Terms of Service

Last updated: 21 July 2026

1. About these terms

These Terms of Service govern your use of the Helical Scientific website and your engagement with our scientific consulting services.

Helical Scientific provides manuscript development, publication strategy, grant support, research consulting and related scientific advisory services.

Using this website or submitting an enquiry does not automatically create a client relationship. A service engagement begins only when the scope, fees and relevant conditions have been agreed in writing.

2. Professional use

Our services are intended primarily for researchers, academics, universities, research organisations, biotechnology companies and other professional clients.

You must be at least 18 years old and have the authority to provide any information or materials submitted to us.

Nothing in these terms limits any mandatory legal rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

3. Website information

Information on this website is provided for general informational purposes. It does not constitute legal, medical, regulatory, financial or investment advice.

Scientific information and publication requirements can change. You should independently confirm important requirements with the relevant journal, funding body, institution, regulator or professional adviser.

4. Service engagements

The precise scope of each engagement will be defined in a written proposal, quotation, email confirmation or service agreement.

This may specify:

  • Deliverables and exclusions.
  • Project stages and timelines.
  • Client responsibilities.
  • Included revisions.
  • Fees, taxes and payment schedule.
  • Confidentiality or data-handling requirements.
  • Cancellation and termination arrangements.

Work requested outside the agreed scope may require an additional fee and revised timeline.

If there is a conflict between these website terms and a signed service agreement, the signed service agreement will take priority for that engagement.

5. Client responsibilities

Clients are responsible for:

  • Providing accurate and complete information.
  • Supplying materials within agreed timelines.
  • Confirming that they have authority to share submitted documents and data.
  • Obtaining necessary permission from co-authors, institutions, funders or other rights holders.
  • Obtaining appropriate ethical, regulatory and institutional approvals.
  • Reviewing all deliverables and making final scientific and submission decisions.
  • Verifying factual statements, data, citations, statistics and journal requirements.
  • Informing us of relevant deadlines, conflicts of interest and confidentiality restrictions.

Clients must not submit identifiable participant or patient information through the website or ordinary email unless a secure method has been agreed.

6. Fees and payment

Fees, currencies, taxes and payment schedules will be stated in the relevant proposal or agreement.

Invoices must be paid within the period stated on the invoice. We may pause work where an invoice remains overdue after reasonable notice.

Cancellation, rescheduling and refund arrangements will be stated in the relevant proposal or agreement. Charges may apply for work already completed, time reserved or non-recoverable costs already incurred.

Any mandatory consumer cancellation or refund rights remain unaffected where they apply.

7. Timelines and revisions

We will make reasonable efforts to meet agreed timelines. Unless expressly described as fixed, dates are estimates and may depend on the timely receipt of information and feedback from the client.

Delays caused by missing materials, changes in scope or delayed client feedback may require an adjusted completion date.

Revisions are limited to those included in the agreed scope. Requests involving new data, substantially changed arguments or additional deliverables may be treated as additional work.

8. Confidentiality

We will take reasonable steps to protect manuscripts, proposals, research plans, unpublished results and other confidential materials supplied to us.

Confidentiality obligations do not apply to information that:

  • Is already publicly available through no breach of obligation.
  • Was lawfully known before disclosure.
  • Is independently developed without using confidential information.
  • Is received lawfully from another source.
  • Must be disclosed under applicable law or a binding legal requirement.

Additional confidentiality terms or a nondisclosure agreement may be used where appropriate.

9. Intellectual property

Clients retain ownership of materials, data and intellectual property they provide.

Unless agreed otherwise, after full payment the client may use the final deliverables for the purpose for which they were commissioned.

Helical Scientific retains ownership of its pre-existing methods, templates, frameworks, general know-how and business materials. This does not give Helical Scientific ownership of a client’s confidential scientific content, results or inventions.

Clients are responsible for determining whether specialist intellectual-property or patent advice is required. Our services do not constitute legal patent advice.

10. Research integrity

Clients must not use our services to facilitate:

  • Fabrication, falsification or deceptive manipulation of data.
  • Plagiarism or misrepresentation of originality.
  • Undisclosed duplicate or misleading publication.
  • Inappropriate authorship or purchased authorship.
  • Citation or peer-review manipulation.
  • Concealment of material conflicts of interest.
  • Submission of research conducted without required ethical approval.

We may pause or terminate an engagement if serious integrity concerns cannot be resolved.

Our separate Research Integrity & Ethics Policy forms part of these terms.

11. Authorship and acknowledgements

Scientific editing, language editing, proofreading and general advisory assistance do not automatically qualify Helical Scientific or its advisers for authorship.

Clients remain responsible for determining authorship and acknowledgement in accordance with disciplinary, institutional, funder and journal requirements.

Where a journal or funder requires disclosure of professional editing, consulting or AI-assisted tools, the client is responsible for providing an accurate disclosure. We will provide reasonable information about our contribution when requested.

12. No guarantee of outcomes

Helical Scientific does not guarantee:

  • Acceptance or publication by any journal.
  • Acceptance by a particular journal or journal of a particular impact level.
  • Successful grant funding.
  • Favourable peer-review decisions.
  • Regulatory or ethics approval.
  • Experimental, clinical or commercial success.
  • Any particular citation, impact or career outcome.

Editorial, funding and research decisions are made by independent third parties and may depend on factors outside our control.

13. Standard of service and liability

We will provide agreed services with reasonable care and professional judgement.

Clients remain responsible for the final content, accuracy and use of all submitted manuscripts, applications and research materials.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Helical Scientific will not be liable for indirect or consequential losses, loss of funding, loss of publication opportunity, lost profits or losses resulting from decisions made by journals, funders, institutions or other third parties.

Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, our total liability relating to an engagement will not exceed the fees paid for the specific service giving rise to the claim, except where a different limitation is stated in a signed agreement.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot legally be excluded, including liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

14. External services and links

The website may contain links to third-party websites or use external scheduling, payment, meeting or communication services.

Helical Scientific is not responsible for the content, availability or privacy practices of independent third parties.

15. Suspension and termination

Either party may end an engagement according to the terms of the applicable proposal or service agreement.

We may suspend or terminate services where:

  • Payment remains overdue.
  • Required materials or cooperation are not provided.
  • The requested work falls outside our expertise or agreed scope.
  • Continuing the work would create a legal, ethical, security or research-integrity concern.
  • The client behaves abusively or unlawfully.

The client remains responsible for fees relating to work properly completed before termination.

16. Privacy

Personal information is handled according to our Privacy Policy.

17. Disputes and governing law

The parties should first attempt to resolve any concern through good-faith discussion.

The governing law and courts applicable to a paid engagement will be identified in the relevant proposal or service agreement. Mandatory rights under applicable law remain unaffected.

18. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms when our services, business arrangements or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this page with a revised update date.

Changes will not retrospectively alter an existing signed service agreement unless agreed by both parties or required by law.

19. Contact

Questions about these terms may be sent to:

Helical Scientific
Email: info@helicalscientific.com
Website: https://helicalscientific.com