Terms and Conditions

Use of Services

Age and Capacity: Only adults (18+) with the full legal capacity to enter into legally binding agreements are eligible to use the contractor's services. You attest that you fulfil these requirements by placing an order for our services. Minors and others without the necessary legal capacity are not served by the contractor.

Lawful Use: You promise to use the Website and the Services only for legitimate purposes and in accordance with the law. It is your responsibility to abide by all applicable rules and regulations in Hong Kong and your jurisdiction when using our services. In order to confirm that you are complying with legal obligations, the Contractor may ask you for the information or documents that are required (such as papers for KYC procedures in line with AML legislation). We reserve the right to suspend or stop the provision of the Services if you refuse to provide such information or if we discover user infractions.

Right to Refuse Service

If you breach these Terms, laws, or regulatory requirements, or if your conduct could endanger us or third parties, we reserve the right to refuse to provide the Services, suspend, or terminate your use of the Website and Services at any time. In particular, access to the Services may be immediately terminated without notice for giving false information, committing fraud, trying to get around the Website's security measures, or indulging in any other dishonest behaviour. Any losses or damages you sustain as a result of such termination will not be covered by the Contractor.

Prohibited Activities

The following behaviours are prohibited when using the website and its services:

• Breaking the law: Use the services for any illegal reason or to help carry out any activity that goes against the law or regulations in effect. This covers violations of laws pertaining to export control, sanctions, anti-money laundering, tax evasion, and other legal obligations.
• Providing False Information: Purposefully giving incorrect, erroneous, or deceptive information when contacting us or placing an order for services. You must give accurate and current information about who you are and what you do.
• Fraudulent and Malicious Actions: Participate in any action that could endanger the Contractor, other clients, or third parties, including fraud and deception. Hacking assaults, dissemination of malicious software, unauthorised access attempts to any part of the website, website overload (DoS/DDoS), and other activities endangering service security are all strictly forbidden.
• Violation of Third-party Rights: Use the Services to harass, threaten, or insult other people, or to violate their rights, such as their intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or personal data rights.
• Other Abuse: Any further usage of the website and services that might be deemed inappropriate, dishonest, or incompatible with the goals for which they are offered. Any violation of these restrictions is considered a major breach of these terms, and the Contractor may take the necessary action (such as contract termination, suspension of service, or referral to law enforcement).

Use for Business Purposes Only (B2B Service)

Our services are not offered to consumers (natural persons) for domestic, family, or personal use; rather, they are only offered to business clients (legal entities or individual entrepreneurs operating within their entrepreneurial activity). When the facts of a given case make it abundantly evident that the client is a natural person acting outside of their business or professional interests, an exception is made for the provision of legal services pertaining to civil law issues (for example, matters relating to family or inheritance law). By placing an order for the Services, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Business Purpose: Your use of the Services is part of your professional, business, or entrepreneurial endeavours. You are an authorised representative of a business or an entrepreneur, not a consumer looking for services for personal use. According to Hong Kong law, an entrepreneur is someone who acts within the parameters of their economic operations, whereas a consumer is a natural person who engages in a transaction unrelated to their own economic or professional activities. In relation to the transactions you have completed with us, you affirm that you are an entrepreneur and not a consumer.
• Exclusion of Consumer Protection: Your interaction with us is exempt from the particular consumer protection laws that apply to persons since you are not a customer. In a similar vein, our commercial connection is specifically prohibited from any additional warranties, seller obligations, or legal rights offered to customers. We don't offer you the extra guarantees of service quality or legal recourse that are necessary when interacting with customers.
• Entrepreneurial Risks: You understand and agree to all business-related risks that could result from using the Services. These risks include, but are not limited to, market, operational, legal, and financial hazards. Even if the use of our services is somehow connected to your company operations, the Contractor is not responsible for any indirect effects, including lost earnings, lost reputation, or commercial damages. You acknowledge that all services are performed in a business-to-business (B2B) setting and that you are exempt from consumer protection laws.

This clause makes it clear that the parties' relationship is business-related and not meant for personal use. You attest that you are aware of the legal ramifications of this position and promise not to use consumer protection clauses in the event of disagreements or claims.

User Representations and Warranties

By using our website and services and placing an order, you attest and guarantee that the following conditions are met both when you accept these terms and throughout the period of their validity:

• No Nominee Status: You are not representing any organisation or third party as a nominee (front person). In particular, you are not concealing the ultimate beneficial owner by serving as a nominee director, nominee shareholder, or in any other such representative capacity. Every action is taken in your own name and in your own best interests, not those of any unidentified third party, or in the best interests of the business you represent and have told us about.
• Not a PEP: You do not meet the requirements set forth by the relevant anti-money laundering laws and regulations to be considered a Politically Exposed Person (PEP). High-ranking public officials, their close family members, and associates are typically considered politically exposed persons and are subject to extra due diligence procedures. You attest that you don't have such roles and that you don't meet the requirements to be a PEP.
• No Sanctions: No state, international organisation (such as the UN or the EU), or regulatory body has placed you on any lists of sanctions or subjected you to any current trade or economic sanctions, embargoes, or restrictions. Specifically, there are no international restrictions imposed on you, your beneficial owners, or the businesses you own or run.
• Lawful Source of Funds: All of the funds, capital, and income that you utilise to place orders and make payments for our services come from legitimate sources. Your money is not obtained illegally, nor is it associated with any criminal activity, including fraud, tax evasion, or the financing of terrorism. You promise to utilise only authentic, legally obtained funds and, if required, to be ready to produce proof of their source.
• No Activities in High-Risk Countries: You do not operate, register, or conduct business in any high-risk nations (also known as third countries with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies) that have been determined by the relevant EU or international bodies to have significant deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.

Intellectual Property Rights

All content on the Website, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, audio clips, video clips, software, and other materials, is the property of the Contractor or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not use, reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from any content on the Website without our prior written consent. Any unauthorised use of our intellectual property may result in legal action.

The content on the website is protected by trade secret law, copyright law, trademark law, and other relevant laws. No content on our website may be reproduced, copied, published, transferred to third parties, distributed, altered, or used in any other way without our prior written approval. Only when such use is expressly permitted by law (for example, quoting with credit in a context supported by the citing purpose) or on the website itself are exceptions applicable. By giving you access to the Website and Services, no intellectual property rights in the content are transferred or granted to you. Every legal owner of the content on the website retains ownership of such rights. The Contractor's trademarks, trade names, Equilex Limited's corporate identity, and other visual components are either registered or unregistered. You are only allowed to use them with our permission. Any copyright, trademark, or other rights-related notices that are published on the Website may not be removed, hidden, or altered by you.

Confidential Information

Confidential information may be shared via communications between you and the Contractor. Any information or materials that are specifically marked as confidential or that are by definition confidential—that is, information that a reasonable person would understand to be sensitive, secretive, and not meant for public disclosure—are considered confidential information. Internal business or financial data, business plans, technical paperwork, trade secrets, client information, know-how, individually negotiated letters, documents provided for KYC/AML purposes, etc. are examples of confidential information.

You and we both promise to maintain the strictest confidentiality regarding the Confidential Information that we receive from the other party. In order to fulfil its obligations and exercise its rights under the terms of the parties' relationship, the receiving party agrees to: (a) use the Confidential Information only for the proper rendering and receiving of Services; (b) not disclose or transfer the Confidential Information to third parties without the disclosing party's prior written consent, unless required by law or an official request from competent authorities; and (c) provide at least the same level of confidentiality protection for the received information as it does for its own confidential information of a similar nature (but in any event, not less than a reasonable level of care).

Information that was legally known to the receiving party at the time of disclosure and was not obtained from the disclosing party, became publicly available without the receiving party's fault, was legally disclosed by a third party without confidentiality obligations, or was independently developed by the receiving party without using the other party's confidential information is exempt from the confidentiality obligations.

Unless retention of certain information is mandated by law or justified for archival purposes (e.g., copies of contracts), each party shall, at the request of the other, destroy or return all confidential information provided (including copies, records, etc.) upon termination of the parties' relationship (termination of the contract or Terms). Unless otherwise agreed or stipulated by law, the duties under this section will remain in effect after the services are completed as long as the pertinent information is kept private, but at least for three years after the relationship ends.

Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

The laws of Hong Kong will apply to all interactions between you and the Contractor that result from using the Website and receiving services. The parties explicitly agree on the choice of Hong Kong law, therefore conflict-of-law provisions are excluded to the extent that they suggest the applicability of another jurisdiction's law.

Through discussions and mutual consultation, the parties will attempt to settle any disagreements, claims, or disputes resulting from or connected to these Terms or specific service agreements. The Hong Kong courts will ultimately decide such conflicts if a peaceful resolution is not possible. This does not negate the parties' ability to go to courts in another country to enforce a Hong Kong court ruling or in cases where required legal provisions establish exclusive jurisdiction.

Amendments to the Terms

The Contractor retains the right to unilaterally add to and modify these Terms. Updates to our services, modifications to relevant laws, an extension of the services' scope, or other business requirements may all cause such changes. If the Terms change, the updated version will be posted on the Website (either expressly or at the top of the page with the date of the update). Unless a later effective date is specified, changes will take effect immediately following the amended Terms' publication on the Website.

To stay up to date on the most recent version, we advise frequently checking the Terms area of our website. If there are significant changes that impact your rights and responsibilities, we will try our best to let you know (for instance, by email or a pop-up notification on the Website). You agree to the updated Terms if you keep using the Website or placing service orders after the changes go into effect. You should stop using the website and services if you don't agree with the changes. You can also end the service agreement by giving us notice if you need to. In these situations, orders that have already been placed will, if at all feasible, be governed by the terms that were in force at the time of ordering or the contract.

Contact Information

Please get in touch with us directly if you have any queries, remarks, or claims about these terms or the services we offer. We appreciate customer comments and will try our best to answer your questions as soon as possible. Contractor's Contact Information:

Email is the recommended means of communication. Please get in touch with us at any time, and we will do our best to respond in 1-2 business days. Please indicate in the subject line of your email if your question concerns the performance of a specific contract or whether it has to be resolved immediately.

Final Provisions

The complete agreement between you (the Client) and the Contractor regarding your use of this Website and purchased Services is contained in these Terms, as well as any other policies mentioned in the "General Provisions" section. They take precedence over all previous written or verbal agreements, arrangements, and correspondence pertaining to the same topic. Unless specifically agreed upon in writing by the Contractor, any other terms or conditions you try to apply or include (for instance, in an order or letter) will not be effective. The legality and enforceability of the remaining elements of these Terms shall not be affected if a competent court finds any of them to be illegal, void, or unenforceable. In this situation, the invalid clause will be interpreted (or substituted) in a way that is both legal and most nearly maintains the parties' original intent and economic meaning.

Waiver of Rights in Case of Breach

Any right or remedy under these Terms shall not be deemed waived by any party's failure or delay in exercising such right or remedy. We reserve the right to enforce any of these Terms' provisions later or to treat them as still in force even if we do not require strict adherence to them. Only when made in writing and signed by a fully authorised representative of the waiving party will any waiver or concession be deemed legitimate.

Assignment of Rights and Obligations

Without our prior written agreement, you are not permitted to assign or otherwise transfer your rights or responsibilities under these Terms to any other person. However, if you are informed and your legal interests are upheld, the Contractor may transfer its rights and responsibilities to any affiliate or successor company (for instance, in the event of a corporate restructuring, merger, or sale of the enterprise).

Relationship of the Parties

Nothing in these Terms establishes an agency relationship, employment relationship, joint venture, or partnership between you and us. We are independent contractors only. Without our specific written consent, you are not permitted to speak for Equilex Limited or offer any commitments. You attest that you have read these Terms carefully, understand all of its provisions, and promise to abide by them in full. We appreciate your interest in and confidence in our offerings. We wish your company ongoing success and look forward to a productive working relationship.