While no one reads the terms of service agreement for many service providers—such as social media networks—creating an airtight agreement will protect your business from many future legal headaches.
What to Include in a Terms of Service Agreement
Here are four things businesses should include in a terms of service agreement.
Provide a Definition of Your Service or Product
This is something that essentially every kind of business—big or small—will want to include in its terms of service. By providing a definition of your product or service that is easy to understand, and can only be interpreted one way, you are mitigating any claim that someone was deceived by your product. In some ways, this is another form of small business insurance—as it removes ambiguity about what the customer can expect in return from your company.
Define Intellectual Property Rights
Many companies have their own intellectual property that they use to provide services to customers. Oftentimes, those customers actually produce intellectual property of their own through that proprietary service. Amazon is one example of a company that allows its customers to use its property to produce their own copyrighted materials.
If your company also operates in this way, you need to make it explicit that you maintain the rights to all your proprietary software or services. While it’s unlikely, someone might potentially try to take you to court if you don’t make it totally clear that using the service gives them no ownership over it.