Legal Documents For Your Website
Do you need legal documents for your site these days? Absolutely. You should WANT to have these documents. Why? They are designed to protect you for the most part!Copy or Free
The web is a beautiful place because there is so much free information on it. Given this, webmasters are often tempted to go with free templates or [cough] copy legal documents off another website. This is certainly a cheap approach, but you create an impending disaster. Why? The documents are not customized to your site. As a result, you may be agreeing to do something in them that you simple don't do in reality. For instance, you might find some template for website terms and conditions that you haphazardly slap up on your site. Then you get notice of a lawsuit. Why? Your terms guarantee a refund for up to 365 days no question asked and you refused a refund request that came in eight months after a purchase. Now you are going to court half way across the country AND you are going to lose! All and all, it is best to get a custom set for your site so you can avoid any problems from a legal perspective. Websites are like people. Each one is different. Treat them as such.
Documents Needed
Detailing what legal documents you need for your site is a bit difficult in a vacuum because each site is different. In general, however, nearly every site needs a privacy policy, terms of use statement and copyright notice. If you allow people to post comments or content on your site, you will also need a copyright safe harbor provision that allows you to insulate yourself from copyright infringement liability pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you are selling clients services or products that are designed to make them money, then earnings disclaimers and the like are going to be needed. If you are reviewing products that you receive a financial benefit from, you must comply with FTC regulations. And the list goes on…
Importance
Why are these legal statements on your site important? They are important because they give you the opportunity to define the legal relationship with the visitor. For instance, let's say you are selling them a product. For your terms to apply, a contract must be formed. This is done by setting up the purchase process to incorporate an affirmative action by the visitor in regard to the terms. Without it, there is no agreement and your terms do not apply.
What does this mean in the real world? Well, let's assume they have a problem with the product and sue you. They bring suit in Pennsylvania and you are located in Los Angeles. Your terms and conditions designate jurisdiction [where the lawsuit has to be heard], but such a provision is ignored since the customer never affirmatively agreed to the terms. Instead of trying the case in Los Angeles, you have to go to Pennsylvania. That is a costly mistake.
Legal documents for websites are a must these days. Contact me today at 619-637-6043 for a consultation.
