WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TERMS OF

SERVICE AND A DISCLAIMER?

Disclaimers

A company disclaimer is a statement that specifies or identifies the

scope of obligations and rights that parties may enforce or exercise.

A disclaimer is sometimes called a hedge clause because it frees a

company from responsibility and protects them from possible

lawsuits. A disclaimer is normally a clause in a company contract

that declares that the creator or seller of a particular product or

service makes no promises about the quality or performance of the

item and is not responsible for any harm that results from using it.

Most terms and conditions and term of use agreements contain at

least one disclaimer.

For example, a company may require a new

customer or client to sign or click on an "I agree"

button to waive the company's responsibility in

certain instances. Most disclaimers contain

specific policies regarding limitation of liabilities,

as well as customer confidentiality and security.

However, some company disclaimers can be as

lengthy and detailed as their terms and

conditions or terms of use documents.

Sample disclaimer for a membership directory

"Every effort has been made to compile complete and

accurate information for this directory. Even though

extraordinary efforts were made to ensure its accuracy,

neither the association, nor its members or employees,

will be responsible for errors or omissions in this directory.

The information contained herein should not be construed

as an endorsement of any member, company, or

individual, nor reflect in any way upon the products and/or

services provided by an organization or individual."

Terms of service

Terms of service (commonly abbreviated as ToS and

also known as terms of use and terms and conditions)

are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to

use a service. Terms of service can also be merely a

disclaimer, especially regarding the use of websites.

The terms-of-service agreement is mainly used for legal

purposes by websites and internet service providers

that store a user's personal data, such as e-commerce

and Social networking services. A legitimate terms-of-

service agreement is legally binding, and may be

subject to change.

Content

A terms-of-service agreement typically contains sections pertaining to one or more of the following topics:

Disambiguation/definition of key words and phrases User rights and responsibilities

Proper or expected usage; potential misuse Accountability for online actions, behavior, and conduct Privacy policy outlining the use of personal data Payment details such as membership or subscription fees, etc. Opt-out policy describing procedure for account termination, if

available Disclaimer/Limitation of Liability clarifying the site's

legal liability for damages incurred by users User notification upon modification of terms, if offered

Terms of service in detail

Company terms of service agreements are very similar to terms and

conditions; they specify the owner's rules regarding how a particular

service or intellectual property may be legally used. Although the

terms of use will vary according to the particular industry associated

with your company, most documents will include similar information.

Example of general terms of use agreement: "Welcome to our website.

By using this site, you agree to comply with and be bound by the

following terms of use. Please review the following terms carefully. If

you don't agree to these terms, you should not use this site"

It's important to include a terms of use

document for your company so that all of your

customers will be aware of your guidelines

and policies. This makes it much easier to

enforce policies, terminate the accounts of

customers who fail to comply and take

possible legal action against customers who

violate your specific policies and rules