Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only (and is current to te time this article was written). If you need legal advice with respect to drafting from a Terms of Use Template, you should seek professional assistance.
I've drafted and revised a few Terms of Use Templates / Agreements in my day and so I thought it would be useful to put some thoughts about what goes into these documents here in this blog. Be careful, however, when relying solely on other website's Terms of Use Templates as they may be tailored to the specific jurisdiction and business requirements of that specific website.
The bottom line is that the Terms of Use Agreement is a contract that your website users agree to by visiting and using your website. In addition to a Terms of Use Agreement, a typical website should also have a Privacy Policy and a Disclaimer.
In this blog, I'll be discussing some of the more obvious things that will be contained in a Terms of Use Template / Agreement.
Introduction
First, the Terms of Use Agreement should specify that the user's use of the website is governed by the Terms of Use Agreement, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and any other relevant terms and conditions, policies, and notices which apply to the website or a specific section or module of the website. You may also want to identify the website and the party which owns/operates the website. Make these terms defined so that you can refer to them throughout the rest of your Terms of Use Agreement.
Accepting the Terms of Use
Second, the Terms of Use Agreement should specify that, by using the website, the user is agreeing to the Terms of Use (and if they don't, they should not be using the website anymore).
Revisions
Third, there should be some acknowledgment that users agree to any and all modifications, alterations, and updates of the Terms of Use (which become effective upon being posted on the website).
Trademark/Copyright
Fourth, if there are logos/designs which have been trademarked, there should be a provision in the Terms of Use agreement which makes note of this and warns of unauthorized uses.
Same goes for copyright.
Website Use/Restrictions
Fifth, the user will acknowledge that they are responsible to protect their IDs and passwords (if applicable) and also that any compromises should be reported immediately. With respect to restrictions, users are generally prohibited from doing things like: posting or transmitting harmful or illegal content, interfering with the website's operation, trying to hack into pass-word protected areas, and taking actions that will create an unreasonably large load on the web site's infrastructure.
Depending on what your website does (e.g. does it have a forum? does it allow users to e-mail other users? does it allow users to post comments on blogs? does it allow users to submit content through articles? etc.), your restrictions on terms of use will need to take into account these specifics. That's where a standard terms of use template may not be sufficient. It may not anticipate everything you and your website need to be protected.
Source:
http://business.ezinemark.com/website-terms-of-use-templates-and-agreements-4ecd1a8be05.html
I've drafted and revised a few Terms of Use Templates / Agreements in my day and so I thought it would be useful to put some thoughts about what goes into these documents here in this blog. Be careful, however, when relying solely on other website's Terms of Use Templates as they may be tailored to the specific jurisdiction and business requirements of that specific website.
The bottom line is that the Terms of Use Agreement is a contract that your website users agree to by visiting and using your website. In addition to a Terms of Use Agreement, a typical website should also have a Privacy Policy and a Disclaimer.
In this blog, I'll be discussing some of the more obvious things that will be contained in a Terms of Use Template / Agreement.
Introduction
First, the Terms of Use Agreement should specify that the user's use of the website is governed by the Terms of Use Agreement, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and any other relevant terms and conditions, policies, and notices which apply to the website or a specific section or module of the website. You may also want to identify the website and the party which owns/operates the website. Make these terms defined so that you can refer to them throughout the rest of your Terms of Use Agreement.
Accepting the Terms of Use
Second, the Terms of Use Agreement should specify that, by using the website, the user is agreeing to the Terms of Use (and if they don't, they should not be using the website anymore).
Revisions
Third, there should be some acknowledgment that users agree to any and all modifications, alterations, and updates of the Terms of Use (which become effective upon being posted on the website).
Trademark/Copyright
Fourth, if there are logos/designs which have been trademarked, there should be a provision in the Terms of Use agreement which makes note of this and warns of unauthorized uses.
Same goes for copyright.
Website Use/Restrictions
Fifth, the user will acknowledge that they are responsible to protect their IDs and passwords (if applicable) and also that any compromises should be reported immediately. With respect to restrictions, users are generally prohibited from doing things like: posting or transmitting harmful or illegal content, interfering with the website's operation, trying to hack into pass-word protected areas, and taking actions that will create an unreasonably large load on the web site's infrastructure.
Depending on what your website does (e.g. does it have a forum? does it allow users to e-mail other users? does it allow users to post comments on blogs? does it allow users to submit content through articles? etc.), your restrictions on terms of use will need to take into account these specifics. That's where a standard terms of use template may not be sufficient. It may not anticipate everything you and your website need to be protected.
Source:
http://business.ezinemark.com/website-terms-of-use-templates-and-agreements-4ecd1a8be05.html
