Terms & Conditions (FOR researchers)

‍When you register with the Platform, you will log into your registered account via a one time password (OTP) which may be automatically generated and sent to the mobile number and/or email-id associated to and registered with your account for one-time use only. You authorize us to assume that any person logging into and/or using the Platform by the way of your account and with your username and password or an OTP verified in the manner mentioned herein, is either you or is authorized to act on your behalf. You agree to notify us immediately if you suspect or becomeaware of any unauthorized log into and/or use of your account via any or all methods mentioned herein, or any attempt to do so. You may also be asked to provide requisite details such as name, mobile number, email-id, etc., which shall be subject to our Privacy Policy.

You may find links to other sites on the Platform. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such sites or resources; or (ii) the content, advertising, or products on or available from such sites or resources. The inclusion of any link on the Platform does not imply that we endorse the linked site. You use the links at your own risk and expressly relieve us from any and/or all liability arising from your use of any such third-party website.

We are not a party to the dealing, contracting, and fulfillment of a Study between a Participant and a Researcher, other than for the purpose of processing payments or incentives and for providing access to the Platform and our services. We have no control over and do not guarantee the quality, safety, or legality of Researchers’ Studies, the truthfulness or accuracy of Study listings, the qualifications, background, or abilities of Participants, the ability of Researchers to pay, or that a Participant or Researcher can or will complete a particular transaction.

We are not required to and do not verify any information given to us by Researchers, nor do we perform background checks. However, we may provide information about a Researcher, such as a risk score or geographical location, or third-party evaluations based on data given to us by the Researcher or a third party. Such information is provided solely for the convenience of Participants and is not an endorsement or recommendation by us. Participants and Researchers must look solely to the other for the enforcement and performance of all the rights and obligations arising from their contracts and dealings.

Notwithstanding the generality of the above, by using the Platform and services, Researchers agree and undertake that they will not directly or indirectly: (a) solicit or attempt to solicit any Participants for their contact information or other details; or (b) contact or attempt to contact Participants other than through the Platform. The Researchers agree and accept that any breach of this undertaking will result in foreseeable damages to Poocho, and Poocho will be entitled to be indemnified and held harmless for any such damages (whether threatened or incurred).

No agency, franchise, partnership, joint venture, or employee-employer relationship is intended or created by this Agreement. As a Researcher, you acknowledge and agree that your relationship with us is that of an independent contractor and specifically not that of an employee.

You agree you will not:
(a) take any action that imposes or may impose (in our sole discretion) an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;
(b) copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, or publicly display any content (other than content you have submitted to the Platform) from the Platform, any software code that is part of the Platform, or any services that are offered on the Platform without our prior express written permission and any appropriate third party, as applicable;
(c) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper operation of the Platform or any activities conducted on the Platform;
(d) bypass any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Platform or any subparts of the Platform including without limitation features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the Platform or the content therein;
(e) transmit spam, chain letters, or other unsolicited communications;
(f) attempt to interfere with, compromise the system integrity or security or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the Platform;
(g) upload invalid data, viruses, worms, or other software agents through or to the Platform; or
(h) collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, from the Platform, other than as may be set out in the Agreement and excluding any information collected directly by the Researcher in accordance with the Agreement.

Accessing the audiovisual content available on the Platform for any purpose or in any manner other than Streaming (as defined below) is expressly prohibited, save and except downloading copies of the responses to Screeners (as described in the Privacy Policy) and the recordings and transcripts (where available) of the Studies / Sessions, subject always to applicable data protection laws. “Streaming” means a contemporaneous digital transmission of an audiovisual work via the Internet from the Platform to a user’s device in such a manner that the data is intended for real-time viewing and not intended tobe copied, stored, permanently downloaded, or redistributed by the user.

You must comply with the laws that apply to you in the location that you access the Company’s Platform from. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from using the Platform, you must comply with those legal restrictions or, if applicable, stop accessing and/or using the Platform. You represent, warrant, and undertake that all the information you provide to the Company is and shall remain true, accurate, and complete at all times.

Notwithstanding anything, you are specifically restricted from all of the following: publishing any material on the Platform to any other media; selling, sublicensing and/or otherwise commercializing any Platform material; publicly performing and/or showing any Platform material without the Company’s prior written consent; using this Platform in any way that is or may be damaging to this Platform; using this Platform in any way that impacts access to this Platform for any person; using this Platform contrary to applicable laws and regulations, or in any way may cause harm to the Platform, us or any person or business entity; engaging in any data mining, data harvesting, data extracting, or any other similar activity with respect to this Platform; using this Platform to engage in any advertising or marketing.

Certain areas of this Platform are restricted from being accessed by you and we may further restrict access by you to any areas of this Platform, at any time, in absolute discretion.

Researchers can make payments on the Platform (including for Studies, Screeners, Sessions and/or other paid services or subscriptions made available to Researchers on the Platform) using funds on their Poocho Pay and Poocho Points wallets.

• Poocho Pay: A closed-loop wallet system on the Platform where Researchers can recharge / load money, for the sole purpose of paying for Platform services.
• Poocho Points: Cashbacks or rewards received by Researchers for using and making payments on the Platform, which can be used for services on the Platform (but cannot be converted into real cash).

Poocho Pay
Loading Money: You can load money into your Poocho Pay wallet using the methods provided on the Platform. These methods may include debit cards, credit cards, net banking, etc.

Payments: You can use the funds in your Poocho Pay wallet to pay for services offered on the Platform.

Poocho Points
Earning Points: You can earn Poocho Points through various activities on the Platform, such as adding funds to Poocho Pay and participating in promotions.

Using Points: Poocho Points can be used to pay for services offered on the Platform. The value of each Poocho Point will be clearly communicated on the Platform.

Limitations: Funds on Poocho Pay and Poocho Points cannot be transferred or exchanged for real cash or any other form of currency or for any payments outside the Platform. Researchers will not be able to start a new paid Study, Session or other paid services without adequate funds available in Poocho Pay or Poocho Points.

Payments
All payments made on the Platform will be processed in Indian Rupees (INR) and subject to additional GST at the rate of 18%. The Platform reserves the right to modify the methods of payment accepted at any time.

When you confirm that you want to conduct a paid Study, Session, or seek any paid services on the Platform, the payable amount will be deducted first from your Poocho Points, and any balance payable amount will be deducted from the funds in your Poocho Pay wallet. Researchers can view their transactions on the Platform, including invoices and receipts for adding funds, making payments, and/or receiving refunds.

Refunds for services purchased using Poocho Pay will be credited back to your Poocho Pay wallet, and refunds for services purchased using Poocho Points will be credited back to your Poocho Points wallet. Partial refunds for services are not supported.

Limitations
The Platform is a closed-loop system. Funds in your Poocho Pay wallet and Poocho Points cannot be withdrawn to your bank account or any other external account, or transferred or exchanged for real cash or any other form of currency or for any payments outside the Platform (whether or not you use the Platform or avail any services). However, the funds in your Poocho Pay wallet and Poocho Points will not expire, and can be used for payments on the Platform at any time.

The Platform reserves the right to modify or replace the Poocho Pay and Poocho Points wallets.

Some areas of the Platform may allow you to post feedback, comments, questions, photos, videos, and other information. You are solely responsible for the content (collectively, “Content”) you upload, publish, display, link to, or otherwise make available (hereinafter, “post”) on or through the Platform.

You agree not to post Content that: (i) may create a risk of harm, loss, physical or mental injury, emotional distress, death, disability, disfigurement, or physical or mental illness to you, to any other person, or to any animal; (ii) may create a risk of any other loss or damage to any person or property; (iii) seeks to harm or exploit children by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable details or otherwise; (iv) may constitute or contribute to a crime or tort; (v) contains any information or content that we deem to be unlawful, harmful, abusive, racially or ethnically offensive, defamatory, infringing, invasive of personal privacy or publicity rights, harassing, humiliating to other people (publicly or otherwise), libelous, threatening, profane, or otherwise objectionable; (vi) contains any information or content that is illegal (including, without limitation, the disclosure of insider information under securities law or of another party’s trade secrets); (vii) contains any information or content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships; or (viii) contains any information or content you know is not correct and current.

You agree that any Content you post does not and will not violate third-party rights of any kind, including without limitation any intellectual property rights (e.g., copyright, trademark, patent, etc.), rights of publicity, and privacy. You shall have the onus of the copyrighted content you share with Poocho, and Poocho shall not have any liability on such contents whatsoever.

You understand and agree that any loss or damage of any kind that occurs as a result of the use of any Content you send, upload, download, stream, post, transmit, display, or otherwise make available or access through your use of the Platform, is solely your responsibility. We are not responsible for any public display or misuse of your Content.

You understand and acknowledge you may be exposed to content that is inaccurate, offensive, indecent, objectionable, or inappropriate for children, and you agree we shall not be liable for any damage you allegedly incur as a result of such content. Furthermore, we exercise no editorial control over Content posted by Participants for the Platform and are not responsible for and do not monitor such content for accuracy or reliability.

You retain all your ownership rights in your Public User Content. By posting any Public User Content on the Platform, you expressly grant, and represent and warrant you have a right to grant to us a royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable, revocable, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, list information regarding, edit, translate, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and make derivative works of all such Public User Content without your name as contained in your Public User Content, in whole or in part, and in any form, media or technology, whether now known or hereafter developed, for use in connection with the Platform and our (and our successors’ and affiliates’) business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Platform (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels.

You also hereby grant each User of the Platform a non-exclusive license to access your Public User Content through the Platform, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display, and perform such Public User Content as permitted through the functionality of the Platform and under this Agreement. The above licenses granted by you in your Public User Content terminate within a commercially reasonable time after you remove or delete your Public User Content from the Platform.

You may choose to send us comments or ideas about the Platform, including without limitation, about how to improve the Platform or our products (“Ideas”). By submitting any Idea, you agree your disclosure is gratuitous, unsolicited, and without restriction and will not place us under any fiduciary or other obligation. You hereby assign any rights in such ideas to Poocho, without payment to you. You further acknowledge that, by acceptance of your submission, we do not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to us, or developed by our employees, or obtained from sources other than you.

These Terms read along with our Privacy Policy constitutes the entire agreement between Poocho and you in relation to your use of the Platform and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.These Terms may additionally be guided by other written agreements signed between the Parties.

Subject to and conditioned on your compliance with this Agreement, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and receive the services available and authorized from the platform. You agree to not sell, reproduce, distribute, modify, display, publicly perform, prepare derivative works based on, repost, or otherwise use any content of the Platform in any way for any public or commercial purpose without our prior written consent or that of the rights holder.

You agree to not use any content of the Platform on any other website or in a networked computer environment for any purpose except for your own internal purposes. You agree to not attempt to reverse engineer or attempt to interfere with the operation of any part of the Platform unless expressly permitted by law. The Platform or any portion of the Platform may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose not expressly permitted by us.

We and our licensors retain all our rights, title, and interest in and to all patent rights, inventions, copyrights, know-how, and trade secrets relating to the Platform. Our logos and names are trademarks and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other product names,company names, marks, logos, and symbols on the Platform may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Except as expressly stated above, nothing in this Agreement confers any license under any of our or any third party’s intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication, or otherwise.

Some open-source software may be incorporated into the Platform under a separate license, such as free software, open-source, or other licenses. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and any such separate license, the separate license will prevail with respect to such open-source software.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, or such similar laws of India, which are not in conflict with each other. Such shall be subjected to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of Mumbai, India.

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY – IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS. Poocho and you agree that Poocho and you will resolve any Claims on an individualbasis and that any Claims brought under this Agreement or in connection with the Platform will be brought in an individual capacity, and not on behalf of, or as part of, any purported class, consolidated, or representative proceeding. Poocho and you further agree that Poocho and you shall not participate in any consolidated, class, or representative proceeding (existing or future) brought by any third party arising under this Agreement or in connection with the Platform. If any court or arbitrator determines that the class action waiver outlined in this paragraph is void or unenforceable for any reason or that a lawsuit can proceed on a class basis, then the Claims must be litigated in state court.

The Platform is provided on an “as is” basis. The Company makes no representations or warranties of any kind (express, statutory or implied) as to the operation of the Platform, provision of Platform or the information, content, materials, or products included on the Platform, or in association with the Platform or any third-party websites or services. The Company will not be held responsible for any unethical, illegal acts performed by the users of the Platform and the action of each of the users shall be their own responsibility.

The Company disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, quality of service, and fitness for a particular purpose and shall not be responsible for any loss of data, loss of profits, or any kind of misuse (statutory or otherwise) by any of its users individually or during their interaction with each other.

POOCHO DOES NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR PROVIDE ANY CONDITIONS OR REPRESENTATIONS, OR ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR PLATFORM ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY ANY THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR IN RESPECT OF ANY WEBSITE THAT CAN BE REACHED FROM A LINK ON THE WEBSITE, AND POOCHO SHALL NOT BE A PARTY TO ANY TRANSACTION THAT YOU MAY ENTER INTO WITH ANY SUCH THIRD PARTY. POOCHO WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY TYPE OF CONTENT EXCHANGED THROUGH THE PLATFORM.

Except as provided above, there are no other warranties, conditions or other terms and conditions, express or implied, statutory or otherwise, and all such terms and conditions are hereby excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.

This Agreement shall become effective as your contractual agreement upon your acceptance of this Agreement or your use of the Platform, and shall continue until your account is terminated by you or us as provided for under the terms of this Section. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing between the parties, either party may terminate the contractual agreement represented by this Agreement at any time upon notice to the other party.

Without limiting our other remedies, we may issue a warning, or temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your account or a Study, and refuse to provide any or all Platform functions to you if: (a) you breach the letter or spirit of any terms and conditions of this Agreement or the information incorporated herein by reference, including our written policies and procedures posted on the Platform or linked here; (b) we suspect or become aware that you have provided false or misleading information to us; (c) we believe in our sole discretion that your actions may cause legal liability for you, us or other Platform users or are contrary to the interests of the Platform.

Once indefinitely suspended or terminated, you must not continue to use the Platform. In addition, violations of this Agreement may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and may result in additional penalties and sanctions. Without limiting our other remedies, to the extent you engage in actions or activities which circumvent the Platform or otherwise reduce fees owed to us, you agree to pay us for all fees owed to us and reimburse us for all losses and costs (including any and all employee time) and reasonable expenses (including attorney fees) related to investigating such breach.

When your account is terminated for any reason mentioned herein, you may no longer have access to data, messages, files, and other material you keep on the Platform, such as your Public User Content. The material may be deleted along with all your previous posts and materials. Even after this Agreement is terminated, any provisions of this Agreement, which by their express language or by their context are intended to survive the termination of this Agreement (including without limitation, provisions governing indemnification, limitations on liability, disclaimers of warranty, ownership of intellectual property and data), shall survive such termination.

IN NO EVENT SHALL POOCHO BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES OF ANY TYPE OR KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS, DAMAGES FOR PLATFORM INTERRUPTIONS, LOSS OF DATA OR BREACH OF DATA OR SYSTEM SECURITY, LOST OPPORTUNITIES OR PROFITS OR COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PLATFORM, LOST SAVINGS, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL) ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF POOCHO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR SUCH LOSSES OR DAMAGES WERE OTHERWISE FORESEEABLE. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, NOT BEING LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RELATED TO DOWNLOADING OR RUNNING MOBILE OR OTHER APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING POOR PERFORMANCE ISSUES, “CRASHES” IN OPERATING SYSTEMS, INTERRUPTION OR DENIAL OF PLATFORM, LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY OTHER ADVERSE EFFECT TO YOU AS A RESULT OFUSING THE PLATFORM OTHER THAN THAT WHICH IS DUE TO OUR INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE. IN ANY CASE, THE TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF POOCHO ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY USE OF THE PLATFORM SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) INDIAN NATIONAL RUPEES FIVE THOUSAND ONLY (5000) INR OR (B) THE TOTAL COMPENSATION PAID BY YOU TO POOCHO UNDER THIS AGREEMENT DURING THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE DATE WHEN THE FIRST CLAIM AROSE.

You agree to defend, hold harmless and indemnify Poocho, and its respective partners, employees and agents from and against any and all losses, costs, expenses, damages, or other liabilities, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by us and from and against any cost, liability, loss, damage, cause of action, claim, suit, proceeding, demand or action brought by a third party against us: (a) in connection with your use of the Platform; or (b) resulting from your breach of any provision of this Agreement. Any such indemnification shall be conditioned on our: (a) notifying you in writing of any such claim, demand, action, cost, liability, loss or threat of any thereof; (b) cooperating with you in the defense or settlement thereof; and (c) allowing you to control such defense or settlement. We shall be entitled to participate in such defense through our own counsel at our cost and expense. We reserve the right to report any wrongdoing, of which we become aware, to the applicable government agencies or otherwise.

Unless you otherwise indicate in writing to us, we will communicate with you by email or by posting communications on the Platform. You consent to receive communications from us electronically and agree these electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. You will be considered to have received a communication when we send it to the email address you have provided to us, or when we post such communication on the Platform. You must keep your email address updated on the Platform, and you must regularly check the Platform for postings. If you fail to respond to an email message from us regarding a violation, dispute, or complaint within two (2) business days, we have the right to terminate or suspend your Studies or your account.

You are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws, keeping in mind that access to the contents of the Platform may not be legal for or by certain persons or in certain countries. We will not be considered to have modified or waived any of our rights or remedies under this Agreement unless the modification or waiver is in writing and signed by an authorized representative. No delay or omission by us in exercising rights or remedies will impair any rights or be construed as a waiver. Any single or partial exercise of a right or remedy will not preclude further exercise of any other right or remedy.

You will not transfer, assign or delegate your rights or obligations (including your Account) under this Agreement to anyone without our express written permission, and any attempt to do so will be null and void. This Agreement, together with any other legal notices and agreements published via the Platform, shall constitute the entire agreement between you and us concerning the Platform. If any provision of this Agreement is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect.

The Platform is controlled and operated from its facilities in India. We make no representations that the Platform is appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who access or use the Platform from other jurisdictions do so at their own volition and are entirely responsible for compliance with all applicable Indian and local laws and regulations, including but not limited to export and import regulations. You may not use or access the Platform if you are located or a resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government currently is, the target of sanctions, embargoes or trade restrictions imposed by any Indian government authority, or are a foreign person currently included on the blacklisted or blocked person list of the Indian government.

Poocho and the Researcher will keep confidential any proprietary or sensitive information disclosed by the other party. Confidential information can only be used for the purposes of the Platform, and to enforce the rights and perform the obligations of Poocho and the Researcher. This confidentiality clause does not apply to information that is publicly known or independently developed. Upon termination or an earlier request made in writing, and subject to the other terms of use of the Platform, all confidential information must be returned or destroyed.

Neither of the parties to this Agreement shall be responsible for the failure to perform or any delay in performance of any obligation hereunder due to act of God, labor disturbances, accidents, fires, floods, power, telecommunications or internet failures, strikes, terrorism, wars, riots, rebellions, blockades, pandemic, epidemic, acts of government, governmental requirements and regulations or restrictions imposed by law or any other similar conditions beyond the reasonable control of such party. The time for performance of such party shall be extended by the period of such delay.

The boldface paragraph headings in this Agreement are included for ease of reference only and have no binding effect. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements between the parties regarding the subject matter contained herein.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid under any applicable law, such provisions shall be deleted without affecting the remaining provisions herein.

Poocho is permitted to revise these Terms at any time as it sees fit, and by using this Platform you are expected to review these Terms on a regular basis.

Our office operates Monday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM IST. We offer live session support from 10am - 8pm IST, all days of the week.

If you have any questions about any of the above, you should contact us by email at support@poocho.co