Have you ever read through a website’s Terms and Conditions or Terms of Use before clicking that all important tick box? Didn’t think so. But why does that website have the terms and conditions displayed on the website? Here are a few reasons why something that no one ever reads is still so important:
Reason 1: Own your content and Intellectual Property
How will you prove that all the content displayed on the website is your own or prevent another third party from copying your content? The terms and conditions of your website must make it clear that the content displayed and the intellectual property of your business and website are owned by your company and that no other user or third party may copy, reproduce, or use your intellectual property or content without your prior written consent. This is extremely important if your company has unique content, processes, or information displayed.
Reason 2: Limit your Liability
Litigation is the easiest way to sink your business. It takes years and hundreds of thousands of Rands to ultimately settle the matter that your business might even lose. Limiting your liability on your website and indemnifying your business from conduct of users, downtime, employee conduct and various other variables might save your business.
Reason 3: Display the rules of your website
Terms and Conditions or Terms of Use constitute a binding agreement between your company and the user the moment the user decides to accept the terms and conditions. Like every contract the user will then be bound to the contract and any infringement or breach of the terms may enable you to certain remedies including termination of his/her account.
It’s strongly recommended that any website that isn’t merely a display website, has strong, professional, and custom drafted terms and conditions.