Website Terms and Conditions

[BlueBoy]

Just a quick one:

Is there a legal requirement to have Terms and Conditions (i.e. Refund Policy, Privacy Policy) drafted by a lawyer-type?
Or can you draft your own based on T&Cs found on another websites?

[Sagacious]

there is no requirement to have a lawyer do anything for you ever but we tend to know what we are doing because we have been ejamacated in relation to that sort of stuff.

The only problem with ripping off and using other peoples T&C's and Privacy Policy is that it may infringe copyright.

Otherwise it is the cheap way of doing it but if you come unstuck because the T&Cs are improperly drafted or poorly ripped off then you got noone but yourself to blame (or sue).

[rbranson]

there is no requirement to have a lawyer do anything for you ever but we tend to know what we are doing because we have been ejamacated in relation to that sort of stuff.

The only problem with ripping off and using other peoples T&C's and Privacy Policy is that it may infringe copyright.

Otherwise it is the cheap way of doing it but if you come unstuck because the T&Cs are improperly drafted or poorly ripped off then you got noone but yourself to blame (or sue).

Reminds me of people who try to draft contracts using models they got from other companies/industries, etc. That's a surefire recipe for T&C's that have no bite, nor clearly defined purpose.

The bottom line is just because it's appearing on someone's website, it doesn't mean it's appropriate for your particular needs. You may just be perpetuating basic flaws that another has concocted by not giving proper weight to the issues that are more likely to be a source of infringement on your site, for instance.

I would simply use one of the suckers who is already contributing to your site and who has a legal background, and have him sift through the language and elaborate T&C's tailored to your site's particular needs. Otherwise, you may just be posting a bunch of useless clauses that may not even be enforceable.

[BlueBoy]

Cheers. :)