TERMS OF SERVICE

PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE

1. Preamble and Binding Nature of the Terms

These Terms of Service constitute a legally binding agreement between LawFoyer, having its registered office at Lucknow, India, and every person who accesses or uses its platforms, including but not limited to lawfoyer.in, academy.lawfoyer.in, news.lawfoyer.in, lijdlr.com, and any other domain, sub-domain, or application operated under the effective control, supervision, and management of LawFoyer. The terms set forth herein govern the use of all services, whether such services pertain to academic workshops, bootcamps, journal publications, online courses, internship training programs, research paper competitions, legal news services, or any other product or offering provided by LawFoyer.

By accessing LawFoyer’s platforms, browsing the content, registering for any program, submitting contributions for publication, or availing any paid or unpaid service, the user expressly acknowledges that he or she has read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms of Service. These Terms shall apply equally to individuals accessing the platform for free as well as to those availing paid subscriptions, competitions, or services. The Terms also incorporate the Privacy Policy, which shall be deemed an inseparable component of this agreement, and together they form the complete contractual relationship between LawFoyer and the user.

2. Eligibility, Legal Capacity, and Registration Obligations

It is a fundamental requirement that all users accessing LawFoyer’s services must have legal capacity to contract within the meaning of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Minors below the age of eighteen years shall be permitted to use LawFoyer’s services only with the knowledge and verifiable consent of their parents or lawful guardians. The user represents and warrants that all information furnished during registration, including name, contact details, academic qualifications, and professional background, is true, complete, and accurate.

LawFoyer reserves the right to suspend or terminate access if it is discovered that the user has furnished false information, impersonated another individual, or otherwise acted in violation of these Terms. Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials and for all activities that occur under their accounts. LawFoyer disclaims any liability for damages arising from unauthorized use of an account due to negligence of the user in maintaining security of login credentials.

3. Nature of Services and Disclaimer of Legal Advice

LawFoyer’s mission is to democratize legal education and provide access to high-quality legal knowledge through digital and academic means. Services include workshops, webinars, bootcamps, courses, publication opportunities on its website and in its International Journal of Doctrinal Legal Research, legal news and updates, internship and job opportunities, case commentaries, and academic blogs.

Notwithstanding the academic nature of the services, LawFoyer categorically states that none of the content published on its platforms, whether authored by LawFoyer or by third-party contributors, constitutes legal advice. The content is intended solely for educational and informational purposes. LawFoyer does not provide legal representation, does not create an attorney-client relationship with any user, and shall not be held liable for any reliance placed upon the educational material published on its platforms. Users are expressly advised to consult a duly qualified legal professional before acting upon any legal matter.

4. User-Generated Content, Submissions, and Intellectual Property

LawFoyer provides opportunities for users to submit academic content including research articles, blogs, case analyses, and competition entries. By making such submissions, the user grants LawFoyer a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license to host, publish, distribute, reproduce, and archive the submitted content across all its platforms, databases, partner repositories, and indexing services.

LawFoyer retains editorial control and reserves the right to accept, reject, edit, or remove user submissions at its sole discretion, without the requirement to furnish reasons. By submitting content, the user represents and warrants that the work is original, free from plagiarism, not infringing upon intellectual property rights of third parties, and compliant with academic integrity. Users indemnify LawFoyer against all claims, liabilities, and damages arising from third-party allegations of infringement, plagiarism, or unlawful content.

All proprietary content created and published by LawFoyer, including study material, curated notes, case analyses, headnotes, editorial enhancements, design, logos, and branding, are protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Trademarks Act, 1999. Users are strictly prohibited from reproducing, republishing, scraping, or commercially exploiting such proprietary content without express written authorization. Unauthorized reproduction shall invite civil as well as criminal liability under applicable Indian law.

5. Academic Integrity, Prohibited Conduct, and Community Standards

LawFoyer is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and expects the same from its users. Users are prohibited from submitting plagiarized content, impersonating others, using LawFoyer’s services for cheating or academic misconduct, or uploading defamatory, obscene, threatening, or otherwise unlawful material.

Any activity that undermines the security of the platform, such as hacking attempts, dissemination of malware, denial-of-service attacks, or circumvention of access controls, shall be treated as a grave violation and reported to the appropriate authorities under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. LawFoyer shall cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies and CERT-In in investigating such violations.

LawFoyer also prohibits the exploitation of its platforms for advertising, spamming, or promotion of unrelated products and services without prior authorization. LawFoyer reserves the right to block, remove or alter any such advertising, spamming or promotion in contravention of these terms of service.

6. Payments, Fees, Subscriptions, and Refunds

Where LawFoyer charges fees for certain services, including academic bootcamps, publication fees, or subscription packages, such payments are to be made only through RBI-regulated payment gateways. LawFoyer strictly adheres to RBI’s card-on-file tokenisation norms, ensuring that no card numbers or sensitive financial data are stored on its servers.

Recurring subscriptions or automated debits shall be implemented strictly in compliance with RBI’s e-mandate framework, requiring prior consent and user authentication. LawFoyer shall issue invoices inclusive of applicable taxes (if any), and users are obliged to provide accurate billing details.

Refunds, where permissible, shall be governed by clearly stated refund policies for each program or subscription. LawFoyer reserves the right to decline refunds for services already availed or where significant administrative or editorial effort has been expended.

7. Limitation of Liability and Exclusion of Warranties

To the fullest extent permissible under law, LawFoyer disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, reliability, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose in relation to the content published on its platforms. LawFoyer makes no guarantees regarding uninterrupted availability, error-free functionality, or absolute security of its digital platforms, although it employs reasonable security practices as mandated under the SPDI Rules.

LawFoyer shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages arising out of the use of its services. In any event, LawFoyer’s liability shall be capped at the amount paid by the user for the service in question during the twelve months preceding the claim. This limitation is essential to protect LawFoyer’s ability to continue offering affordable and accessible educational services.

8. Indemnification by Users

Every user agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless LawFoyer, its officers, employees, representatives, and affiliates from and against all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses arising from breach of these Terms, infringement of intellectual property, submission of unlawful content, or any unauthorized use of LawFoyer’s services.

9. Content Removal, Takedown, and Compliance with Indian Law

LawFoyer adheres strictly to Indian legal requirements concerning intermediary liability. In consonance with the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015), LawFoyer shall remove or disable access to content upon receipt of any information of violation of terms or a valid court order or a notification from a lawfully authorized government agency. This ensures that user rights to free speech are balanced with compliance obligations.

Notwithstanding the above, LawFoyer reserves the right to voluntarily remove or restrict content that violates its Terms, threatens its operational integrity, or exposes it to legal risk, without incurring liability towards the user.

10. Governing Law, Jurisdiction, and Dispute Resolution

These Terms of Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. All disputes arising from or in relation to these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. LawFoyer, however, reserves the right to seek interim or injunctive relief in any competent jurisdiction where its intellectual property or legal interests are threatened.

In the event that parties agree to resolve disputes through arbitration, such arbitration shall be conducted under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, with the seat of arbitration in Lucknow and proceedings conducted in the English language.

11. Modification of Terms and Notification

LawFoyer reserves the unequivocal right to modify, amend, or update these Terms of Service at its sole discretion. Any material change shall be communicated through clear notifications on the website, and continued usage of the platform post-notification shall constitute acceptance of the revised Terms.

Users are encouraged to periodically review the Terms of Service to remain updated about their rights and obligations. LawFoyer shall not be held liable for any claim of ignorance of modified terms once due notice has been provided.

12. Severability, Waiver, and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, such provision shall be severed without affecting the remaining provisions. Failure of LawFoyer to enforce any right or provision shall not constitute a waiver of such right. These Terms, read together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between the user and LawFoyer, superseding all prior understandings.

By accessing and using LawFoyer’s platforms, users unequivocally consent to be bound by this agreement and acknowledge that LawFoyer has discharged its obligations of disclosure, fairness, and compliance in full measure.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Service Effective from Date: 01.01.2024

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