obstruct its business by deception or force, or engage in any comparable conduct. If a party is found to have breached this paragraph, the other party may terminate the agreement or the relationship of use without notice or other formalities, bears no liability for damage the breaching party suffers as a result, and may claim compensation for damage caused by the breach.

(4) Consent and records by electronic means

Consent to these Terms and to individual conditions may be given through a checkbox, a consent button or another electronic method on TC Academy that confirms the person's explicit intention. As evidence of consent the Company stores, at a minimum, the identifier of the Instructor or applicant, the version of the Terms or individual conditions, the language accepted, the date and time of acceptance, a full-text snapshot of the text as displayed at that time and a hash of that text, and keeps the previously accepted text recoverable even after these Terms are later amended. A record of consent given through a checkbox or similar method does not mean a signature made through an electronic signature service.

(5) Agreed jurisdiction

If a dispute arises in connection with these Terms, individual conditions or the Instructor's relationship with TC Academy, the parties will first attempt to resolve it in good faith through consultation. If it cannot be resolved by consultation, the Saitama District Court or the Saitama Summary Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction as the court of first instance, unless a different exclusive jurisdiction is prescribed by law.