LEGAL

Terms and Conditions

Last updated: November 7, 2026

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement governing all professional video editing, post-production, motion graphics, color grading, sound design, and creative consulting services rendered by Manan Jain (“Editor”, “I”, “me”, or “my”) to international clients, creators, founders, and brands (“Client”, “you”, or “your”) worldwide through mananja.in. By commissioning services, remitting a deposit or milestone payment, or executing a digital contract, Statement of Work, or proposal, you unconditionally agree to be bound by these Terms in their entirety. Every client engagement is formalized through an executed digital Project Agreement.

1. Signed Agreements & International Legal Enforceability

Digital contracts and signed proposals are legally binding worldwide, and any custom terms in your signed Project Agreement override this general page.

Every client engagement is formalized through a signed written Statement of Work, proposal, invoice, or digital contract (each, a “Project Agreement”). Both parties agree that electronic signatures, cryptographic audit trails, and digital timestamps generated through accredited electronic signature platforms constitute legally binding, internationally enforceable contracts under the U.S. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), the UK/EU eIDAS Regulations (Regulation EU No 910/2014), and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures. If there is a direct conflict between these Terms and a signed Project Agreement, the Project Agreement controls for that specific project.

2. Scope of Work, Raw Footage Limits & Async Workflow

Quotes are valid for 14 days, editing is done asynchronously (not on live screen-shares), and extra formats, trial edits, or massive unorganized footage dumps cost extra.

  • 14-Day Quote Validity & Paid Trials: Proposals and quotes are valid for 14 calendar days from issue. All sample, trial, or test edits are billed at agreed professional rates.

  • Strict Technical Scope: Deliverables, aspect ratios (such as 16:9 vs. 9:16), target runtimes, revision counts, and delivery dates are strictly limited to what is documented in the Project Agreement.

  • Out-of-Scope Change Requests: Any addition outside the approved scope, including script changes after voiceover recording, structural re-edits after rough-cut approval, or extra aspect-ratio cutdowns, constitutes a Change Request, quoted separately and scheduled based on studio availability.

  • Raw Footage Organization & Volume Cap: Quotes assume organized source media within a reasonable shooting ratio (up to 30 minutes of raw footage per 1 minute of finished video runtime, unless stated otherwise in the Project Agreement). Sending unorganized, unlabeled, or excessive raw footage dumps requiring heavy logging and culling will incur a media-management fee and extend the delivery timeline.

  • 100% Asynchronous Workflow: All editing, reviews, and deliveries happen asynchronously via cloud review links and written notes. Live screen-share editing sessions (such as Zoom, Discord, or Google Meet) are completely excluded from all online editing engagements and are not offered.

  • Commercial Use Disclosure: You must disclose upfront where the video will be used (such as organic social, paid ads, or broadcast TV). Stock assets, music, and fonts carry tiered licensing rules. If you expand usage beyond what was declared without written notice, you are solely responsible for all extra licensing fees and third-party claims.

3. Payments, Accepted Gateways & Retainer Rules

Work starts after a 50% non-refundable deposit (100% upfront for monthly retainers). You cover transfer fees, Stripe is not accepted, and final unwatermarked files are released once the balance is paid.

  • 50% Upfront Deposit & Monthly Retainers: Per-project work begins only after the 50% upfront booking deposit clears. Monthly recurring retainers are billed 100% upfront at the start of each 30-day cycle. Because payments immediately reserve studio calendar capacity and turn away other bookings, all deposits and monthly retainer payments are strictly non-refundable upon payment. Monthly retainer video allocations expire at the end of each 30-day cycle; unused deliverables do not roll over to future months.

  • Accepted Payment Gateways (No Stripe): All client engagements are billed in USD, EUR, or GBP and payable via Wise, direct Bank/SWIFT wire transfer, or PayPal. Stripe and domestic payment methods are expressly not accepted.

  • Net Payment & Gateway Fees: The Client covers 100% of bank wire fees, intermediary bank charges, payment gateway fees (Wise, PayPal), currency conversion spreads, and applicable local taxes so that I receive the exact net invoiced amount.

  • Final Balance & 2% Monthly Late Fee: All review cuts carry watermarks or preview compression. The remaining 50% balance is due upon final cut approval (or deemed approval) and prior to the release of full-resolution, unwatermarked master files. Overdue invoices allow me to pause active work, push deadlines, disable review links, withhold finals, and charge 2% monthly late interest (or the maximum legal rate) until paid in full.

4. Rush Turnarounds & Mutual Scheduling Flexibility

24–48 hour or weekend rush cuts carry a +30% to +100% rush fee, while standard deadlines include fair breathing room if complex renders or edits need a small adjustment.

  • Rush Fee (+30% to +100%): Requests requiring 24-to-48 hour turnarounds, weekend or holiday editing, or jumping the studio queue carry an Expedited Delivery Surcharge (“Rush Fee”) of +30% to +100% above standard rates, confirmed in writing before work begins.

  • Professional Quality & Render Buffer (Editor Flexibility): Video post-production involves complex pacing, grading, sound mixing, and heavy encoding. I make every reasonable effort to hit all estimated delivery dates. If a complex creative pass, heavy render, or technical bottleneck requires a modest 24-to-48 hour scheduling adjustment on my end, I will notify you in advance and provide an updated delivery window without penalty or breach. If a paid Rush deadline is ever missed solely due to my delay, your maximum remedy is a waiver or credit of the Rush Fee surcharge.

5. Client Review Window, Free Grace Pause & Ghosting Fee

If life happens and you need a delay, tell me within 5 business days for a free 10-day pause. Going completely silent for 10 business days without notice pauses the project and triggers a $150 (or 20%) reactivation fee.

  • 5-Business-Day Feedback Rhythm: To keep your edit moving on schedule, please review cuts, answer questions, and send feedback within five (5) business days of delivery. Every day of client delay automatically extends subsequent delivery milestones.

  • Communicated Free Grace Pause (Up to 10 Calendar Days): If travel, illness, or business delays come up on your side, simply send written notice before the 5-business-day window ends. I will gladly place your project on a free Standby Grace Pause for up to ten (10) calendar days with zero penalty.

  • Uncommunicated Silence & Dormancy (10 Business Days): If you go silent or fail to supply needed assets or feedback for ten (10) consecutive business days without advance written notice, the project is classified as Dormant/On Hold and removed from the active production queue.

  • Reactivation (“Ghost Fee”) & 30-Day Abandonment: Reopening a Dormant project requires paying a Reactivation / Ghost Fee of $150 USD or 20% of the total project fee (whichever is greater) to re-index media caches and book a new editing slot. Projects inactive for thirty (30) consecutive calendar days without a signed standby agreement are deemed permanently abandoned and terminated by the Client, forfeiting all deposits and milestone payments made.

6. Revisions (3 Rounds), Music Changes & 7-Day Auto-Approval

You get 3 revision rounds sent by one point of contact. Editor export glitches are fixed free, music swaps after cutting cost extra, and cuts with no feedback after 7 days are automatically approved.

  • Three (3) Revision Rounds Included: Unless stated otherwise in the Project Agreement, each video includes up to three (3) rounds of revisions covering pacing, cut timing, captions/titles, audio levels, and color adjustments within the original brief. Technical export glitches or typos introduced by me are fixed immediately for free and never count toward your 3 revision rounds.

  • One Point of Contact & Consolidated Notes: You must assign one (1) authorized person to submit all feedback in a single, consolidated, timestamped list per round (via Frame.io or the designated cloud review link). Conflicting notes from multiple team members will pause editing until reconciled by your main contact.

  • Music Track Changes After Cutting: Cuts are timed to the beat of the approved music track. Swapping the music track or changing the tempo after editing has started requires rebuilding the timeline and is billed as a paid Change Request.

  • 7-Day Deemed Approval: If no revision notes or Grace Pause requests are submitted within seven (7) calendar days of a review cut being delivered (or if you publish or use the video), that cut is conclusively deemed approved as final, and the remaining 50% balance becomes immediately due.

7. Client Copyright Warranties & Legal Indemnification

You confirm you have permission to use all footage, logos, and audio you send me, and you protect me if someone claims copyright infringement over your materials.

  • Warranty of Ownership: You warrant that you own or hold valid global commercial licenses, model releases, and permissions for all raw footage, voiceovers, music, logos, and scripts you supply to me.

  • Indemnification: You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Manan Jain against all third-party copyright claims, DMCA takedowns, trademark disputes, platform strikes, damages, and legal fees arising from materials you supplied or statements made in your published videos.

  • Stock & Broadcast Clearances: I source standard stock audio and assets from accredited royalty-free libraries (such as Artlist, Epidemic Sound, or Motion Array) under standard digital terms. Extended broadcast TV, theatrical, or paid-ad buyout licenses must be purchased directly by the Client, or disclosed in advance during project onboarding so licensing fees can be quoted and included directly in the Project Agreement package.

8. Portfolio Display Rights & NDA Embargo Rules

I can share finished edits and timeline breakdowns in my portfolio once your video is live (or 30 days after delivery), unless we sign an NDA or launch embargo before starting.

  • Default Portfolio License: Unless a written Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) or White-Label Addendum is signed before project kickoff, I retain an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to display finished deliverables, grading breakdowns, and behind-the-scenes timelines on mananja.in, social media, pitch decks, and award entries immediately following your public release of the video, or thirty (30) calendar days after final master delivery, whichever occurs first.

  • Launch Embargo Exception: If your video is tied to a scheduled product launch or embargo later than 30 days, simply include the embargo expiration date in the Project Agreement before kickoff, and I will hold all portfolio posts until that date passes.

9. Client Confidentiality & Data Privacy

Your unreleased videos, scripts, business strategies, and contact info stay strictly private and are never sold or shared.

  • Strict Commercial Confidence: Unreleased concepts, private scripts, raw unedited footage, and internal business strategies shared with me are kept strictly confidential.

  • Absolute Privacy Protection: I will never sell, rent, monetize, or share your personal data, business secrets, or contact details with any third party, data broker, or advertiser.

10. Generative AI Tools & Commercial Rights

I may use AI tools for audio cleanup, rotoscoping, captions, or visual assets; you receive all commercial usage rights provided by those AI platforms once the invoice is paid in full.

I may use enterprise AI and machine-learning tools for dialogue isolation, voice enhancement, captions, rotoscoping, frame interpolation, and visual asset generation. Upon 100% payment, all commercial usage rights granted by the underlying AI platforms pass to you, subject to the third-party software platform’s standard end-user license terms. AI-assisted deliverables are provided “as is” without separate copyright registrability warranties.

11. Intellectual Property & Working Project Files (.prproj / .drp / .aep)

You own the final exported master videos once paid in full. My raw Premiere, DaVinci, and After Effects project files stay my property unless bought out for an extra fee.

  • Ownership of Final Exports: Until 100% of the invoice is paid, all rights to all cuts remain exclusively with me. Upon full net payment, you receive a perpetual, worldwide commercial license to use, publish, and monetize the final rendered master video files (.mp4, .mov, ProRes).

  • Working Project Files Excluded (Buyout Required): Native project files (.prproj, .drp, .aep), timeline databases, custom motion templates, sound design stems, and color LUTs remain the exclusive intellectual property and trade secrets of Manan Jain and are never included in standard quotes. Purchasing raw project timelines requires a separate signed Project File Buyout Agreement and a buyout fee equal to 100% to 200% of the total project fee (which transfers the raw timeline file only and strictly excludes third-party software plugins, commercial fonts, and my master preset/LUT libraries).

12. Cloud Delivery & 30-Day Storage Sunset

Download and back up your finished videos within 30 days. After 30 days, raw footage and project caches are permanently purged from studio drives unless an archival plan is booked.

  • Secure Cloud Delivery: Master video exports and review cuts are delivered electronically via secure cloud links (Google Drive, Dropbox, or Frame.io). The Client is responsible for verifying, downloading, and redundantly backing up all final deliverables within thirty (30) calendar days of transmission.

  • 30-Day Storage Sunset & Purge: To preserve studio storage bandwidth, all raw camera cards, proxy files, render scratch disks, and temporary project caches are permanently deleted thirty (30) calendar days after final cut delivery.

  • Archival Retainer Option: Clients requiring permanent long-term storage of project timelines and raw media archives must execute an Archival Retainer agreement prior to the expiration of the 30-day window.

13. Cancellation, Mutual Respect & Two-Step Breach Termination

Standard cancellations keep the 50% deposit for booked studio time. Verbal abuse ends the project immediately with zero refund, and repeated demands for free out-of-scope work end the project after one 48-hour written warning, with a watermarked progress export sent as proof of work.

  • Cancellation for Convenience & Retainer Notice: Per-project engagements may be cancelled with three (3) calendar days’ written notice; recurring monthly retainers require at least fourteen (14) calendar days’ written notice prior to the next monthly billing date. If the Client cancels a project for convenience, I retain the non-refundable 50% deposit (and invoice any completed work beyond 50%) as liquidated damages for reserved studio bandwidth. If I ever must cancel a project for convenience (not due to Client breach), I will either complete the currently paid milestone or refund the unworked portion of the deposit.

  • Zero-Tolerance for Abuse & Harassment: I maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy for verbal abuse, insults, threats, discriminatory remarks, or harassment. Hostile conduct is an immediate Material Client Breach, terminating the project immediately with zero refund of any funds paid.

  • Two-Step Scope Breach Protocol: If the Client repeatedly demands work outside the agreed scope without approving a paid Change Order, I will send one (1) formal written Warning Notice stating the Change Order fee. If the Client refuses to approve the Change Order within forty-eight (48) hours and blocks completion of the original scope, the agreement terminates immediately for Material Client Breach with zero refund.

  • Liquidated Damages & Watermarked Proof of Work: Upon termination for Material Client Breach or harassment, I retain the 50% deposit (plus fees for any work completed beyond 50%) as agreed liquidated damages for reserved studio capacity, and I will transmit a watermarked timeline progress export of all work completed to date, serving as conclusive proof of performance for payment processor dispute resolution (Wise, PayPal, or bank wire). All commercial rights and unwatermarked files remain strictly revoked until paid in full.

14. Video Performance, Script Extension & Algorithmic Disclaimer

I guarantee professional post-production craft and pacing, but expressly disclaim all warranties or guarantees regarding views, watch time, retention rates, subscribers, follower growth, leads, sales, or commercial revenue.

  • Editing as an Extension of Core Content: Video editing is an artistic amplifier and structural extension of the underlying concept, script, and source material. High-craft post-production cannot rescue an unengaging topic, weak scripting, poor on-camera delivery, unclear value propositions, or low-quality source audio and lighting.

  • Independent Market & Platform Variables: Video performance on digital platforms depends on an extensive range of external factors beyond editorial control, including audience resonance, market demand, competition, ad spend, thumbnail effectiveness, distribution timing, and proprietary third-party recommendation algorithms (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Meta, X).

  • No Commercial or Vanity Metric Warranty: While I employ professional sound design, color grading, and retention-focused pacing strategies, I make no representation, warranty, or guarantee of any kind regarding virality, organic or paid view counts, watch time, average view duration, audience retention rates, retention percentage jumps, algorithmic reach or distribution, feed recommendation spikes, click-through rates (CTR), subscriber, follower, or audience growth, likes, comments, shares, saves, inbound inquiries, booked strategy calls, buyers, commercial sales, ad conversions, return on ad spend (ROAS), sponsorship earnings, channel monetization, or financial return on investment (ROI). Any metrics, view duration multiples, retention records, or case study figures referenced across this website or marketing materials represent historical client records and do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of identical or comparable performance. All creative post-production services are contracted and evaluated strictly on technical craft, editorial pacing, and artistic execution according to the agreed project scope, not on audience behavior, platform algorithms, or commercial vanity outcomes.

15. Limitation of Liability

My maximum financial liability on any project is strictly capped at the amount you actually paid me for that specific project.

  • Monetary Cap: To the fullest extent permitted by law, my total cumulative liability for any claim arising out of or related to these Terms or any project (whether in contract, tort, or negligence) is strictly limited to the actual net fees paid by the Client to me for the specific project giving rise to the claim.

  • No Consequential Damages: Under no circumstances shall I be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including lost revenue, lost profits, wasted ad spend, copyright strikes on client-supplied assets, or platform account suspensions.

16. Independent Contractor, Non-Exclusivity & Force Majeure

I work as an independent, non-exclusive contractor (free to edit for other clients), and emergencies or outages extend deadlines day-for-day.

  • Independent & Non-Exclusive: I provide services strictly as an independent contractor, not an employee, partner, or agent. My services are non-exclusive; I remain free to edit and produce content for any other clients, creators, or brands worldwide, including within the same industry, while keeping your confidential materials protected under confidentiality terms.

  • Force Majeure: Neither party is liable for delays caused by events beyond reasonable control (including illness, power or internet blackouts, hardware failure, natural disasters, or cloud service outages). Delivery dates extend day-for-day by the length of the disruption.

  • Collection & Legal Fee Recovery: Nothing prevents me from filing in any court where the Client resides to collect unpaid invoices or stop copyright infringement. In any collection effort, lawsuit, or legal action to enforce these Terms or recover overdue fees, the prevailing party (or Editor, for undisputed overdue invoices) is entitled to recover 100% of reasonable attorney fees, collection costs, and legal expenses.

  • Severability & Survival: If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining clauses stay in full force. Clauses covering payment, intellectual property ownership, portfolio rights, confidentiality, indemnity, and liability caps survive termination.

  • Official Contact for Notices & Contract Administration: connect@mananja.in