Terms & Conditions of Service

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms” or “Agreement”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“User”, “Advocate”, or “You”) and Advo Buddy (“Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), governing your access to and use of the Advo Buddy web application, APIs, documentation, and associated services (collectively, the “Platform” or “Service”).

By creating an account, logging in, or using any feature of the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must discontinue use immediately.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Practicing Advocates: You represent and warrant that you are enrolled with a State Bar Council in India pursuant to theAdvocates Act, 1961, or are an authorized representative of an advocate or law chamber acting under valid supervision.
• Age: You must be at least 18 years of age and legally competent to enter into binding contracts under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

Your use of the Platform, including the generation of drafts via DraftMitra, querying the AI Assistant, or tracking case hearings, doesNOT create an attorney-client relationship between you and Advo Buddy, nor between Advo Buddy and any of your clients.

All communications transmitted through the Platform are technical data transmissions processed by automated systems. Advo Buddy does not solicit clients on behalf of any advocate and is operated in strict compliance with the prohibitions against legal advertising under Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules.

Practicing advocates using Advo Buddy acknowledge and agree that:

1. Exclusive Professional Responsibility: You retain complete, sole, and unshared fiduciary, professional, and ethical responsibility for all legal work, client counseling, pleadings, representations, court appearances, and documents prepared, managed, or filed in connection with your practice.
2. Bar Council Rules: You agree to maintain full compliance with the Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette framed by the Bar Council of India under Section 49(1)(c) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
3. Independent Discretion: No feature of Advo Buddy (including automated hearing reminders, case audit logs, or AI-generated legal drafts) shall substitute for an advocate’s independent professional judgment, fact-finding, and legal research.

Advo Buddy provides specialized drafting assistance (“DraftMitra”) and an AI-powered legal assistant to facilitate case brief synthesis, statutory research, and document drafting.

Advo Buddy makes no warranty regarding the completeness, accuracy, judicial acceptability, or timeliness of any AI output or automated draft. You assume full liability for any document generated and utilized in any judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative forum.

Advo Buddy offers smart court diary tracking and automated notification dispatches (via WhatsApp, SMS, or Email powered by third-party telecom carriers such as Twilio).

• Cause List Tracking: While Advo Buddy provides daily hearing alerts and optional eCourts case search integrations, the advocate remains exclusively responsible for verifying cause-lists, item numbers, bench constitutions, and sitting hours on official court websites (e.g., ecourts.gov.in, High Court cause-lists, Supreme Court of India registry).
• Carrier & Sandbox Limitations: Delivery of WhatsApp/SMS messages is dependent on third-party telecommunication networks, carrier filters, DND preferences, and user WhatsApp sandbox pairing. Advo Buddy shall not be liable for missed hearings or delayed appearances resulting from undelivered, delayed, or filtered automated notifications.
• Audit Trail: The Case Audit and History logging feature records timestamped modifications made within your chamber account. It serves as an internal chamber record and does not constitute official court certified records.

When registering for an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete profile information (including your name, email, phone number, and Bar Council enrollment number).
• Maintain the confidentiality and security of your login credentials, password, and session tokens.
• Notify us immediately at support@advobuddy.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
• Accept full responsibility for all activities occurring under your authenticated credentials.

Your Data Remains Yours: You retain complete, unencumbered ownership of all case records, client personal information, uploaded briefs, fee entries, and notes (“User Content”) uploaded to or stored on the Platform. We claim no ownership rights over your legal briefs or client confidences.

Limited License to Operate: You grant Advo Buddy a strictly limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to host, store, and process your User Content solely to the extent necessary to provide the services requested (e.g., rendering your case board, executing drafting macros, or delivering automated reminders).

Platform IP: The design system, user interfaces, “Chambers” UI, code, algorithms, brand logos, and original drafting frameworks of Advo Buddy are the exclusive intellectual property of Advo Buddy and are protected under Indian and international copyright and trademark laws.

You agree not to engage in any of the following prohibited actions:

• Attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Platform, or breach security or authentication barriers.
• Reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling any portion of the source code or proprietary algorithms.
• Using any automated scraper, spider, or script to bulk harvest eCourts data or abuse backend APIs.
• Uploading malicious payloads, viruses, Trojan horses, or corrupted files.
• Attempting to access cases, client files, or data belonging to another advocate or tenant without authorization.
• Using the Platform for any purpose that violates Indian law, advocate professional conduct, or judicial gag orders.

Platform Pricing: Core MVP features are currently provided free or under designated subscription tiers. Any future paid plans, premium AI quotas, or advanced storage tiers will be clearly posted prior to enrollment.

Fee Ledger Module: The billing and fee tracking module in Advo Buddy is an accounting tool for the advocate’s internal chamber record-keeping. The advocate is responsible for calculating applicable Goods and Services Tax (GST) or reverse charge mechanisms where applicable under Indian tax laws.

Disclaimer of Warranties: The Platform is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. Advo Buddy expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular legal purpose, non-infringement, or uninterrupted availability.

Limitation of Liability: In no event shall Advo Buddy, its directors, employees, or technical partners be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, loss of data, missed court dates, default judgments, adverse court orders, or professional disciplinary proceedings arising out of or related to your use of the Platform.

Indemnification: You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Advo Buddy and its officers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from: (a) your violation of these Terms; (b) any professional negligence, malpractice, or breach of advocate ethics; or (c) any dispute between you and your clients.

Termination by You: You may close your account at any time via your Account Settings. Prior to closure, you are encouraged to export all your case records and fee ledgers.

Data Export Guarantee: You maintain the right to export your case records, client registries, and diary entries in standard readable formats (e.g. CSV, JSON, or printable summaries) at any point during your active subscription.

Termination by Company: We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in system abuse, or fail to adhere to ethical/security standards, with reasonable prior notice where practicable.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, or invalidity thereof shall be resolved through amicable negotiations. If unresolved within 30 days, the dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent civil courts located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.