Please note that this is completely unsoliciated advice. I am not a lawyer and for those that need to seek legal advice, you need to consult a professional. Everything stated in this post is not only the personal opinion of a simple blogger, it holds no support in court.
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Some of you may find these kinds of notices both annoying and unnecessary. Let me be perfectly clear, you are wrong and every prosecuting lawyer and judge would agree. If you are giving anything on your website away for free, using guest posts on your website anywhere, selling any kind of products or services, or even considering doing some kind of exchange of money or items (including advertising), you will need a Terms of Use agreement. Sure, this is the legal jargon that everyone skips over when you install software or create an eBay account, but without it you leave yourself open for a lawsuit that you will lose.
We are not suggesting that you waste a week of your time to write any kind of overly technical Terms of Use agreement. It all depends on how you see your website being used and how many problems could potentially arise, but unless you are a registered business, you could probably knock out a fully functioning Terms of Use agreement in less than a couple of hours.
Below, we will show you first a few points of what not to do with your Terms of Use. Afterwards, we will share several points that you will probably need to cover to be safe. This is something that needs to be addressed and if done well, something that you can cite when problems arise without the need to stress.
What Not To Do
- Steal Someone Else’s
Taking a Terms of Use agreement from another website is not an option. Imagine how much a business had to shelled out to get a legal team to write, test out, and rewrite their Terms of Use Agree, only for someone else to come along and steal it for their similar website. Taking somebody’s Privacy Policy or Terms of Service is against the law, meaning that as a civil law the writer can sue you. Besides, we write Terms of Service Agreements to cover our butts and stealing something like that not only breaks their Terms of Use, but also does the very opposite thing that you want to achieve. - Not Have One
The argument that you did not know you needed a Terms of Use is not only weak, but will not hold up in court. As the Internet increasingly becomes the main market for goods, services, and media, you need to protect your company. Along with that, in a world of happy-go-lucky lawyers who find any reason to get an easy buck through lawsuits, a simple Terms of Use will protect you 95% of the time you are not doing anything illegal or unethical. Do your research and know what you have to do. If you are willing to put the time in to create a free iOS app, give away free web design services, or write such quality articles to get some good advertising deals, then you need to invest a little time and energy into a good Terms of Use agreement. - Make It And Forget About It
Simply making a Terms of Use agreement is not enough to protect you. While you want to write one that covers everything that you do, from posting guest posts to giving away free stuff, you actually need to reference this agreement every time you do something. When I say every time, I do not mean once for each aspect that it covers. If you host a contest on your Facebook and are giving prize of some sort, you need to reference it on Facebook. If you want to give free stuff away on your website, you need to note and link to the Terms of Use agreement somewhere on that post. Doing something that is covered in the Terms of Service without citing the agreement makes the terms void. Simply put, make sure the Terms of Use show up on every page of your blog or website in the footer and you will be covered.
What To Keep In Mind When Writing A Terms of Use Agreement
Here are some points to address when you write your own terms of use agreement.
- Your Acceptance
This short statement basically says that the viewer/user accepts the Terms of Service agreement by some action (i.e. clicking an “I ACCEPT” button or simply submitting an article) and points to a privacy policy you have written. This needs to be at the top so that the person knows that they are agreeing to something up front and therefore not manipulated into agreeing to something that they did not know about. - Website
This statement addresses the uses of this website, what is appropriate, and how the Terms of Use can be applied through out the website. It most likely will simply state that the agreement applies to everyone and you or your blog assume no responsibility for third party links that you will undoubtedly have on your site. It also good to clarify here what the content is that falls under the Terms of Use including, video, images, and written documents. - User Submissions
If you expect to get any kind of submissions other than comments, you need to have this piece. Some things to address is who is allowed to submit content (over 13 or 18?), who owns the content ever it is submitted, what is appropriate to submit, and people need to not supply false or otherwise incorrect information. At the end, simply state that you have the sole authority to delete, remove, or edit content on the website at any time and without the permission of the user. - Website Access
Everyone needs to have this clause in the agreement that simply states that access is granted to all. For those that give out accounts to people, here is where you address that they need to keep their passwords secure, users cannot modify the website, and that you are not liable for any lost information. A sentence stating that a failure to follow this may result in a suspension or deletion of their account at any time the Terms of Use are broken. - Intellectual Property Rights
If you own the rights to trademarks or content you are selling, you need to explicitly state this. Using the phrase that content is provided AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be used, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, or otherwise used for any other purposes without the prior written consent of the respective owners covers your property. - Disclaimer
If at any time you do not have your own thoughts (guest posts) or offer comments on your site, you need to offer a disclaimer stating that you and your company do not endorse the comments and opinions of the author. This separates you from anything offensive that they could say that slips past your watch. - Terms of Use Acceptance Procedure
Here is where you state how people can agree to these terms. This can be clarified by stating that hitting an “I Agree” button, clicking download, creating an account, or simply interacting with the website is a valid acceptance of the Terms of Use. The bigger the risk of problems, the more specific you should be.
After all of that, how will you be using a Terms of Use agreement for your site?
Would you add any “website specific” ideas to this list?
Speak your mind...