Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) form a legally binding contract between you (“Client”, “you”, or “your”) and HikariWorks (“we”, “us”, or “our”), an engineering studio based in India.

By accessing our website at hikariworks.in, submitting a project inquiry, or commissioning any engineering, software, or AI service, you agree to comply with and be legally bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of an enterprise or entity, you represent and warrant that you possess the legal authority to bind that entity.

2. Scope of Services & Project Statements of Work (SOW)

HikariWorks delivers bespoke web development, backend engineering, cloud architectures, AI automation pipelines, and technical consulting.

Formal client engagements are governed by separate, mutually agreed Statements of Work (SOW), Proposals, or Service Agreements outlining specific technical milestones, deliverables, timelines, and compensation. In the event of a direct conflict between these general Terms and an executed SOW, the specific terms of the executed SOW shall take precedence for that engagement.

For projects involving Artificial Intelligence, large language models (LLMs), or agentic automation pipelines:

• Enterprise Privacy & Zero-Training: HikariWorks configures all external AI APIs (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Cloud) using enterprise-tier settings with zero data retention for model training, ensuring your proprietary operational data is never ingested into public foundational models.
• Probabilistic Nature of AI: Client acknowledges that machine learning models and large language models are probabilistic technologies. While HikariWorks designs robust verification guardrails, validation schemas, and human-in-the-loop controls, HikariWorks cannot guarantee that external AI model responses will be 100% error-free or free from hallucinations in every edge scenario.
• Third-Party Model Availability: HikariWorks is not liable for upstream service degradations, API outages, or policy changes introduced by third-party model providers.

HikariWorks utilizes modern visual media across this website, including royalty-free stock imagery, custom vector graphics, and AI-generated artwork:

6. International Billing, Currencies & Taxes

We serve clients globally across North America, Europe, the UK, Asia-Pacific, and India:

• Currencies Accepted: Project agreements may be invoiced in USD ($), EUR (€), GBP (£), or INR (₹) as explicitly stated in the SOW.
• Taxes: Unless explicitly noted otherwise, quoted professional fees are exclusive of applicable local taxes. International clients are responsible for any applicable local withholding taxes, reverse-charge VAT, or import tariffs in their domestic jurisdiction. Indian domestic clients are subject to applicable GST.
• Payment Terms: Invoices are payable within the net timeframe stipulated in the SOW (typically 14 days). Late payments may be subject to a statutory interest charge of 1.5% per month or the maximum permissible by law.

7. Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure

Each party agrees to safeguard the other party's Confidential Information (including source code, architectural schematics, commercial strategies, and customer data) with the same degree of care it exercises for its own confidential assets (and in no case less than reasonable care).

Confidential Information shall not be disclosed to any third party except to authorized contractors or advisors bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations, or as required by statutory court order.

8. Limited Warranty & Defect Remedy

HikariWorks warrants that custom deliverables will materially conform to the technical specifications defined in the applicable SOW for a period of thirty (30) days following final milestone delivery (“Warranty Period”).

During the Warranty Period, HikariWorks will make commercially reasonable efforts to fix reproducible bugs or non-conformities reported in writing by the Client at no extra cost. This warranty does not apply to issues arising from modifications made by third parties, hosting infrastructure failures, or changes to third-party APIs after handover.

These Terms and any non-contractual obligations arising out of them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the Republic of India, without regard to conflict of law principles.

In the event of any controversy, claim, or dispute:

1. Amicable Negotiation: The parties shall first attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute through executive-level amicable negotiations within thirty (30) days of written notice.
2. Binding Arbitration: If unresolved, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or our services shall be referred to and finally resolved by binding arbitration under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (as amended). The arbitration shall be conducted by a sole neutral arbitrator mutually appointed, held in the English language.
3. Jurisdiction: Subject to the arbitration clause, the competent courts situated in India shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any legal proceedings arising hereunder.

11. Compliance with Sanctions & Export Laws

Both parties represent and warrant that they comply with applicable international trade, economic sanctions, and export control regulations (including those administered by the US Department of the Treasury's OFAC, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and India). Neither party will engage in services that violate embargoes or international sanctions laws.