Terms of Use

White Bench · whitebench.co and the White Bench applications

Effective date: November 1, 2026 · Last updated: August 4, 2026 · Version 1.0

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) are an electronic record under the Information Technology Act 2000 and the rules made under it. They do not require a physical or digital signature and are published in accordance with Rule 3(1) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

These Terms are a binding agreement between you and Fresh Box Media Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act 2013 with its registered office at Louis Wadi, Thane West, Maharashtra 400604, operating the White Bench platform (“White Bench”, “we”, “us”, “our”). By registering on, accessing or using the White Bench website, applications and related services (together, the “Platform”), you accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

Note on entity: if the White Bench business is transferred to a separate legal entity, these Terms will be updated to name that entity as the contracting party and users will be notified.

1. Definitions

2. Eligibility and registration

You must be at least 18 years of age and competent to contract under the Indian Contract Act 1872. Doctors must hold a valid registration and complete identity verification against the National Medical Register, including OTP confirmation of their mobile number. Companies and Associations must complete organisational verification, and the individuals operating their accounts warrant that they are authorised to bind their organisation. You agree to provide information that is true, accurate and complete, and to keep it updated. We may decline, suspend or withdraw registration where verification fails or information proves false.

Accounts are personal to the registered user or organisation. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use.

3. What White Bench is, and what it is not

4. Engagements

A Company raises an Engagement requirement stating the format, specialty, role, scope and proposed Honorarium. The Platform places it before Doctors who fit. A Doctor is always free to accept or decline, and declining leaves no adverse mark. No Engagement begins until both sides have accepted the Scope of Work on the Platform.

The Scope of Work, once accepted by both sides, is the binding contract for that Engagement between the Company and the Doctor. These Terms govern the use of the Platform; the Scope of Work governs the Engagement. In the event of conflict concerning an Engagement, the Scope of Work prevails between the Company and the Doctor.

The Company is responsible for ensuring that each Engagement serves a genuine scientific or professional purpose, that the Honorarium reflects fair market value for the work, and that the Engagement complies with UCPMP and all applicable law. The Doctor is responsible for performing the Scope of Work professionally, for holding the qualifications claimed, and for compliance with the professional conduct regulations applicable to them, including the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002 and any regulations that replace them.

Either party to an Engagement may raise a dispute about that Engagement through the Platform. White Bench may facilitate resolution and may withhold release of disputed funds through the Payment Partner until resolution, but is not the adjudicator of Engagement disputes and bears no liability for the performance or non performance of any Engagement.

5. Honorariums, escrow and tax

On acceptance of a Scope of Work, the Company places the Engagement funds with the Payment Partner in a regulated account. White Bench never holds these funds. On completion of the Engagement as recorded on the Platform, the Honorarium is released to the Doctor’s verified bank account through the Payment Partner.

Tax is deducted at source on every settlement as applicable under the Income Tax Act 1961, including Sections 194J and 194R, and TDS certificates are issued in the ordinary course. Doctors are responsible for their own income tax obligations on Honorariums received and for providing a valid PAN. Companies are responsible for their reporting obligations. All fees and amounts on the Platform are exclusive of GST unless stated otherwise, and GST invoices are issued as applicable. Users must complete any KYC checks the Payment Partner requires under law; settlement cannot occur without them.

6. Fees

Doctors never pay to use the Platform. Companies and Associations pay the subscription, engagement, event, certificate registration and other fees set out in their order form or the pricing published on the Platform. Fees are payable in advance where so stated, are exclusive of GST and are non refundable except as stated in the order form or required by law. We may revise fees prospectively with at least [● 30] days’ notice; revisions do not affect a subscription period already paid for.

7. Certificate Wallet and verified issuers

Only verified organisations may register certificates. An issuing organisation warrants that every certificate it registers is genuine, accurately describes what it certifies and was earned by the person it names. A Doctor claims a certificate by confirming identity against their medical registration. We may remove any certificate, and suspend any issuer, where we have reason to believe a certificate is false, misleading or improperly issued, and we may mark such removal on the record. Certificates evidence what the issuer certified; White Bench verifies the issuer and the claiming Doctor’s identity but does not independently certify the underlying achievement.

A Doctor’s public profile shows the count of verified credentials. Individual certificates are shared only through share links the Doctor generates, each of which the Doctor can revoke.

8. Events and broadcasts

Organisers of events broadcast through the Platform are responsible for their content, for obtaining written speaker agreements covering recording and archiving, and for the accuracy of any accreditation claims. Every sponsored broadcast must carry the sponsor’s name on screen, and White Bench may add or require such disclosure. Recordings of scientific sessions may be restricted to registered Doctors, and organisers must apply such restriction where UCPMP or other law requires promotional or product related content to be directed only at healthcare professionals.

By speaking at or appearing in a broadcast, and subject to the speaker agreement, participants grant the organiser and White Bench a licence to transmit, record and archive the session on the Platform. Attendance verification records created at events form part of the Platform record described in Section 11.

9. Compliance obligations of all users

Every user agrees to comply with applicable law in connection with the Platform, including UCPMP, the DPDP Act, the Income Tax Act 1961, the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and professional conduct regulations. Without limiting that obligation:

• Companies must not use the Platform to provide, offer or disguise any gift, travel, hospitality, monetary benefit or other inducement to a Doctor, and must ensure every payment is for documented professional work at fair market value.
• Doctors must not solicit or accept through the Platform any benefit prohibited by their professional conduct regulations, and must disclose conflicts of interest where the Scope of Work requires.
• Associations must claim only accreditations actually granted, and must operate attendance and credit processes honestly.
• No user may attempt to move an Engagement initiated on the Platform off the Platform in order to avoid its records, controls or fees.

10. Prohibited conduct

You must not: impersonate any person or organisation, or misrepresent registration, verification or credentials; upload content that is false, misleading, defamatory, obscene, infringing, or otherwise objectionable under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules 2021; register or attempt to register a false certificate; interfere with, probe or circumvent the Platform’s security, verification or audit systems; scrape, harvest or extract data about Doctors or other users; use the Platform to advertise to or profile Doctors outside its engagement workflows; introduce malware or attempt unauthorised access; or use the Platform for any unlawful purpose. We may remove content and suspend or terminate accounts for breach, as set out in Section 15.

11. Records, audit logs and data

The Platform maintains complete, time stamped, append only records of material actions, including Engagement lifecycles, settlements, attendance verification and certificate registrations. You consent to this record keeping as an essential feature of the Platform. Records cannot be edited or deleted by any user or by White Bench administrators, and are retained for the periods described in the Privacy Policy, including statutory retention that survives account closure. Where the law compels disclosure of records to a regulator, council, tax authority or court, we will comply, disclosing only what the lawful request covers.

Personal data is handled as described in the Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. As between the parties, each Company and Association remains responsible under the DPDP Act for personal data it processes outside the Platform.

12. Intellectual property

The Platform, its software, design, trade marks including White Bench, and all content we create remain our property or that of our licensors. We grant you a limited, non exclusive, non transferable licence to use the Platform for its intended purpose during your registration. Content you upload remains yours; you grant us a non exclusive licence to host, display and process it as needed to operate the Platform and keep its records. Deliverables produced under an Engagement are owned as the Scope of Work provides; in the absence of provision, ownership follows applicable law between the Company and the Doctor.

13. Confidentiality

Information marked confidential or reasonably understood to be confidential, including Engagement terms, pricing and unpublished scientific material, must not be disclosed by the receiving user except to perform an Engagement, comply with law or with the discloser’s consent. This obligation survives account closure for 3 years, and indefinitely for personal data.

14. Third party services

Settlement is provided by the Payment Partner under its own terms, which the paying and receiving users accept as part of the settlement flow. Communications channels such as WhatsApp notifications are provided by third parties under their terms. We are not responsible for third party services beyond our contractual arrangements with them.

15. Suspension and termination

You may close your account at any time from your settings, subject to completing live Engagements and to statutory record retention. We may suspend or terminate an account, remove content or withhold Platform access where: verification fails or was procured by false information; we reasonably believe a user has breached Section 9 or 10 or applicable law; a competent authority so directs; or continued access creates legal or security risk. Where practicable we will give notice and an opportunity to respond. Serious breaches, including attempted inducements, false certificates and audit interference, may result in immediate termination and reporting to the appropriate authority. On termination, licences end, but records are retained as Section 11 provides and accrued rights and obligations survive.

16. Disclaimers

The Platform is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non infringement. We do not warrant uninterrupted or error free operation. Verification means the checks described on the Platform were completed; it is not a guarantee of any person’s conduct, competence or performance. Nothing on the Platform constitutes medical, legal, tax or investment advice. Compliance features assist users in meeting their legal obligations; each user remains responsible for its own compliance.

17. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, White Bench shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive loss, or for loss of profits, revenue, goodwill or data, arising from or in connection with the Platform. Our total aggregate liability to any Company or Association in any 12 month period shall not exceed the fees paid by it to us in that period. Our total aggregate liability to any Doctor shall not exceed ₹[● 10,000]. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Indian law, including liability for fraud.

18. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless White Bench, its directors, officers and employees from claims, losses and expenses, including reasonable legal costs, arising from your breach of these Terms, your content, your Engagements, or your violation of law or of third party rights, except to the extent caused by our own breach or negligence.

19. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of government, regulatory change, internet or infrastructure failure, and failure of third party services, provided reasonable steps are taken to mitigate.

20. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any dispute between you and White Bench arising out of these Terms or the Platform shall first be attempted to be resolved through good faith discussion within 30 days. Failing resolution, the dispute shall be referred to arbitration by a sole arbitrator appointed in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be Mumbai and proceedings shall be in English. Subject to the above, courts at Mumbai shall have exclusive jurisdiction. This Section does not govern disputes between a Company and a Doctor concerning an Engagement, which are governed by the Scope of Work.

21. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act 2000 and the IT Rules 2021, the Grievance Officer is: [● Name and designation], [● email], [● registered office address]. Complaints are acknowledged within 24 hours and resolved within 15 days of receipt. Grievances concerning personal data follow the mechanism in the Privacy Policy, with escalation to the Data Protection Board of India as the DPDP Act provides.

22. General

We may revise these Terms prospectively; material changes will be notified through the Platform or by email before taking effect, and continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our written consent; we may assign to a successor of the White Bench business with notice. If any provision is held invalid, the remainder continues in effect. No waiver is effective unless in writing. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, any order form and each accepted Scope of Work constitute the entire agreement concerning their respective subject matter. Notices to us go to legal@whitebench.co or the registered office; notices to you go to your registered email and are deemed received 24 hours after sending.

 

White Bench · Engagement, on the record.