IndiaStox.com - Terms of Service

Section 1: Introduction and Acceptance of Terms

1.1 Binding Agreement

Welcome to IndiaStox. These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and IndiaStox ("IndiaStox," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of the IndiaStox website, any associated mobile applications, application programming interfaces (APIs), email notifications, widgets, advertisements, and all other related services, features, content, and applications offered by IndiaStox (collectively, the "Services").

By creating an account, or by accessing, browsing, or otherwise using the Services in any manner, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy (which is incorporated herein by reference), and all other operating rules, policies, and procedures that we may publish from time to time on the Services. This approach ensures that continued use of the platform signifies ongoing acceptance of a binding legal contract, a foundational principle for online service providers.¹ If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Services.

If you are accepting these Terms and using the Services on behalf of a company, organization, government, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so and have the authority to bind such entity to these Terms, in which case the words "you" and "your" as used in these Terms shall refer to such entity.²

1.2 Definitions

To ensure clarity and prevent ambiguity throughout this agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:

• "IndiaStox," "We," "Us," "Our": Refers to the company operating the platform and providing the Services.
• "User," "You," "Your": Refers to any person, company, or other legal entity accessing or using the Services, including general users who browse content and "Gyaani Contributors" who submit formal research.
• "Services": Encompasses the entirety of the IndiaStox platform and its functionalities. This includes, but is not limited to, the IndiaStox.com website, mobile applications, APIs, the Community Feed, Company Profile Pages, User Profile Pages, "SignalScores™," the "Make a Call" feature, polls, embeddable assets, and all data, text, images, and other content made available through them, including any AI-generated summaries or insights.⁴ This broad definition is critical for ensuring all platform interactions are covered by these Terms.¹
• "Content": Refers to any and all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags, or other materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted on the Services.
• "User-Generated Content" (UGC): Encompasses all Content created, submitted, posted, or displayed by a general User on the Services. This includes, but is not limited to, messages and comments in the Community Feed, "Make a Call" submissions indicating bullish or bearish sentiment, responses to polls, and information provided on a User's public profile page.⁴
• "Gyaani Research Submission": Refers to formal research reports, articles, analyses, financial models, investment theses, or other substantive content submitted to IndiaStox through specific, designated channels. These channels may include, but are not limited to, a "Hackathon," a research contest, or a dedicated portal for designated "Gyaani Contributors."

The explicit separation of "User-Generated Content" and "Gyaani Research Submission" into two distinct categories is a foundational architectural decision for this agreement. This distinction is necessary to implement the two-tiered intellectual property framework requested, allowing for different ownership and licensing rules to apply to different types of user contributions. Establishing these definitions at the outset ensures that the scope of the critical intellectual property clauses in Section 4 is clear, unambiguous, and legally enforceable.

1.3 Modification of Terms

IndiaStox reserves the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to modify, replace, or otherwise amend any part of these Terms at any time. We may also change, suspend, or discontinue the Services (including without limitation, the availability of any feature, database, or content) at any time. We will provide notice of material modifications to these Terms by posting a notice on the IndiaStox website, by sending you an email, or by other appropriate means of electronic communication. While we reserve the right to make changes effective immediately, we will endeavor to make commercially reasonable efforts to notify users of material changes in advance. Your continued use of the Services following the notification of any changes to these Terms constitutes acceptance of those changes. It is your responsibility to check these Terms periodically for changes. This provides IndiaStox with essential operational flexibility while acknowledging the user community.¹

Section 2: The IndiaStox Services

2.1 Description of Services

The IndiaStox Services are designed to create a community-driven investment platform for the Indian market.⁴ The platform provides a suite of tools and features for users to discuss, analyze, and follow public and pre-IPO companies. Key features of the Services include:

• Community Feed: A dynamic space for users to post ideas, share analysis, and engage in discussions about stocks and market trends.⁴
• Company and User Profile Pages: Comprehensive pages for companies, featuring market data, financial information, and aggregated sentiment, as well as profiles for users to build their reputation and track their performance.⁴
• "Make a Call" and Polling Features: Tools that allow users to express bullish or bearish sentiment on securities and participate in polls on financial, economic, and other event-driven topics. This user engagement generates proprietary data for the platform.⁴
• "Gyaani" System: A reputation system featuring "SignalScores" that rewards high-value contributors. The platform also solicits and features in-depth "Gyaani Research Submissions" from these contributors.⁴
• AI-Generated Content: The Services may utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning models to generate summaries of research reports, news articles, and user discussions (e.g., "AI-Generated Summaries"), and to provide other insights such as the "Behind the Move" feature for stocks.⁴
• Embeddable Assets: Tools for users to create and share interactive financial content, such as polls and charts, both within and outside the IndiaStox platform.⁴

Describing these features, particularly novel ones like "AI-Generated Summaries," within the Terms of Service is a strategic measure. It establishes a clear understanding that the user's agreement to these Terms explicitly covers their participation in and interaction with these specific data-generating and content-processing activities. This pre-establishes the context for the broad content licenses granted in Section 4, reinforcing the legal basis for IndiaStox to, for example, use AI to create derivative works from user submissions.

2.2 No Professional Advice

The Services and all Content available on the IndiaStox platform are provided for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. IndiaStox is not a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) or any other regulatory body, nor is it a broker-dealer, financial analyst, financial bank, securities broker, or tax advisor.

Nothing on the Services constitutes or should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security, financial product, or instrument. The Content on the Services is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other professional advice. You should not rely on any Content from the Services for the purpose of executing a transaction or making any investment decision. You are solely responsible for conducting your own investment research and making your own investment decisions. This clear and prominent disclaimer, modeled on the robust language used by leading financial platforms, is the first and most critical line of defense against any claims that users relied on platform content to their financial detriment.³

Section 3: User Accounts and Eligibility

3.1 Eligibility

To access or use the Services, you must be at least 18 years of age and not otherwise barred from receiving services under the laws of the Republic of India or other applicable jurisdictions. The Services are not designed for or directed to individuals under the age of 18. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet these eligibility requirements. A minimum age of 18 is more appropriate than lower thresholds for a platform centered on financial services and the formation of binding contracts.⁷

3.2 Account Security and Responsibility

You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access the Services and for any activities or actions under your account. We encourage you to use a "strong" password (a password that uses a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols) for your account. IndiaStox cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the above. You agree to notify IndiaStox immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account. This places the primary responsibility for account security on the user, which is standard and necessary practice.

3.3 User Identity

You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during the registration process and to update such information to keep it accurate, current, and complete. You may not impersonate any person or entity, or falsify or otherwise misrepresent yourself or your affiliation with any person or entity. While the use of pseudonyms may be permitted for general user accounts, you must not create an account with a misleading, deceptive, offensive, or infringing username or profile. This rule is crucial for maintaining a baseline of trust and civility on the platform, drawing from the community standards of established financial forums.³

Section 4: Content on the Services and Intellectual Property Rights

This section governs the rights and responsibilities related to all Content on the Services. It is the legal core of our relationship with you regarding the intellectual property you create and share. To provide maximum clarity, the different rights associated with different types of content are summarized in the table below. This table is for convenience and is qualified in its entirety by the detailed legal terms that follow. Presenting these aggressive IP terms in a simplified, upfront format is a deliberate step to demonstrate a good-faith effort to inform users, thereby strengthening the enforceability of the detailed clauses.

Table 1: Summary of Content Rights and Licenses

4.1 User-Generated Content (UGC) - General Users

4.1.1 User Responsibility for UGC

You are solely responsible for your User-Generated Content and any consequences of posting or publishing it. Any use or reliance on any UGC or materials posted via the Services or obtained by you through the Services is at your own risk. We do not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any UGC or communications posted via the Services or endorse any opinions expressed via the Services. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to UGC that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive. Under no circumstances will IndiaStox be liable in any way for any UGC, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any UGC, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any UGC posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the Services. This language is critical for establishing the platform as a neutral conduit for information, thereby limiting our liability for the content our users create.²

4.1.2 License Grant to IndiaStox for UGC

You retain your rights to any UGC you submit, post, or display on or through the Services. However, by submitting, posting, or displaying UGC on or through the Services, you grant IndiaStox a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, distribute, and create derivative works of such UGC in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).

This license is for the purpose of operating, developing, providing, promoting, and improving the Services and for researching and developing new ones. This license explicitly includes the right for IndiaStox to use your UGC for commercial purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, providing your UGC to third parties for analysis, and for the training of our machine learning or artificial intelligence models. You agree that this license includes the right for IndiaStox to make such UGC available to other companies, organizations, or individuals for the syndication, broadcast, distribution, promotion, or publication of such content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such content use. Such additional uses by IndiaStox, or other companies, organizations, or individuals, may be made with no compensation paid to you with respect to the UGC that you submit, post, transmit, or otherwise make available through the Services.

This broad license is a powerful and necessary tool modeled on the terms of major content platforms.² The specific rights to "process, adapt, modify," and "create derivative works" are essential to legally enable the AI-summary feature and other data-aggregation products central to our business model.⁴ By explicitly securing the right to use UGC for commercial purposes and to train AI models, we secure the legal foundation for future innovation and monetization of the platform's data assets.

4.2 "Gyaani" Research Submissions - Contributors

4.2.1 Irrevocable Assignment of Intellectual Property

This section applies specifically to any Gyaani Research Submission you provide to IndiaStox, for example, as part of a Hackathon or other contest. In consideration for the opportunity to participate in such events, to gain exposure on the Services, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, you agree to the following terms.

As a condition of submitting a Gyaani Research Submission, you hereby irrevocably sell, assign, transfer, and convey to IndiaStox, its successors, and assigns, all of your right, title, and interest of every kind and nature whatsoever, in and to the Gyaani Research Submission, throughout the world, in perpetuity. This assignment is absolute and includes, without limitation, all copyrights (and all renewals, extensions, and reversions thereof), moral rights (to the fullest extent waivable and permissible under applicable law), and all other intellectual property and proprietary rights of any kind therein.

You acknowledge and agree that upon submission, IndiaStox shall be the sole and exclusive owner of the Gyaani Research Submission and shall have the exclusive, unrestricted, and unconditional right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, display, and otherwise exploit the submission in any manner or medium, now known or hereafter devised, for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise, without any further obligation, notice, or compensation to you. You agree to execute and deliver any and all documents and take any other actions that IndiaStox may reasonably request to evidence, perfect, and enforce its rights in and to the Gyaani Research Submission. This clause is the legal mechanism that executes the user's core requirement: to take full and complete ownership of all submitted Hackathon research.⁴ The language is deliberately absolute to ensure a complete transfer of ownership.

4.2.2 Contributor Warranties and Indemnification for Gyaani Research Submissions

By making a Gyaani Research Submission, you represent and warrant to IndiaStox that:

• (a) The Gyaani Research Submission is your sole and original work and that you have the full right and authority to make this assignment;
• (b) You have not previously sold, licensed, assigned, or otherwise encumbered the Gyaani Research Submission or any rights therein;
• (c) The Gyaani Research Submission does not and will not infringe upon or violate any copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of privacy or publicity, or any other right of any third party;
• (d) All statements asserted as fact within the Gyaani Research Submission are true and accurate and are based on diligent research; and
• (e) The Gyaani Research Submission does not contain any material that is defamatory, libelous, obscene, or otherwise unlawful.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless IndiaStox and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and successors from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with any breach or alleged breach of the foregoing warranties.

This indemnification clause is a critical risk-mitigation tool. While the assignment in Section 4.2.1 grants IndiaStox ownership of the content, it also transfers the risk of potential legal claims, such as for plagiarism. This warranty and indemnification clause contractually shifts that liability back to the contributor. It obligates the contributor to guarantee the work's originality and to bear the financial consequences if that guarantee is false, providing a vital layer of legal and financial protection for IndiaStox that goes beyond a simple plagiarism policy.¹⁰

Section 5: Community Conduct and Content Standards

5.1 Prohibited Content and Conduct

You agree that you will not contribute any Content or otherwise use the Services in a manner that:

• Infringes Intellectual Property: Infringes or violates the intellectual property rights or any other rights of anyone else (including IndiaStox).
• Is Illegal or Harmful: Is fraudulent, threatening, harassing, defamatory, libelous, abusive, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
• Promotes Market Manipulation: Involves posting, uploading, or transmitting any content that constitutes a "pump and dump" scheme, spreads false rumors, or is otherwise intended to artificially manipulate the price or volume of any security.
• Is False or Misleading: You know to be false, misleading, untruthful, or inaccurate, including the impersonation of any person or entity.
• Constitutes Spam or Unsolicited Communication: Constitutes unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk email ("spamming"), or pyramid schemes.
• Violates Privacy: Includes anyone’s identification documents, sensitive personal information, or sensitive financial information without their express permission.
• Disrupts the Services: Jeopardizes the security of your IndiaStox account or anyone else’s (such as allowing someone else to log in to the Services as you); attempts, in any manner, to obtain the password, account, or other security information from any other user; or uses any kind of automated or programmed user that is not a natural person (e.g., a bot) without our express written permission.
• Abuses System Resources: Violates the security of any computer network, or cracks any passwords or security encryption codes; runs Maillist, Listserv, any form of auto-responder or "spam" on the Services, or any processes that run or are activated while you are not logged into the Services, or that otherwise interfere with the proper working of the Services (including by placing an unreasonable load on the Services’ infrastructure).

5.2 Restrictions on Use of the Services

In addition to the content standards above, you agree that you will not, and will not permit or enable others to, use the Services in any of the following ways, except with our express written agreement:

• Automated Access and Scraping: You may not access, extract, reproduce, download, crawl, scrape, or index any Content or data from IndiaStox using bots, spiders, scrapers, offline readers, data mining tools, AI agents, or any other automated, semi-automated, or manual methods designed to simulate automated collection.¹² This includes any action that circumvents or exceeds reasonable limitations on calls and use of the Services.¹²
• Training AI Models: You are strictly prohibited from accessing or using any Content or data from the Services (including through indexing, caching, or crawling) to train, develop, or enhance any large language models, artificial intelligence models, or other algorithmic or statistical models without our explicit prior permission.¹²
• Reverse Engineering and Competitive Analysis: You may not modify, prepare derivative works of, disassemble, decompile, or reverse engineer any part of the Services or Content.¹³ You may not access the Services or Content in order to build a similar or competitive website, product, or service.¹³
• Commercial Exploitation: You may not license, sell, transfer, assign, distribute, host, or otherwise commercially exploit the Services or Content.¹³
• System Disruption: You may not use the Services in a manner that is excessive or abusive, or that would disrupt or unreasonably interfere with the Services, including our servers, networks, or systems.¹² This includes any action that compromises, breaks, or circumvents any of our technical processes or security measures.¹²
• Misrepresentation: You may not misrepresent or mask how or why you are accessing or using the Services.¹²

We explicitly prohibit use by or access to our platform for the purposes described above by any automated system or organization, including but not limited to:

• OpenAI (including GPT models)
• Anthropic (Claude models)
• Meta (including LLaMA and derivatives)
• Google DeepMind (Gemini models)
• Perplexity.ai
• Cohere, Mistral, DeepSeek, Manas, and similar AI/ML developers

Violation of this clause may be prosecuted under:

• U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)
• U.S. Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA)
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• Indian Information Technology Act, 2000
• Indian Copyright Act, 1957

We will aggressively pursue injunctive relief, statutory damages, and criminal sanctions to the fullest extent permitted by law. Users must promptly report any suspected unauthorized access or scraping to legal@indiastox.com.

5.3 Specific Rules for "Gyaani" Research Submissions

To ensure the integrity and high quality of the proprietary content library we are building, all Gyaani Research Submissions are subject to the following stricter editorial standards, inspired by the rigorous policies of leading financial analysis platforms ¹⁰:

• No Plagiarism: IndiaStox has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. Any submission found to contain plagiarized content will be rejected, and the contributor may be permanently banned from the platform.
• Mandatory Disclosures: You must disclose any existing business relationship with a company or fund that is the subject of your Gyaani Research Submission. Paid promotion of a security is never acceptable and will result in the rejection of the submission and may jeopardize your contributor status.
• Standards for "Short Ideas": Any Gyaani Research Submission that presents a bearish or "short" thesis on a security and includes allegations of significant wrongdoing or accounting irregularities must demonstrate that the author has made a good-faith effort to contact the subject company for comment and must include the company's response, or a note of their failure to respond, in the submission.

Imposing these higher standards serves two purposes. First, it enhances the quality and credibility of the intellectual property asset that IndiaStox is acquiring. Second, it creates a valuable asymmetry: by prohibiting contributors from using AI to generate core analysis while IndiaStox retains the right to use AI for summaries and other derivative works, we ensure the core content is certifiably human-authored while the platform benefits from the efficiency and scalability of AI processing.

5.4 Enforcement Rights

IndiaStox has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the Services and all Content. We reserve the right to, in our sole discretion and without notice, refuse, edit, move, or remove any Content that, in our judgment, violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable. We also reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and your access to the Services for any reason, including for violations of these Terms, at our sole discretion and without prior notice. This grants the platform maximum control over its environment, a critical enforcement power for maintaining community standards.²

Section 6: Disclaimers

6.1 General Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL CONTENT, FUNCTIONS, AND MATERIALS, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW, INDIASTOX AND ITS AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS, AND LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. INDIASTOX DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES OR THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED THEREIN WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. INDIASTOX MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET USERS' REQUIREMENTS. NO ADVICE, RESULTS, OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM US OR THROUGH THE SERVICES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN. This standard but essential clause is modeled on the strong disclaimers of liability used by similar platforms.³

6.2 Investment and Securities Disclaimer

This disclaimer is of paramount importance. You explicitly acknowledge and agree that:

• (a) IndiaStox is not an investment advisor or a fiduciary.
• (b) All Content on the Services, including any Gyaani Research Submissions that are owned by IndiaStox, is for informational and educational purposes only.
• (c) No Content should be construed as a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation by IndiaStox to buy, sell, or hold any security or to engage in any investment strategy.
• (d) Investing and trading in securities is inherently risky and speculative. You may lose some or all of your invested capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
• (e) You are solely and exclusively responsible for your own investment research, decisions, and the evaluation of the risks and merits of any investment. You agree not to hold IndiaStox or any of its affiliates, partners, or third-party providers liable for any possible claim for damages arising from any decision you make based on Content or other information made available to you through the Services.

The specific inclusion of a disclaimer for content that IndiaStox owns (the Gyaani Research Submissions) is a crucial legal nuance. A user might otherwise argue that because IndiaStox owned and promoted a particular research report, it bears responsibility for the investment outcome. This clause is designed to preemptively sever that perceived link between ownership and advisory liability. It creates a legal firewall that allows IndiaStox to commercially exploit its proprietary content without inheriting the fiduciary-like liability associated with providing investment advice. This is a sophisticated application of the general disclaimer principle, tailored to IndiaStox's unique content ownership model.³

Section 7: Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL INDIASTOX, ITS AFFILIATES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR PARTNERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF INDIASTOX HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH: (I) YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICES; (II) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES; (III) ANY CONTENT, CONDUCT, OR OMISSIONS OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICES; OR (IV) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICES.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) FIVE THOUSAND INDIAN RUPEES (₹5,000) OR (B) THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID TO INDIASTOX, IF ANY, IN THE SIX (6) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE EVENTS GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

This clause provides a critical defensive measure by establishing a hard monetary cap on potential liability, combining the structures of liability limitation clauses seen in other platform terms of service.²

Section 8: Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless IndiaStox, its affiliates, partners, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and successors from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs) made by you or any third party due to or arising out of: (a) your User-Generated Content; (b) your use of the Services; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party, including any intellectual property right. This standard clause shifts the financial risk of defending against lawsuits related to a user's actions onto the user themselves.⁶

Section 9: Copyright Policy

IndiaStox respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects its users to do the same. It is our policy, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others.

If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our designated copyright agent with the following information in accordance with the Indian Copyright Act, 1957:

• (a) An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
• (b) A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
• (c) A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Services, with enough detail that we may find it;
• (d) Your address, telephone number, and email address;
• (e) A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
• (f) A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

Our designated agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached at:

[Address]
[Email: copyright@indiastox.com]

This provides a structured, legally compliant process for handling infringement claims, similar to the frameworks used by major online platforms.²

Section 10: Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

10.1 Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India, without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule.

10.2 Jurisdiction

Any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms or the Services shall be instituted exclusively in the competent courts located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts. The choice of a major commercial and technology hub like Bengaluru is a strategic decision to ensure that any legal disputes are handled by a judiciary with experience in complex technology and commercial matters, a common practice for technology companies seeking a favorable and predictable legal environment.⁹

10.3 Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

At IndiaStox's sole discretion, it may require you to submit any disputes arising from these Terms or use of the Services, including disputes arising from or concerning their interpretation, violation, invalidity, non-performance, or termination, to final and binding arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The seat of arbitration shall be Bengaluru, Karnataka.

YOU AND INDIASTOX AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

The inclusion of a binding arbitration clause and a class action waiver is a powerful risk management tool designed to prevent large, costly group lawsuits and to resolve disputes in a more streamlined and less public forum.¹

Section 11: General Provisions

• Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any other legal notices published by us on the Services, shall constitute the entire agreement between you and IndiaStox concerning the Services.
• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms, which shall remain in full force and effect.
• No Waiver: No waiver of any term of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term, and IndiaStox's failure to assert any right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
• Assignment: These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by IndiaStox without restriction. Any attempted transfer or assignment in violation hereof shall be null and void.
• Contact Information: For any questions, comments, or legal notices regarding these Terms, please contact us at legal@indiastox.com.

SignalScore™ is a trademark of IndiaStox.