Terms & Conditions

This section of the Terms and Conditions ("Terms") governs the ownership, use, protection, and enforcement of intellectual property rights and user-generated content on the digital platform ("Platform") operated by Hirance Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, with its registered office at 8/4, Sector-4, Jankipuram, Lucknow – 226021, Uttar Pradesh, India ("Hirance", "Company", "we", "our", or "us").

These Terms form a legally binding agreement between Hirance and every individual or entity accessing or using the Platform, whether as a candidate, employer, recruiter, or any other user ("User", "you", "your"). By registering on, accessing, or using the Platform in any manner, you unconditionally accept and agree to be bound by these Terms.

These Terms must be read in conjunction with the Privacy Policy, Cancellation & Refund Policy, and any other policies published on the Platform. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and any other policy, these Terms shall prevail with respect to intellectual property matters.

Legal Basis

1. Definitions and Interpretation

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them below. These definitions apply throughout this section and all related policies published on the Platform.

2. Ownership of User Content

Hirance recognises and respects the intellectual property rights of its Users. Subject to the License granted under Section 3 of these Terms and any applicable laws, Users retain ownership of the content they create and submit to the Platform.

2.1 Candidate Content Ownership

Candidates who create profiles or upload materials on the Platform retain full ownership of the intellectual property in the content they submit. This includes, without limitation:

• Resumes, curriculum vitae (CVs), cover letters, and related professional documents;
• Professional portfolios, work samples, and project showcases;
• Educational certificates, academic qualifications, and professional credentials;
• Profile descriptions, career objectives, skills inventories, and experience summaries;
• Any other original creative or informational content submitted by the candidate.

Candidates represent and warrant that they are the original authors or lawful holders of the rights in all Candidate Content submitted by them. Submission of content that belongs to a third party without proper authorisation is strictly prohibited and may result in account termination and legal liability.

2.2 Employer Content Ownership

Employers and recruiters using the Platform retain full ownership of the intellectual property in the content they upload or publish. This includes, without limitation:

• Job descriptions, job specifications, role requirements, and recruitment advertisements;
• Company profiles, about-us information, culture statements, and employer branding materials;
• Company logos, trademarks, trade names, and other distinctive marks;
• Recruitment workflows, assessment criteria, and any proprietary hiring methodologies uploaded to the Platform;
• Any other business-related content published by the employer on the Platform.

Employers represent and warrant that they have the full right, power, and authority to upload and publish all Employer Content, including the right to display company trademarks and branding materials on the Platform.

2.3 Acknowledgement of License

Users acknowledge and expressly agree that, while ownership of User Content remains with the respective User, by submitting such content to the Platform, they grant Hirance the License described in Section 3 below.

3. License Granted to Hirance

3.1 Scope of License

By submitting, uploading, publishing, or otherwise making available any User Content on the Platform, each User grants Hirance a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable, transferable, and worldwide license to:

• Store, host, cache, and back up the content on Hirance's servers or those of its authorised cloud infrastructure partners;
• Access, retrieve, process, and analyse such content using automated and manual means;
• Display, transmit, or make the content available to other authorised Users in accordance with applicable visibility and privacy settings;
• Format, resize, compress, or otherwise technically adapt the content to ensure compatibility with the Platform's systems;
• Use such content for the sole purpose of providing, operating, and improving the Services offered through the Platform.

3.2 Extended Permitted Uses

• Facilitating accurate and intelligent job matching between candidates and employers using algorithmic and AI-assisted systems;
• Generating automated recommendations, job alerts, and candidate shortlists based on profile data and behavioural signals;
• Conducting internal research, platform analytics, performance measurement, and service optimisation activities;
• Developing, testing, and improving AI-based matching models, fraud detection systems, and recommendation engines;
• Producing aggregated, anonymised, or de-identified datasets for product development and market research purposes.

3.3 Moral Rights

Hirance acknowledges and respects the moral rights of Users in their original content under the Copyright Act, 1957. The License granted under this Section does not constitute a waiver of any moral rights.

3.4 Duration and Termination of License

The License granted under this Section shall remain in force for as long as the User Content is available or hosted on the Platform. Upon deletion of User Content or account closure, the License shall terminate with respect to the deleted content, subject to:

• Residual copies that may exist in backup or archival systems, which will be purged in accordance with Hirance's data retention schedule;
• Content that has already been shared with or accessed by third-party Users prior to deletion;
• Content required to be retained by Hirance to comply with applicable legal obligations or ongoing legal proceedings.

3.5 No Transfer of Ownership

For the avoidance of doubt, the License granted under this Section does not constitute a transfer, assignment, or sale of any intellectual property rights in the User Content. Hirance acquires no ownership interest in User Content by virtue of this License.

4. Restrictions on Use of Platform Content

4.1 Prohibited Activities

All Users agree that they shall not engage in any of the following activities without the prior express written permission of Hirance or the relevant rights holder:

• Copying, reproducing, duplicating, archiving, distributing, republishing, or publicly displaying any content obtained from the Platform;
• Scraping, crawling, spidering, harvesting, or otherwise extracting data from the Platform through automated systems or bots;
• Downloading, storing, compiling, or aggregating Platform data or User Content in bulk;
• Using candidate profiles, resumes, or employer job postings for any purpose unrelated to legitimate recruitment activities;
• Republishing, reselling, licensing, or redistributing any content obtained through the Platform;
• Framing, mirroring, or linking to any portion of the Platform in a misleading or deceptive manner;
• Using any content from the Platform to train or develop AI/ML models without prior written consent of Hirance.

4.2 Consequences of Violation

• Immediate suspension or permanent termination of the User's account without notice or refund;
• Removal or disabling of the infringing or unauthorised content from the Platform;
• Civil legal action for damages, injunctive relief, or both, under applicable Indian law;
• Criminal complaint filed under the IPC, the IT Act, the Copyright Act, or other applicable statutes;
• Referral of the matter to the Cyber Crime Cell or relevant regulatory authorities.

5. Platform Intellectual Property

5.1 Ownership of Platform IP

All intellectual property rights in and to the Platform and its constituent elements are exclusively owned by or licensed to Hirance Private Limited, including, without limitation:

• The overall design, visual layout, colour schemes, typographic choices, and structural arrangement of the Platform;
• All UI elements, UX flows, navigation architecture, and interactive design components;
• Proprietary job-matching algorithms, recommendation engines, AI/ML models, and candidate ranking systems;
• All Platform features, functionalities, modules, tools, and workflows;
• All registered and unregistered trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, taglines, and distinctive marks;
• The underlying source code, object code, software architecture, APIs, and database schemas;
• All documentation, technical specifications, and proprietary written works relating to the Platform.

5.2 No Rights Conferred on Users

Except as expressly stated in these Terms, nothing shall be construed as granting any User any right, title, or interest in any Platform IP. In particular, Users are expressly prohibited from:

• Reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise attempting to derive the source code of the Platform;
• Copying, reproducing, modifying, or creating derivative works based on the Platform's design, layout, code, or functionality;
• Registering any trademark or domain name identical or confusingly similar to Hirance's trademarks;
• Removing, altering, or obscuring any copyright notices, trademark symbols, or proprietary legends displayed on the Platform.

5.3 Trademarks and Brand Identity

The name "Hirance", the Hirance logo, and all related marks are the exclusive trademarks or registered trademarks of Hirance Private Limited. No User or third party may use Hirance's trademarks in any manner without prior express written authorisation.

6. Copyright Infringement & Content Takedown

6.1 Hirance's Policy on Copyright

Hirance is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of third parties and will respond to valid notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable law. Repeat infringers may have their accounts permanently terminated.

6.2 Submitting a Takedown Request

If any person or entity believes that their copyrighted work has been reproduced on the Platform without authorisation, they may submit a formal Takedown Request to:

6.3 Required Contents of a Takedown Request

• A clear and specific identification of the copyrighted work alleged to have been infringed;
• Documentary proof of ownership of the intellectual property;
• A precise identification of the allegedly infringing content on the Platform, including specific URL(s);
• Full contact details of the complainant, including full legal name, postal address, and email address;
• A declaration that the complainant has a good-faith belief that the use of the content is not authorised;
• A physical or electronic signature of the person authorised to act on behalf of the rights holder.

6.4 Hirance's Response to Takedown Requests

• Acknowledge receipt of the complaint within a reasonable time;
• Review and verify the complaint against the identified content on the Platform;
• Remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing content pending resolution, if appropriate;
• Notify the User whose content has been subject to a Takedown Request, where practicable;
• Provide the User with an opportunity to submit a counter-notice if they believe the Takedown Request was erroneous;
• Restore content upon receipt of a valid counter-notice, if no legal action is commenced within the applicable period.

6.5 Consequences of Confirmed Infringement

• Permanently remove or disable the infringing content from the Platform;
• Suspend or terminate the account responsible for uploading the infringing content;
• Maintain a record of the infringement for the purpose of identifying repeat infringers;
• Take such additional legal, administrative, or regulatory action as Hirance deems appropriate.

7. User Representations and Warranties

7.1 Representations by All Users

By uploading or submitting any User Content, each User unconditionally represents and warrants to Hirance:

• They are the lawful owner of the intellectual property in the content submitted, or have obtained all necessary rights and permissions;
• The submission and use of the content does not infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, or privacy right of any third party;
• The content is original and does not constitute plagiarism or a misappropriation of any third party's intellectual property;
• The content complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including employment laws and data protection laws in India;
• The content does not contain any defamatory, obscene, offensive, unlawful, or otherwise objectionable material;
• The content does not include any personally identifiable information of third parties without their explicit, informed consent.

7.2 Employer-Specific Representations

• All job postings are genuine, accurate, and relate to actual employment opportunities;
• Job postings comply with all applicable employment laws, including anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation;
• They have the authority to post on behalf of the employer entity, which is duly registered and legally operating;
• They will not use the Platform for the purpose of collecting candidate data for any purpose other than genuine recruitment.

7.3 Indemnification

Each User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Hirance Private Limited, its directors, officers, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses arising out of or in connection with any breach of these representations or warranties.

8. Enforcement, Remedies, and Dispute Resolution

8.1 Hirance's Enforcement Rights

• Immediate removal of infringing or violating User Content from the Platform;
• Temporary or permanent suspension of the User's account and access to the Platform;
• Permanent termination of the User's account and all associated rights under these Terms;
• Blocking the User's IP address or device from accessing the Platform;
• Reporting the violation to relevant law enforcement authorities or regulatory bodies;
• Disclosure of the User's identity and related information to authorities in accordance with applicable law.

8.2 Legal Remedies

• Filing a civil suit for copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, 1957;
• Seeking trademark infringement remedies under the Trade Marks Act, 1999;
• Initiating criminal proceedings under the IPC, the IT Act, or the Copyright Act for wilful violations;
• Applying for an ex parte injunction or interlocutory relief from a competent court;
• Seeking specific performance, restitution, or such other equitable relief as the circumstances may warrant.

8.3 Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of India. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of competent jurisdiction located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

8.4 Arbitration

Hirance reserves the right to elect to resolve any dispute by binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The proceedings shall be conducted in English.

9. Third-Party Content and Links

9.1 Third-Party Content

The Platform may contain or provide access to content, materials, or information originating from third parties. Hirance does not own, control, endorse, or assume any responsibility for any third-party content accessible through the Platform.

9.2 Third-Party Links

The Platform may contain hyperlinks to external websites or resources operated by third parties. Hirance does not endorse the content of any linked website and is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or legality of any content on such third-party websites.

9.3 Open Source Components

The Platform may incorporate open-source software components that are subject to their own licence terms. A list of open-source components and their applicable licences is available upon written request to hello@hirance.com.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Platform, its content, and all features and services provided through it are made available on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without any representation or warranty of any kind. Hirance expressly disclaims all implied warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and accuracy.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted under applicable Indian law, in no event shall Hirance Private Limited, its directors, officers, employees, agents, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages arising out of or in connection with the use or inability to use the Platform or any content thereon.

Hirance's total aggregate liability to any User for any claim arising under or in connection with these Terms shall not exceed the total fees paid by such User to Hirance in the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

12. Modifications to These Terms

Hirance reserves the right to modify, update, or replace any part of these Terms at any time, at its sole discretion. Updated Terms will be published on the Platform with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the Platform following the publication of updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to be bound by the revised Terms.

13. Severability and Waiver

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be deemed severed from these Terms to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

14. Contact Information

For all matters relating to intellectual property rights, Takedown Requests, licensing enquiries, or questions regarding these Terms, please contact: