Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of www.godacompany.com (the “Website”), operated by GODA & CO. LLP (“the Firm”, “we”, “us”, “our”).

By accessing, browsing or using the Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, please do not use the Website.

These Terms constitute an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it, and do not require any physical or digital signature.

2. Nature of the Website

The Website is an informational resource maintained by the Firm. It describes the Firm, its people, its practice areas and the industries it serves, and publishes general commentary on legal developments.

In accordance with the Bar Council of India Rules, the Website is not an advertisement, solicitation or invitation to engage the Firm’s services. Nothing on the Website constitutes legal advice, and access to the Website does not create an advocate–client relationship. Please read the Disclaimer in full — it forms an essential part of these Terms.

3. Eligibility

You may use the Website only if you are legally capable of entering into a binding contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. If you are using the Website on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you are authorised to bind that organisation to these Terms.

4. Permitted use

You may access and view the Website, and download or print individual pages, for your own personal, non-commercial reference only, provided you do not remove or obscure any copyright, trade mark or attribution notice.

5. Restrictions

You agree that you will not:

• Reproduce, republish, distribute, transmit, sell, licence or commercially exploit any part of the Website without our prior written consent;
• Frame, mirror or deep-link the Website in a manner that misrepresents its source or its association with the Firm;
• Use the Website, the Firm’s name, logo or content in any manner that suggests endorsement, affiliation or an existing engagement where none exists;
• Use automated systems — including scrapers, crawlers, bots or data-harvesting tools — to access, index or copy the Website or extract contact information from it, except for standard search engine indexing in accordance with our robots directives;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, its servers, or any connected system or network, or probe, scan or test its vulnerability;
• Introduce any virus, malware, trojan, worm, logic bomb or other harmful code, or take any action that imposes an unreasonable load on our infrastructure;
• Use the Website for any unlawful, fraudulent, defamatory, harassing or abusive purpose, or in violation of any applicable law;
• Submit information through any form on the Website that is false, misleading, impersonates another person, or that you do not have the right to transmit.

6. Intellectual property

All content on the Website — including text, articles, insights, practice area descriptions, graphics, illustrations, icons, photographs, video, page layout, design, look and feel, source code, and the compilation and arrangement of all of the foregoing — is owned by or licensed to GODA & CO. LLP and is protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 and other applicable laws.

The name “GODA & CO. LLP”, the Firm’s logo, and any associated marks are proprietary to the Firm. No licence or right to use any of them is granted by these Terms or by your use of the Website.

Any use not expressly permitted under Section 4 is prohibited and may give rise to civil and criminal liability.

7. Submissions through the Website

When you submit an enquiry, application or other communication through the Website:

• You confirm that the information you provide is accurate, complete and lawfully provided by you;
• You acknowledge that submission does not create an advocate–client relationship and does not oblige the Firm to respond, accept your matter, or act for you in any capacity;
• You acknowledge that information submitted before a formal engagement is in place may not be treated as confidential or privileged, and may be reviewed for conflict-checking purposes;
• You agree not to submit confidential, privileged or sensitive material relating to a live dispute through the Website;
• You consent to the Firm processing the information as described in our Privacy Policy, and to being contacted at the details you provide in relation to your enquiry.

The Firm may decline any enquiry, at its sole discretion and without giving reasons, including where a conflict of interest exists or where the matter falls outside the Firm’s practice.

8. Third-party links and services

The Website may contain links to, or embeds of, third-party websites, services and resources, including mapping and hosting services. These are provided for convenience only.

The Firm does not control, review, endorse or accept responsibility for the content, accuracy, security, availability or privacy practices of any third-party site or service. Your dealings with any third party are solely between you and that third party, and are entirely at your own risk.

9. Availability of the Website

We do not guarantee that the Website will be available uninterrupted, secure or error-free. We may suspend, withdraw, modify or discontinue all or any part of the Website — including any content on it — at any time, without notice and without liability.

10. No warranties

The Website and all content on it are provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Firm disclaims all warranties, including any implied warranty of accuracy, completeness, currency, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or freedom from viruses or harmful components. Content on the Website may become out of date, and we are under no obligation to update it.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, GODA & CO. LLP, its partners, advocates, associates, employees and agents shall not be liable for any loss or damage of any kind — whether direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive or exemplary, including loss of profit, business, goodwill, data or opportunity — arising out of or in connection with:

• your access to, use of, or inability to access or use the Website;
• any reliance placed on content published on the Website;
• any error, omission, interruption, defect, delay, virus or system failure affecting the Website; or
• any third-party website or service linked from or embedded in the Website,

whether or not the Firm has been advised of the possibility of such loss, and regardless of the legal theory on which the claim is based.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including the Firm’s professional obligations to its clients under a signed engagement.

12. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless GODA & CO. LLP, its partners, employees and agents from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Website, or your violation of any law or third-party right in connection with your use of the Website.

13. Privacy

Your use of the Website is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains what personal data we collect and how we handle it.

14. Professional regulation

The advocates of GODA & CO. LLP are enrolled with the Bar Council of [Gujarat] and are governed by the Advocates Act, 1961 and the Bar Council of India Rules. Legal services are offered only in India, and only in accordance with those rules. Nothing on the Website is an offer to practise law in any jurisdiction where the Firm’s advocates are not licensed.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time by publishing an updated version on this page. The revised Terms take effect from the date of publication, and your continued use of the Website constitutes acceptance of them. Please review this page periodically.

16. Severability and waiver

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision shall be severed and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. No failure or delay by the Firm in exercising any right under these Terms operates as a waiver of that right.

17. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Subject to Section 18, the courts and tribunals at Ahmedabad, Gujarat shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Website.

18. Dispute resolution

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration by a sole arbitrator appointed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and the language of the proceedings shall be English.

19. Entire agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Firm in relation to your use of the Website, and supersede any prior understanding on that subject.