Terms of Use

These Terms of Use form a binding agreement between you and Darren Sim. Please read clauses 11 and 12 carefully: they require most disputes to be resolved by arbitration in Singapore and limit the remedies available to you.

Version dated 5 September 2026

Before publishing: replace each bracketed placeholder, and implement the acceptance mechanism described in clause 2.2 (an unticked checkbox with a link to these Terms at the contact form and newsletter signup). Without that mechanism, clauses 11 and 12 are materially weaker.

1. Parties and definitions

1.1 These Terms of Use (the "Terms") are made between Darren Sim, based in Singapore (the "Operator", "I", "me") and you, the person accessing or using the Website ("you").

1.2 "Website" means the website operated by the Operator at [domain], including its blog, speaking engagement and publication pages, contact facility, and newsletter subscription facility. "Content" means all text, images, audio, video, code, and other material made available on or through the Website. "Privacy Statement" means the Operator's privacy statement as published on the Website from time to time.

1.3 Headings are for convenience only. Words importing the singular include the plural and vice versa. "Include" and "including" are to be construed without limitation. A reference to a statute includes any subordinate legislation and any amendment or re-enactment of it.

2. Acceptance and application

2.1 By accessing or using the Website you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Website.

2.2 Where you submit an enquiry through the contact facility or subscribe to the newsletter, you will be asked to indicate your acceptance of these Terms by an affirmative act before submission. That act constitutes your agreement to these Terms, including the dispute resolution provisions in clause 12.

2.3 The Privacy Statement and the Cookie Notice are incorporated into these Terms by reference. In the event of a conflict concerning the handling of personal data, the Privacy Statement prevails.

2.4 These Terms apply to the Website only and do not govern any separate engagement, consultancy, speaking, or publishing arrangement, which will be governed by its own written agreement.

3. Nature of the Website and no professional advice

3.1 The Website is a personal publication. The Content reflects the personal views of the Operator and does not represent the views of any employer, client, or organisation with which the Operator is or has been associated.

3.2 The Content is provided for general information and commentary only. It does not constitute legal, regulatory, financial, technical, or other professional advice, and must not be relied upon as such. You should obtain your own professional advice before acting on anything contained on the Website.

3.3 The Content may become out of date. The Operator is under no obligation to update it.

4. Permitted use

4.1 You may access and view the Content for your own personal, non-commercial, informational use, and you may quote reasonable extracts for the purposes of commentary, criticism, review, or news reporting provided that the Operator is clearly credited and a link to the source page is included.

4.2 You must not, without the Operator's prior written consent:

• reproduce, republish, distribute, or make available substantial parts of the Content, whether or not for commercial purposes;
• use the Content, in whole or in part, to train, fine-tune, or ground any machine learning or artificial intelligence model, or systematically scrape, crawl, index, or harvest the Website by automated means, save that conventional search-engine indexing consistent with the Website's robots directives is permitted;
• frame, mirror, or present the Content as your own;
• interfere with, probe, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, its servers, or any connected system, or introduce malicious code;
• submit any material through the contact facility that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, obscene, infringing, or that you do not have the right to submit; or
• use the Website in breach of any applicable law or export control or sanctions restriction.

4.3 The Operator may suspend or block access to the Website by any person who breaches this clause 4, without notice.

5. Intellectual property

5.1 All intellectual property rights in the Website and the Content are owned by the Operator or its licensors and are protected by copyright and other laws. No rights are granted to you except as expressly set out in clause 4.

5.2 Any trade marks, logos, or names of third parties appearing on the Website are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only.

5.3 Where you notify the Operator that Content infringes your intellectual property rights, please provide sufficient particulars using the contact details in clause 15, and the Operator will investigate and, where appropriate, remove or amend the material.

6. Submissions through the contact facility

6.1 Personal data you submit is handled in accordance with the Privacy Statement.

6.2 You should not send confidential, proprietary, or commercially sensitive information through the contact facility. Any material you submit that is not personal data is deemed to be non-confidential, and you grant the Operator a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use it for the purpose of responding to and administering your enquiry. Nothing in this clause permits the Operator to publish your enquiry without your consent.

6.3 No relationship of client, adviser, employment, agency, partnership, or joint venture arises from your use of the Website or the contact facility.

7. Newsletter

7.1 The newsletter is provided free of charge and its frequency and content are at the Operator's discretion. The Operator may modify, suspend, or discontinue it at any time.

7.2 You may unsubscribe at any time using the facility in any newsletter.

8. Third-party links and content

8.1 The Website may link to or embed third-party websites, services, and content. Such links do not imply endorsement.

8.2 The Operator has no control over and accepts no responsibility for third-party content, availability, terms, or privacy practices. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to their terms.

9. Availability

9.1 The Website is provided on an "as available" basis. The Operator does not warrant uninterrupted or error-free availability and may modify, suspend, or withdraw all or part of the Website at any time without notice or liability.

10. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

10.1 To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Website and the Content are provided "as is" and "as available", and all warranties, conditions, and representations, whether express or implied by statute, common law, or otherwise, including as to accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, non-infringement, and freedom from viruses, are excluded.

10.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Operator shall not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or punitive loss, or for any loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill, anticipated saving, or data, however arising and whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise.

10.3 Cap on liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Operator's total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the Website, the Content, the newsletter, and these Terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, restitution, or otherwise, shall not exceed the greater of:

• (a) the total amount, if any, paid by you to the Operator in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date on which the cause of action accrued; and
• (b) one thousand Singapore dollars (S$1,000).

10.3A The parties acknowledge that the Website and the newsletter are made available free of charge, that the Operator derives no payment from you in respect of them, and that the limitations in this clause 10 are a fair and reasonable allocation of risk having regard to that fact, to the nature of the Content, and to the disclaimer in clause 3.2.

10.4 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

10.5 Consumers. If you deal as a consumer, you have statutory rights that cannot be excluded or limited by agreement. Clauses 10.1 to 10.3 apply only to the extent permitted by the law applicable to you, and nothing in these Terms affects those non-excludable rights, including any rights under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003 of Singapore, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 of Singapore, or comparable legislation in your jurisdiction.

10.6 Indemnity. You agree to indemnify the Operator against all liabilities, losses, and reasonable costs arising out of your breach of clause 4.2, save to the extent caused by the Operator. This clause does not apply where you deal as a consumer.

10.7 Aggregation of claims. For the purposes of clause 10.3, all claims, whether single or multiple, that arise from or are connected with the same act, omission, event, or series of related acts, omissions, or events shall be treated as a single claim and shall be subject to a single application of the cap. The cap is not multiplied by the number of claims, causes of action, or heads of loss advanced.

10.8 Sole remedy. The remedies expressly provided in these Terms are your sole and exclusive remedies in respect of any matter arising out of or in connection with the Website, the Content, or the newsletter, and all other remedies, whether arising by statute, common law, or otherwise, are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. This clause 10.8 does not apply to any liability or remedy referred to in clause 10.4 or to any right referred to in clause 10.5.

10.9 Contributory conduct. The Operator shall not be liable to the extent that any loss or damage is caused or contributed to by your reliance on the Content contrary to clause 3.2, by your failure to obtain your own professional advice, or by your act, omission, or breach of these Terms.

11. Governing law and jurisdiction

11.1 These Terms, and any dispute, claim, or non-contractual obligation arising out of or in connection with them, the Website, or the Content, including any question as to their existence, validity, interpretation, breach, or termination, are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Singapore, without regard to any conflict-of-laws rule that would result in the application of the law of another jurisdiction.

11.2 Subject to clause 12, the courts of Singapore have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute.

11.3 Mandatory local protections. Clauses 11.1 and 11.2 do not deprive you, where you deal as a consumer, of the protection of any provision of the law of your country of habitual residence that cannot be derogated from by agreement, and do not remove any right you may have under mandatory law to bring proceedings, or to be sued only, in the courts of that country. Where such a mandatory rule applies, it applies only to the minimum extent required and does not otherwise displace Singapore law.

11.4 The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms.

12. Dispute resolution

12.1 Step 1: notice of dispute and good-faith negotiation. Before commencing any arbitration or court proceedings, the party raising a dispute must send the other a written notice of dispute setting out the nature of the dispute, the facts relied on, and the relief sought. The parties shall then negotiate in good faith for a period of thirty (30) days from receipt of that notice.

12.2 Step 2: mediation. If the dispute is not resolved under clause 12.1, either party may refer it to mediation administered by the Singapore Mediation Centre in accordance with its mediation procedure. Mediation is optional and neither party is obliged to accept a referral.

12.3 Step 3: arbitration. Subject to clauses 12.5 and 12.6, any dispute not resolved under clauses 12.1 and 12.2 shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration administered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre ("SIAC") in accordance with the SIAC Rules for the time being in force, which rules are deemed incorporated by reference. The seat of the arbitration shall be Singapore, the tribunal shall consist of one arbitrator, the language shall be English, and any in-person hearing shall so far as practicable be held at Maxwell Chambers, Singapore. Where the amount in dispute qualifies, the parties shall use the SIAC Expedited Procedure. The award is final and binding, and judgment on it may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Referral under this clause is a condition precedent to the commencement of court proceedings, save as provided in clauses 12.5 and 12.6.

12.4 Costs. Unless the tribunal directs otherwise, the party commencing the arbitration shall in the first instance bear the filing, administrative, tribunal, and venue fees. The tribunal has full discretion to apportion or reallocate the costs of the arbitration and the parties' recoverable legal costs, whether by interim order or in the final award, and shall have regard to the parties' relative resources and to the conduct of the parties in doing so. Where you are a consumer and prevail in the arbitration, the Operator shall bear the costs of the arbitration.

12.5 Small claims and court carve-out. Either party may bring an individual claim in a court of competent jurisdiction, including the Small Claims Tribunals of Singapore or an equivalent court of limited jurisdiction, where the amount in dispute does not exceed S$5,000, and clauses 12.3 and 12.4 do not apply to such a claim. Either party may also apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for urgent interim or injunctive relief, for relief in support of an arbitration, or for the recognition, enforcement, or setting aside of an award.

12.6 Consumer election. If you deal as a consumer and the law applicable to you renders a pre-dispute arbitration agreement unenforceable or gives you the right to bring proceedings in the courts of your country of habitual residence, clause 12.3 does not bind you and you may pursue the dispute in accordance with that law. Nothing in this clause 12 limits your right to complain to a data protection or consumer protection authority.

12.7 Individual claims only. To the fullest extent permitted by law, disputes shall be brought only in an individual capacity and not as a claimant or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding, and the tribunal may not consolidate or preside over such a proceeding. If this clause 12.7 is held unenforceable in respect of a particular claim, that claim shall be severed from the arbitration and determined by the courts under clause 11.2, and the remainder of clause 12 shall continue to apply.

12.8 Severability within this clause. Each provision of this clause 12 is severable. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it shall be severed to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions of clause 12 shall continue in full force and effect.

12.9 Time bar. To the fullest extent permitted by law, and save where a longer period is prescribed by mandatory law, any claim arising out of or in connection with the Website or these Terms must be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues, failing which it is permanently barred.

13. Amendments

13.1 The Operator may amend these Terms from time to time. The amended version takes effect upon posting on this page bearing a revised version date, and your continued use of the Website thereafter constitutes acceptance.

13.2 Where an amendment materially affects your rights, including any change to clause 10, 11, or 12, the Operator will give reasonable prior notice by a prominent notice on the Website and, for subscribers, by email. A material amendment does not apply retrospectively to a dispute of which notice has already been given under clause 12.1.

14. General

14.1 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, it shall be severed to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

14.2 No waiver. No failure or delay in exercising any right or remedy operates as a waiver of it.

14.3 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Statement and the Cookie Notice, constitute the entire agreement between the parties in relation to the Website and supersede all prior understandings in relation to it. Nothing in this clause limits liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.

14.4 Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms. The Operator may assign these Terms in connection with a transfer of the Website, provided your rights are not materially prejudiced.

14.5 Third party rights. A person who is not a party to these Terms has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 2001 of Singapore to enforce any of their provisions.

14.6 Force majeure. The Operator is not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control.

14.7 Language. These Terms are drafted in English. Where a translation is provided for convenience, the English text prevails.

15. Contact

15.1 All questions, requests, notices, and complaints concerning these Terms should be submitted through the "Contact Us" facility on the Website, selecting "Legal & Privacy" as the topic. That facility is the Operator's designated channel for such communications, and the Operator does not publish a separate email or postal address for this purpose.

15.2 A notice of dispute under clause 12.1, and any other notice required to be given by you to the Operator under these Terms, is validly given if submitted through that facility under the "Legal & Privacy" topic, and is deemed received on the day of submission. A notice is not invalid by reason only of having been submitted under a different topic. Any notice required to be given by the Operator to you may be given to the email address you have provided or, where you have provided none, by a prominent notice on the Website.

15.3 Where a party is required by applicable law or by the rules of any tribunal or court to be furnished with a postal address for service, the Operator will supply one on request made through the contact facility.