In this article we will discuss the legal validity of a disclaimer and how it can be made effective
Introduction
Content production is being boosted into different levels every day. It is the age of individual content producers which overcome the sheer number of corporate content producers. So when individuals indulge in independent content creation, mostly it involves the legal issue of content ownership. That aspect is dealt with by intellectual property law. But then comes the liability part of the content. Who takes the actual response to the issues arising out of the created content. This is where the concept of disclaimer comes in place.
So now let’s dive into the details of how a disclaimer policy is placed and how it works.
Is A Disclaimer Policy Legally Binding?
There are disclaimer policies which are legally binding as well as disclaimers which are not legally binding. To make a disclaimer legally binding, it just has to follow the general clauses of contracts act and other existing laws with a fair and reasonable policy. It should not be against the principle of natural justice. Now let us come to the enforceability part of the disclaimer policy. Most of the disclaimer policy asks for the viewer or the customer who purchases or uses your content for any purpose to accept the terms before they proceed to do anything further. This is a perfect way to make your disclaimer policy applicable to any of the people using it because of their acceptance. So now you know how to make the disclaimer policy legally binding and how it can be enforced.
Let us walk through the various types of disclaimer policy that can come into regular usage. The most common type of enforceable disclaimer is “no responsibility disclaimer” This is actually used in services where the liability is often not taken for the contents used by the visitors.
For example, if you have a medical aid app and your app clients usually tend to use the instructions given through your app. Then it may be making its own way for a claim in the court if something happens to the person who follows instructions as per your app. This is where the no responsibility disclaimer helps you. If the terms of the disclaimer are fair and easy for the client to find and read, then you can even use it as a valid piece of evidence in the court. That’s how disclaimer policy is effective. It acts as a shield that protects the content providers.
Reviewers And Their Disclaimers
Nowadays there is a great number of people turning into entrepreneurs, especially through the business of reviewing products and making it a full-time job. In most cases, it has to be noted that these people often get paid for what they do. The company pays money to the reviewers to review their products and sometimes they pay to give a biased review. No one knows what happens between the company and the reviewers but in case of a paid review, it is always a better option to disclose to the clients that what he does comes through the company itself whom he reviews by means of monetary scheme or product distribution. Here it is advisable to have an affiliate disclaimer to escape from the clutches of any unforeseeable circumstances.
The Website Disclaimer
This is the most common disclaimer that is used by companies. Drafting a website disclaimer does not need an attorney or an expert (even though it is advisable) but it can be drafted by anyone. On the Internet, there are lots of disclaimer generators which automatically generate a templated disclaimer policy for your website.
So, if you plan to draft one for yourself, you have to determine in the event of some problem who takes the responsibility, is it you alone and you don’t want your company to be involved or it is a third party. It has to be explicitly stated in the disclaimer. There should always be a clause which prevents your liability over the hyperlinks in the website that leads to other websites. In websites, you can even add that the company or yourself holds the complete right to delete, add or modify any content in the website without prior notice to the customer or any user.
Another point of disclaimer deals with the technical aspect. The company doesn’t give any warranty that the website is virus free. It is a known thing that no one can maintain a website virus free completely. Thus, adding this additional point would definitely help the website in a case for damages.
Conclusion
This intent of this article is to enunciate the fact that anyone who produces content in any medium should definitely have a disclaimer policy framed and it should be explicitly stated to the client as it is a very important part of the evidence in case of any judicial proceedings or disputes between the client and the content producer. If you have any other queries or requirements with regards to regulatory or legal matters, get in touch with us and we will ensure that you receive the proper assistance to address your concerns.
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