About us and using the website

These terms apply to your use of orlandocrowcroft.com and to any services Orlando Crowcroft Ltd ("we", "us") provides. Orlando Crowcroft Ltd is registered in England and Wales under company number 16226283 with its registered office at First Floor, Lipton House, Stanbridge Road, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, LU7 4QQ

By using the website or engaging us, you accept these terms. Where a signed engagement letter or contract says something different, that document applies.

The website is for general information. We try to keep it accurate but do not guarantee that it is complete or up to date, and nothing on it is professional advice. You must not misuse the site, attempt to gain unauthorised access to it, or copy its content for commercial use without our permission.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information.

Services, fees and payment

The scope, timetable and fees for each piece of work are set out in a proposal or engagement letter, which you accept in writing or by email before work begins.

• Fees are in pounds sterling and exclude VAT where it applies.

• Invoices are due within 7 days unless the engagement letter says otherwise.

• We may charge statutory interest on late payments under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and may pause work while an invoice is overdue.

• Reasonable expenses agreed in advance are charged at cost.

We work to agreed outcomes, such as drafting, pitching and advising, but cannot guarantee that any publication, journalist or outlet will run a story or piece, as editorial decisions are theirs.

You can contact us about these terms at ocrowcroft@gmail.com.

Confidentiality and NDAs

Each party will keep the other's confidential information secret and use it only for the agreed work. Confidential information includes unpublished financial results, funding rounds, product plans, embargoed announcements, client lists and the terms of our engagement.

This duty applies whether or not a separate non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is signed. Where an NDA is signed, its terms apply in addition to this clause, and the NDA wins if the two conflict.

The duty does not cover information that:

• is or becomes public other than through a breach of these terms

• the receiving party already held lawfully without restriction

• is independently developed without use of the confidential information

• must be disclosed by law, a regulator or a court, in which case the disclosing party will be told first where the law allows

We may share confidential information with freelancers or advisers working on the project, provided they are bound by equivalent confidentiality terms. Confidentiality obligations continue for [three] years after the work ends, or longer where an NDA says so or the information is a trade secret.

Non-compete and non-solicitation

We work with many clients, some in the same sector. Unless an engagement letter says otherwise, nothing in these terms stops us working for other clients, including your competitors. We will always keep each client's confidential information separate.

If you need exclusivity, we can agree a non-compete clause in the engagement letter. It will name the competitors or sector it covers and how long it lasts, which will be no longer than the engagement plus [six] months, and may carry an additional fee. We will only be bound by a non-compete agreed in writing.

During the engagement and for [12] months after it ends, neither party will directly solicit or hire the other's staff or regular freelancers who worked on the project without written consent. General job adverts not aimed at those people do not count.

If either restriction is found to be wider than a court will enforce, it will apply in the narrower form the court allows, and the rest of these terms remain in force.

Intellectual property

Once paid in full, you own the copyright in work we create specifically for you, such as articles, op-eds and press materials. For ghost-written work, we will not claim authorship publicly. We keep ownership of our general know-how, templates and methods, and may describe the type of work we did for you in our portfolio only with your permission.

Content on this website belongs to Orlando Crowcroft Ltd unless stated otherwise.

Liability

Our total liability for any engagement is limited to the fees paid for that engagement in the 12 months before the claim. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, or the editorial decisions of third-party publications. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

Ending the work

Either party may end an engagement with [30] days' written notice, or immediately if the other commits a serious breach that is not fixed within 14 days of notice. You pay for work done up to the end date. Confidentiality, non-solicitation, intellectual property and liability clauses survive the end of the engagement.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. We may update these terms; the date at the top shows when they last changed, and changes do not affect engagements already agreed.