Terms and Conditions of Use

1. Introduction and Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to Softorage ("Softorage," “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms and Conditions of Use ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," “you,” or “your”) and Softorage, governing your access to and use of https://softorage.com and its sub-domains, microsites, features, and content (collectively, the “Website” or “Service”).

By accessing, browsing, scraping, linking to, or using our Website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms, as well as our Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Cookie Policy, which are incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you must immediately cease using the Website.

1.1. Eligibility and Age Requirement: By accessing our Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age (or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction) and possess the full legal capacity to enter into this binding agreement.

2. Nature of the Service & Intermediary Status

2.1. Curated Directory: Softorage operates solely as an informational, search, and curated directory platform for software applications, tools, and digital utilities. We provide organized software metadata, editorial overviews, version details, and outbound referral links to third-party developer websites and official repositories.
2.2. Statutory Intermediary Safe Harbor: Softorage is an “Intermediary” as defined under Section 2(1)(w) of the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000, and equivalent international safe-harbor legal frameworks. Softorage does not initiate transmissions, select the recipients of any transmission, or modify the software packages distributed by external third parties.
2.3. No Software Hosting or Distribution: Softorage does not develop, host, store, execute, or distribute executable software binaries, installer files, or digital assets. All download links redirect users to external, independently operated domains.
2.4. Independent Status: Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Softorage is an independent entity and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the developers or publishers listed in our directory.

3. User Responsibilities, Acceptable Use, and Prohibited Activities

By using our Website, you agree to comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws, including the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

3.1. Prohibited Conduct under IT Rules, 2021: You strictly agree that you shall not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update, or share any information or use the Website in a manner that:

Belongs to another person and to which you do not have any right;
Is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, invasive of another’s privacy, insulting or harassing on the basis of gender, racially or ethnically objectionable, or promotes money laundering or gambling;
Infringes any patent, trademark, copyright, or other proprietary rights;
Violates any law for the time being in force;
Deceives or misleads the addressee about the origin of the message or knowingly communicates any misinformation;
Threatens the unity, integrity, defense, security, or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order;
Contains software viruses, logic bombs, Trojans, or any other computer code designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer resource.

3.2. Automated Scraping, Crawling, and AI / LLM Model Training Restrictions:

You agree not to use any “deep-link,” “page-scrape,” “robot,” “spider,” indexer, offline reader, or other automatic device, program, algorithm, or methodology to access, acquire, copy, monitor, or extract any portion of the Website, its directory taxonomy, database, or content.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Prohibition: You are expressly prohibited from scraping, extracting, harvesting, or ingesting any content, metadata, reviews, or descriptions from this Website for the purpose of training, fine-tuning, developing, or validating any Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, Large Language Models (LLMs), machine learning algorithms, or datasets without our prior, express written commercial licensing agreement.

3.3. Infrastructure Protection: You shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Website, probe or scan system vulnerabilities, or launch Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS) attacks against our infrastructure.

4. Intellectual Property and Trademark Rights

4.1. Softorage Ownership: All original content, site architecture, editorial reviews, visual interfaces, graphics, design, compilation, computer code, software directory databases, and our trademarks, logos, and service marks (“Softorage IP”) are the exclusive property of Softorage and are protected by Indian and international intellectual property laws.
4.2. Permitted Nominative Fair Use: You may refer to our name and brand solely for the purpose of truthful, non-commercial identification, news reporting, or editorial commentary under the doctrine of nominative fair use, provided that such use does not imply any affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement by Softorage.
4.3. Trademark Restrictions and Revocation: You strictly agree not to use our name, trademarks, logos, or copyrighted copy as part of any company name, trade name, domain name, social media handle, or commercial product without our prior written authorization. Softorage reserves the right to revoke any permission or fair use license granted for the use of its trademarks or branding at any time, for any reason, without prior notice.
4.4. Third-Party Trademarks: All third-party software names, brand icons, trademarks, and logos displayed on the Website belong to their respective proprietary owners. Their display on Softorage is strictly for descriptive, editorial identification and does not imply endorsement or partnership.

5. Linking to Our Website, Framing, and Hotlinking

5.1. Fair and Legal Linking: You are welcome to link to our homepage or published software directory pages, provided that the link is fair, legal, and does not harm, dilute, or exploit our reputation. You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval, sponsorship, or endorsement on our part where none exists.
5.2. Prohibited Sources: You strictly agree not to link to our Website from any external platform or website that contains unlawful, defamatory, obscene, indecent, malicious, abusive, or misleading content, or that violates any applicable local or international laws.
5.3. Framing, Mirroring, and Hotlinking: You strictly agree not to frame, embed, mirror, or otherwise incorporate any portion of the Website into any other website or application (including via iframes or UI redressing). Furthermore, you are expressly prohibited from inline linking (hotlinking) to any images, graphics, stylesheets, or visual assets hosted on our infrastructure without our express prior written authorization.
5.4. Right to Withdraw Permission: Softorage reserves the absolute right to revoke linking permissions at any time, for any reason, without prior notice. Upon receipt of a formal revocation notice, you agree to immediately remove all hyperlinks, embeds, or references to our Website.

6. Third-Party Content, External Software, and Advertisements

6.1. User Assumption of Risk: Softorage provides external links to third-party developer websites where software can be acquired. Visiting external links and downloading third-party software is done entirely at your own independent discretion and risk.
6.2. No Safety or Quality Guarantee: We do not audit, warrant, or verify the safety, code integrity, license legality, or system compatibility of third-party software. Softorage accepts no liability for malware, viruses, data loss, ransomware, hardware damage, or financial loss resulting from third-party software.
6.3. Advertising Networks (Google AdSense): We display third-party advertisements across our Website. Advertisements do not represent an endorsement or guarantee by Softorage. Any transactions or interactions between you and third-party advertisers are solely between you and the respective advertiser.
6.4. Third-Party Terms: Once you navigate away from Softorage via an outbound link, you become subject to the terms of service, End User License Agreements (EULAs), and privacy policies of the destination website.

7. Intellectual Property Infringement & Takedown Protocol

Softorage respects the intellectual property rights of software developers and rights holders and complies with statutory takedown protocols under the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 and international copyright laws.

If you are an authorized copyright or trademark owner and wish to request the modification or removal of a software listing or logo:

7.1. Submission: Submit a formal notice to our Grievance Officer via our Contact Us page detailing: (a) your full legal name, company name, and authorization proof; (b) the specific work infringed; (c) the exact URL on our Website; and (d) a statement of good faith belief.
7.2. Processing & Turnaround: In accordance with statutory requirements, our Grievance Officer will acknowledge receipt of your notice within 24 to 48 hours and investigate and dispose of the grievance within the timelines prescribed by applicable law (not exceeding 15 days).

8. Paid Sponsorships, Promotions, and Cancellations

8.1. Commercial Services: Softorage may offer paid promotional visibility packages, sponsored directory placements, or developer advertising slots. By purchasing these services, you agree to the specific pricing, duration, and billing terms presented at checkout.
8.2. Governing Policies: All commercial transactions, billing disputes, cancellations, and refund requests are governed strictly by our separate Cancellation Policy and Refund Policy.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

9.1. “AS IS” & “AS AVAILABLE”: THE WEBSITE AND ALL DIRECTORY CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS.
9.2. Comprehensive Disclaimer: TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SOFTORAGE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, SECURITY, FREEDOM FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, TIMELY, OR SECURE.

10. Limitation of Liability and Financial Cap

10.1. Exclusion of Consequential Damages: TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL SOFTORAGE, ITS FOUNDERS, OPERATORS, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF DATA, SYSTEM DOWNTIME, HARDWARE DAMAGE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE OR ANY THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE LINKED THROUGH OUR SERVICE.
10.2. Monetary Liability Ceiling: TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE SHALL BE STRICTLY CAPPED AT:

(A) FOR NON-PAYING USERS: ZERO (₹0 INR / $0 USD) OR THE STATUTORY MINIMUM PERMITTED BY LAW; OR
(B) FOR PAYING CLIENTS (E.G., SPONSORS): THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO SOFTORAGE IN THE THREE (3) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Softorage, its founders, operators, affiliates, licensors, and service providers from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or resulting from: (a) your use of and access to the Website; (b) your violation of any provision of these Terms or the IT Rules, 2021; (c) your unauthorized scraping, data harvesting, or automated crawling of the platform; or (d) your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property or privacy rights.

12. Suspension and Termination

We reserve the absolute right, in our sole discretion and without prior notice or liability, to suspend, restrict, block, or terminate your access to the Website or any part thereof for any reason, including but not limited to: (a) breach of these Terms; (b) automated scraping or bot activities; (c) suspected malicious conduct; or (d) requirements under court orders or regulatory mandates.

13. Modifications to These Terms

Softorage reserves the right to revise, amend, or replace these Terms at any time without individual prior notice. Any updates will become effective immediately upon posting to this page, with an updated “Last Updated” revision date. Your continued use of the Website following the publication of any modifications constitutes your binding acceptance of the updated Terms.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

14.1. Governing Law: These Terms, their interpretation, validity, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes) shall be governed by, construed, and enforced strictly in accordance with the substantive laws of the Republic of India, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
14.2. Exclusive Jurisdiction: You irrevocably and unconditionally agree that the competent courts situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, shall have exclusive territorial and subject-matter jurisdiction to resolve and settle any claim, dispute, lawsuit, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service.

15. Statutory Grievance Redressal & Contact Information

In accordance with Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), the details of the designated Grievance Officer are set out below:

Designation: Chief Grievance Redressal & Compliance Officer
Entity: Softorage
Electronic Submission: Please submit all legal notices, IP infringement reports, or user grievances via our Contact Us page
Physical Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Grievance Response Timeline: All formal complaints will be acknowledged within 24 to 48 hours and resolved within the statutory timeline of 15 days from receipt.

By continuing to access or use Softorage, you explicitly confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use.