Terms of Use

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) were last updated on April 01, 2024.

ScholarNest’s mission is to help professionals build their success and grow in their careers through continuous learning. We enable professionals to create and share educational content (instructors) and access that educational content to learn (students). We consider our platform a great way to offer valuable educational content to our users. We need rules to keep our platform and services safe for you, our student and instructor community, and us. These Terms apply to all your activities on the ScholarNest website, the ScholarNest mobile applications, our APIs, and other related services (“Services”).

If you publish a course on the ScholarNest platform, you must also agree to the Instructor Terms presented to you when you join the instructor community. We also provide details regarding our processing of the personal data of our students and instructors in our Privacy Policy.

IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE

IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE OR SERVICES. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE TERMS REQUIRE ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND SCHOLARNEST TO BE RESOLVED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, NOT BY ANY CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

Please read these Terms carefully before using the Website or purchasing a subscription to the Services. By using the Website and/or purchasing a subscription, you accept and agree to these Terms.

1. Accounts

You need an account for most activities on our platform. Keep your password somewhere safe because you’re responsible for all activity associated with your account. If you suspect someone else is using your account, let us know by contacting our Support Team. You must have reached the age of consent for online services in your country to use ScholarNest.

You need an account for most activities on our platform, including purchasing and accessing content or submitting content for publication. When setting up and maintaining your account, you must provide and continue to provide accurate and complete information, including a valid email address. You have complete responsibility for your account and everything that happens on your account, including any harm or damage (to us or anyone else) caused by someone using your account without your permission. It means you need to be careful with your password. You may not transfer your account to someone else or use someone else’s account. If you contact us to request access to an account, we will not grant you such access unless you can provide us with the information that we need to prove you are the owner of that account. In the event of the death of a user, the account of that user will be closed.

You may not share your account login credentials with anyone else. You are responsible for what happens with your account, and ScholarNest will not intervene in disputes between students or instructors who have shared account login credentials. You must notify us immediately upon learning that someone else may be using your account without your permission (or if you suspect any other breach of security) by contacting our Support Team. We may request some information from you to confirm that you are indeed the owner of your account.

Students and instructors must be at least 18 years of age to create an account on ScholarNest and use the Services. If you are younger than 18 but above the required age for consent to use online services where you live, you may not set up an account. Still, we encourage you to invite a parent or guardian to open an account and help you access appropriate content. If you are below this age of consent to use online services, you may not create a ScholarNest account. If we discover that you have created an account that violates these rules, we will terminate your account. Under our Instructor Terms, you may be requested to verify your identity before you are authorized to submit content for publication on ScholarNest.

You can terminate your account at any time by contacting our support team. Check our Privacy Policy to see what happens when you terminate your account.

2. Content Enrollment and Access

When you enroll in a course or other content, you get a license from us to view it via the ScholarNest Services and no other use. Don’t try to transfer or resell the content in any way. We generally grant you a yearly access license or enrollments via Subscription Plans, except when we must disable the content for legal or policy reasons.

Under our Instructor Terms, when instructors publish content on ScholarNest, they grant ScholarNest a license to offer students a license to the content. It means that we have the right to sublicense the content to enrolled students. As a student, when you enroll in a course or other content, whether it’s free or paid content, you are getting a license from ScholarNest to view the content via the ScholarNest platform and Services, and ScholarNest is the licensor of record. Content is licensed and not sold to you. This license does not give you any right to resell the content in any manner (including by sharing account information with a purchaser or illegally downloading the content and sharing it on torrent sites).

In legal, more complete terms, ScholarNest grants you (as a student) a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and view the content for which you have paid all required fees, solely for your personal, non-commercial, educational purposes through the Services, per these Terms and any conditions or restrictions associated with the particular content or feature of our Services. All other uses are expressly prohibited. You may not reproduce, redistribute, transmit, assign, sell, broadcast, rent, share, lend, modify, adapt, edit, create derivative works of, sublicense, or otherwise transfer or use any content unless we give you explicit permission to do so in a written agreement signed by a ScholarNest authorized representative. IT also applies to content you can access via any of our APIs.

We generally give our students a yearly access license when they enroll in a course or other content. However, we reserve the right to revoke any license to access and use any content at any point in time in the event where we decide or are obligated to disable access to the content due to legal or policy reasons, for example, if the course or other content you enrolled in is the object of a copyright complaint, or if we determine it violates our Trust & Safety Guidelines. This yearly access license does not apply to enrollments via Subscription Plans or add-on features and services associated with the course or other content you enroll. For example, instructors may decide to provide no teaching assistance or Q&A services associated with the content. To be clear, the yearly access is to the course content but not to the instructor.

Instructors may not grant licenses to their content to students directly, and any such direct license shall be null and void and a violation of these Terms.

3. Payments, Credits, and Refunds

When you make a payment, you agree to use a valid payment method. ScholarNest offers a 7-day refund for most content purchases if you aren’t happy with your content. We also offer a 7-day free trial for our subscription plan.

3.1 Pricing

The prices of content on ScholarNest are determined based on the terms of the Instructor Terms and our Promotions Policy. In some instances, the content price offered on the ScholarNest website may not be the same as the price offered on our mobile applications due to mobile platform providers’ pricing systems and their policies around implementing sales and promotions.

We occasionally run promotions and sales for our content, during which specific content is available at discounted prices for a set period. The price applicable to the content will be the price when you complete your purchase of the content (at checkout). Any price offered for particular content may also be different when logged into your account from the price available to users who aren’t registered or logged in because some of our promotions are available only to new users.

The price currency is preferred to Indian currency (INR/Rupees). However, we do enable users to see pricing in other currencies depending on their location or currency preference.

Suppose you are a student in a country where use and sales tax, goods and services tax, or value-added tax apply to consumer sales. In that case, we are responsible for collecting and remitting that tax to the proper tax authorities. Depending on your location, the price you see may include such taxes, or tax may be added at checkout.

3.2 Payments

You agree to pay the fees for content that you purchase, and you authorize us to charge your debit or credit card or process other means of payment (such as direct debit or mobile wallet) for those fees. ScholarNest works with payment service providers to offer you the most convenient payment methods in your country and keep your payment information secure. We may update your payment methods using the information provided by our payment service providers.

When you make a purchase, you agree not to use an invalid or unauthorized payment method. If your payment method fails and you still get access to the content you are enrolling in, you agree to pay us the corresponding fees within thirty (7) days of notification from us. We reserve the right to disable access to any content for which we have not received adequate payment.

3.3 Refunds and Refund Credits

If the content you purchased is not what you were expecting, you can request, within 7-days of your purchase of the content, that ScholarNest apply a refund to your account. This refund option does not apply to Subscription Plan purchases, which is covered in Section “Subscription Plans” below. We reserve the right to refund as a refund credit or a refund to your original payment method, or other at our discretion, depending on the capabilities of our payment service providers, the platform from which you purchased your content, and other factors. No refund is due to you if you request it after the 7-day guarantee time limit has passed. ScholarNest also reserves the right to refund students beyond the 7-day limit in some cases.

To request a refund, contact our support team. As detailed in your Instructor Terms, instructors agree that students have the right to receive these refunds.
If we decide to issue refund credits to your account, they will be automatically applied towards your next content purchase on our website but can’t be used for purchases in our mobile applications. Refund credits may expire if not used within the specified period and have no cash value in each case unless otherwise required by applicable law.

At our discretion, if we believe you are abusing our refund policy, such as if you’ve consumed more than 15% of the content that you want to refund or if you’ve previously refunded the content, we reserve the right to deny your refund, restrict you from other future refunds, ban your account, and/or restrict all future use of the Services. If we ban your account or disable your access to the content due to your violation of these Terms, you will not be eligible to receive a refund.

3.4 Gift and Promotional Codes

ScholarNest or our partners may offer gift and promotional codes to students. You may redeem specific codes for a gift or promotional credits applied to your ScholarNest account, which then may be used to purchase eligible content on our platform, subject to the terms included with your codes. Other codes may be directly redeemable for specific content. You cannot use gift and promotional credits for purchases in our mobile applications.

These codes and credits, as well as any promotional value linked to them, may expire if not used within the period specified in your ScholarNest account. Gift and promotional codes offered by ScholarNest may not be refunded for cash unless otherwise specified in the terms included with your codes or as required by applicable law. Gift and promotional codes offered by a partner are subject to that partner’s refund policies. If you have multiple saved credit amounts, ScholarNest may determine which credits to apply to your purchase.

4. Content and Behavior Rules

You can only use ScholarNest for lawful purposes. You’re responsible for all the content that you post on our platform. You should keep the reviews, questions, posts, courses, and other content you upload in line with the law and respect the intellectual property rights of others. We can ban your account for repeated or major offenses. If you think someone is infringing your copyright on our platform, let us know.

You may not access or use the Services or create an account for unlawful purposes. Your use of the Services and behavior on our platform must comply with your country’s applicable local or national laws or regulations. You are solely responsible for knowing and complying with such laws and regulations that apply to you.
If you are a student, the Services enable you to ask the instructors of courses or other content you are enrolled in and post content reviews in some instances. For certain content, the instructor may invite you to submit content as “homework” or tests. Don’t post or submit anything that is not yours.

If you are an instructor, you can submit content for publication on the platform, and you can also communicate with the students who have enrolled in your courses or other content. In both cases, you must abide by the law and respect the rights of others: you cannot post any course, question, answer, review, or other content that violates applicable local or national laws or regulations of your country. You are solely responsible for any courses, content, and actions you post or take via the platform and Services and their consequences. Ensure you understand all the copyright restrictions outlined in the Instructor Terms before submitting any content for publication on ScholarNest.

If we are put on notice that your course or content violates the law or the rights of others (for example, if it is established that it violates the intellectual property or image rights of others or is about an illegal activity), if we discover that your content or behavior violates our policy, or if we believe your content or behavior is unlawful, inappropriate, or objectionable (for example if you impersonate someone else), we may remove your content from our platform.

ScholarNest has discretion in enforcing these Terms. We may restrict or terminate your permission to use our platform and Services or ban your account at any time, with or without notice, for any or no reason, including for any violation of these Terms, if you fail to pay any fees when due, for fraudulent chargeback requests, upon the request of law enforcement or government agencies, for extended periods of inactivity, for unexpected technical issues or problems, if we suspect that you engage in fraudulent or illegal activities, or for any other reason in our sole discretion. Upon any such termination, we may delete your account and content and prevent you from further access to the platforms and use of our Services. Your content may still be available on the platforms even if your account is terminated or suspended. You agree that we will have no liability to you or any third party for termination of your account, removal of your content, or blocking your access to our platforms and services.

If a user has published content that infringes your copyright or trademark rights, please let us know. Our Instructor Terms require our instructors to follow the law and respect the intellectual property rights of others.

5. ScholarNest’s Rights to Content You Post

You retain ownership of the content you post to our platform, including your courses. We’re allowed to share the same content with anyone through any media, including promoting it via advertising on other websites.

The content you post as a student or instructor (including courses) remains yours. By posting courses and other content, you allow ScholarNest to reuse and share it, but you do not lose any ownership rights you may have over your content. If you are an instructor, be sure to understand the content licensing terms detailed in your Instructor Terms.

When you post content, comments, questions, reviews, and when you submit to us ideas and suggestions for new features or improvements, you authorize ScholarNest to use and share this content with anyone, distribute it and promote it on any platform and in any media, and to make modifications or edits to it as we see fit.
In legal language, by submitting or posting content on or through the platforms, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute your content (including your name and image) in any and all media or distribution methods (existing now or later developed). It includes making your content available to other companies, organizations, or individuals who partner with ScholarNest for the syndication, broadcast, distribution, or publication of content on other media, as well as using your content for marketing purposes. You also waive any rights of privacy, publicity, or other rights of a similar nature applicable to all these uses, to the extent permissible under applicable law. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power, and authority to authorize us to use any content you submit. You also agree to all such uses of your content with no compensation paid to you.

6. Using ScholarNest at Your Own Risk

Anyone can use ScholarNest to create and publish content, and we enable instructors and students to interact for teaching and learning. Like other platforms where people can post content and interact, some things can go wrong, and you use ScholarNest at your own risk.

Our platform model means we do not review or edit the content for legal issues, and we are not in a position to determine the legality of content. We do not exercise any editorial control over the content that is available on the platform and, as such, do not guarantee in any manner the reliability, validity, accuracy, or truthfulness of the content. If you access content, you rely on any information provided by an instructor at your own risk.

You may be exposed to content that you consider offensive, indecent, or objectionable by using the Services. ScholarNest has no responsibility to keep such content from you and no liability for your access or enrollment in any course or other content to the extent permissible under applicable law. IT also applies to any content relating to health, wellness, and physical exercise. You acknowledge the inherent risks and dangers in the brutal nature of these types of content. By accessing such content, you voluntarily assume those risks, including the risk of illness, bodily injury, disability, or death. You assume full responsibility for the choices you make before, during, and after your access to the content.

When you interact directly with a student or an instructor, you must be careful about your personal information types. While we restrict the types of information instructors may request from students, we do not control what students and instructors do with their information from other users on the platform. You should not share your email or other personal information about you for your safety.

We do not hire or employ instructors, nor are we responsible for any interactions between instructors and students. We are not liable for disputes, claims, losses, injuries, or damage of any kind that might arise out of or relate to the conduct of instructors or students.

When you use our Services, you will find links to other websites that we don’t own or control. We are not responsible for the content or any other aspect of these third-party sites, including their collection of information about you. You should also read their terms and conditions and privacy policies.

7. ScholarNest’s Rights

We own the ScholarNest platform and Services, including the website, present or future apps and services, and things like our logos, API, code, and content created by our employees. You can’t tamper with those or use them without authorization.

All right, title and interest in and to the ScholarNest platform and Services, including our website, our existing or future applications, our APIs, databases, and the content our employees or partners submit or provide through our Services (but excluding content provided by instructors and students) are and will remain the exclusive property of ScholarNest and its licensors. Our platforms and services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of India and foreign countries. Nothing gives you a right to use the ScholarNest name or any ScholarNest trademarks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features. Any feedback, comments, or suggestions you may provide regarding ScholarNest or the Services is entirely voluntary. We will be free to use such feedback, comments, or suggestions as we see fit without any obligation.

You may not do any of the following while accessing or using the ScholarNest platform and Services:

8. Subscription Terms

This section covers additional terms that apply to your use of our subscription-based collections as a student (“Subscription Plans”). By using a Subscription Plan, you agree to the additional terms in this section.

8.1 Subscription Plans

During your subscription to a Subscription Plan, you get a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license from us to access and view the content included in that Subscription Plan via the Services. Except for the yearly access license grant, the terms included in the “Content Enrollment and Access” section above apply to enrollments via Subscription Plans.

The subscription you purchase or renew determines the scope, features, and price of your access to a Subscription Plan. You may not transfer, assign, or share your subscription with anyone else.

We reserve the right to revoke any license to use the content in our Subscription Plans for legal or policy reasons at any time and at our sole discretion, such as if we no longer have the right to offer the content through a Subscription Plan. The “Content Enrollment and Access” section includes additional information on our right to revoke.

8.2 Account Management

You may cancel your subscription at any time. If you cancel your subscription to a Subscription Plan, your access to that Subscription Plan will automatically end on the last day of your billing period. On cancellation, you will not be entitled to receive a refund or credit of any fees already paid for your subscription unless otherwise required by applicable law. For clarity, cancellation of a subscription does not terminate your ScholarNest account.

8.3 Free Trials & Renewals

Your subscription may start with a free trial. We specify the duration of the free trial period during your purchase of the subscription plan. ScholarNest determines free trial eligibility at our sole discretion and may limit eligibility or duration. We reserve the right to terminate the free trial and suspend your subscription if we determine that you aren’t eligible.

We will charge the subscription fee for your next billing cycle at the end of the free trial period. Your subscription will automatically renew according to your subscription settings (e.g., monthly or annually) unless you cancel your subscription before the end of the free trial period.

8.4 Payments and Billing

The subscription fee will be listed at the time of your purchase. You can visit our Support Page to learn more about finding the fees and dates applicable to your subscription. We may also be required to add taxes to your subscription fee as described in the “Payments, Credits, and Refunds” section above. Payments are non-refundable, and there are no refunds or credits for partially used periods unless otherwise required by applicable law.

To subscribe to a Subscription Plan, you must provide a payment method. By subscribing to a Subscription Plan and providing your billing information during checkout, you grant our payment service providers and us the right to process payment for the then-applicable fees via the payment method we have on record for you. At the end of each subscription term, we will automatically renew your subscription for the same length of term and process your payment method to pay the then-applicable fees.

Suppose we update your payment method using the information provided by our payment service providers (as described in the “Payments, Credits, and Refunds” section above). In that case, you authorize us to continue to charge the then-applicable fees to your updated payment method.

If we cannot process payment through the payment method, we have on file for you, or if you file a disputing chargeback charge made to your payment method and the chargeback is granted, we may suspend or terminate your subscription.

We reserve the right to change our Subscription Plans or adjust pricing for our Services at our sole discretion. Any price changes or changes to your subscription will take effect following notice to you, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

8.5 Subscription Disclaimers

We make no guarantees about the availability of any specific content in any Subscription Plan or any minimum amount of content in any Subscription Plan. At any point in the future, we reserve the right to offer or cease to offer additional features to any Subscription Plan or otherwise modify or terminate a Subscription Plan at our sole discretion. These disclaimers are in addition to those listed in the “Disclaimers” section below.

9. Miscellaneous Legal Terms

These Terms are like any other contract, and they have boring but important legal terms that protect us from the countless things that could happen and clarify the legal relationship between you and us.

9.1 Binding Agreement

You agree that by registering, accessing, or using our Services, you agree to enter into a legally binding contract with ScholarNest. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not register, access, or otherwise use any of our Services.

If you are an instructor accepting these Terms and using our Services on behalf of a company, organization, government, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so.

We may provide any version of these Terms in a language other than English for convenience. You understand and agree that the English language will control any conflict.

These Terms (including any agreements and policies linked from these Terms) constitute the entire agreement between you and us (including, if you are an instructor, the Instructor Terms).

If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable by applicable law, then that provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision, and the remainder of these Terms will continue in effect.

Even if we are delayed in exercising our rights or fail to exercise a right in one case, it doesn’t mean we waive our rights under these Terms, and we may decide to enforce them in the future. If we decide to waive any of our rights in a particular instance, it doesn’t mean we waive our rights generally or in the future.

The following sections shall survive the expiration or termination of these Terms: Sections (Content Enrollment and Access), (ScholarNest’s Rights to Content You Post), (Using ScholarNest at Your Own Risk), (ScholarNest’s Rights), (Subscription Disclaimers), and (Miscellaneous Legal Terms).

9.2 Disclaimers

It may happen that our platform is down, either for planned maintenance or because something goes down with the site. It may happen that one of our instructors is making misleading statements in their content. It may also happen that we encounter security issues. These are just examples. You accept that you will not have any recourse against us in any of these types of cases where things don’t work outright. In legal, more complete language, the Services, and their content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We (and our affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents) make no representations or warranties about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, security, lack of errors, or accuracy of the Services or their content, and expressly disclaim any warranties or conditions (express or implied), including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We (and our affiliates, suppliers, partners, and agents) make no warranty that you will obtain specific results from the use of the Services. Your use of the Services (including any content) is entirely at your own risk. Some jurisdictions don’t exclude implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

We may decide to cease making certain available features of the Services at any time and for any reason. Under no circumstances will ScholarNest or its affiliates, suppliers, partners, or agents be held liable for any damages due to such interruptions or lack of availability of such features.

We are not responsible for delay or failure of our performance of any of the Services caused by events beyond our reasonable control, like an act of war, hostility, or sabotage; natural disaster; electrical, internet, or telecommunication outage; or government restrictions.

9.3 Limitation of Liability

There are risks inherent to using our Services; for example, if you access health and wellness content like yoga, you injure yourself. You fully accept these risks, and you agree that you will have no recourse to seek damages against even if you suffer loss or damage from using our platform and Services. In legal, more complete language, to the extent permitted by law, we (and our suppliers, partners, and agents) will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages (including loss of data, revenue, profits, or business opportunities, or personal injury or death), whether arising in contract, warranty, tort, product liability, or otherwise, and even if we’ve been advised of the possibility of damages in advance. Our liability (and the liability of each of our suppliers, partners, and agents) to you or any third parties under any circumstance is limited to the greater of one hundred dollars ($100) or the amount you have paid us in the twelve (12) months before the event giving rise to your claims. Some jurisdictions don’t allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so some of the above may not apply to you.

9.4 Indemnification

If you behave in a way that gets us in legal trouble, we may exercise legal recourse against you. You agree to indemnify, defend (if we so request), and hold harmless ScholarNest, our group companies, and their officers, directors, suppliers, partners, and agents from against any third-party claims, demands, losses, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from (a) the content you post or submit, (b) your use of the Services (c) your violation of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any rights of a third party. Your indemnification obligation will survive the termination of these Terms and your use of the Services.

9.5 Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of India, without reference to its choice or conflicts of law principles, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts in Bangalore, India.

9.6 Legal Actions and Notices

No action, regardless of form, arising out of or relating to this agreement may be brought by either party more than one (1) year after the cause of action has accrued, except where this limitation cannot be imposed by law.

Any notice or other communication to be given hereunder will be in writing and given by registered or certified mail return receipt requested or email (by us to the email associated with your account or by you to [email protected]).

9.7 Relationship Between Us

You and we agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, contractor, or agency relationship exists between us.

9.8 No Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms (or the rights and licenses granted under them). For example, if you registered an account as an employee of a company, your account cannot be transferred to another employee. We may assign these Terms (or the rights and licenses granted under them) to another company or person without restriction. Nothing in these Terms confers any right, benefit, or remedy on any third-party person or entity. You agree that your account is non-transferable and that all rights to your account and other rights under these Terms terminate upon your death.

9.9 Sanctions and Export Laws

You warrant that you (as an individual or as a representative of any entity on whose behalf you use the Services) aren’t located in, or a resident of, any country that is subject to applicable India trade sanctions or embargoes (such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, or the Crimea region of Ukraine). You also warrant that you aren’t a person or entity named on any Indian government specially designated national or denied-party list.

If you become subject to such a restriction during the term of any agreement with ScholarNest, you will notify us within 24 hours, and we will have the right to terminate any further obligations to you, effective immediately and with no further liability to you (but without prejudice to your outstanding obligations to ScholarNest).

You may not access, use, export, re-export, divert, transfer or disclose any portion of the Services or any related technical information or materials, directly or indirectly, in violation of any Indian and other applicable country export control and trade sanctions laws, rules and regulations. You agree not to upload any content or technology (including information on encryption) whose export is controlled explicitly under such laws.

10. Updating These Terms

From time to time, we may update these Terms to clarify our practices or reflect new or different practices (such as when we add new features), and ScholarNest reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify and/or make changes to these Terms at any time. If we make any material change, we will notify you using prominent means, such as by email notice sent to the email address specified in your account or by posting a notice through our Services. Modifications will become effective on the day they are posted unless stated otherwise.

Your continued use of our Services after changes become effective shall mean that you accept those changes. Any revised Terms shall supersede all previous Terms.

11. How to Contact Us

The best way to get in touch with us is to contact our Support Team. We’d love to hear your questions, concerns, and feedback about our Services.
Thanks for teaching and learning with us!