Privacy Policies and Terms and Conditions (also known as a Terms of Use or a Terms of Service) are not one-size-fits-all. Establishing how clients will interact with your unique product, as well as how you will store, use, and protect any data collected, is critical to protecting your company. Priori is committed to helping you find the right technology lawyer to help you create policies that are specifically tailored to your needs and reduce your liability.
Privacy Policies
A Privacy Policy explains how your company uses, processes, stores and shares data provided by users of its services and website. It should be drafted by a lawyer because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can take action against you for “deception” when there are inaccurate statements in the document. In addition, some states, such as California, require privacy policies if you collect any personal data. An attorney can tailor the policy to reflect your organization’s specific data collection business practices, helping you avoid an FTC investigation, class action user lawsuits, or both. You can review a sample Privacy Policy in Priori Legal's Document & Form Learning Center.
Terms of Service (aka Terms & Conditions or Terms of Use)
If your business operates a website, mobile application or requires downloading software, you should implement an attorney-drafted Terms and Conditions. Terms and Conditions is a contract between you and the users of your product. A lawyer can advise you on where to position your Terms and Conditions on your website to ensure it is legally binding (such as an “I accept” button--known as a “click wrap” agreement).
These documents establish conditions for the users of your site, such as the user code of conduct, disclaimers of warranties by the website and disclaiming liability for any links to third party sites -- among many other things. Some typical provisions may include:
User Code of Conduct
This provision is used to lay out expectations for how clients may use your product, as well as your right to revoke their use of your website or app in response to specified violations.
Limitation of Liability
This provision excludes the company from liability for any damages arising from the use of their website or product. Clearly establishing exclusions can be invaluable should a dispute with a client arise.
Payment Procedures
If applicable, your Terms and Conditions may state the accepted methods of payment, the timeline along which payment is expected, and how late payment, or a failure to make a payment, will be addressed by your company.
Cancellation Policy
You can also provisions that explain how a client may terminate their engagement with your company, as well as any relevant fees or refund procedures.
What Your Product Will Access
If your website or app will need to access a client’s Facebook, twitter, email contacts, location or any other personal information, your Terms and Conditions may explicitly list these data needs and require clients to agree to provide them before they can proceed.
Links to Other Websites
This provision states that you are not responsible for any third party web sites that you link or connect to on your own website or app.
Copyright Notice and DMCA
Your company may provide a clear policy towards copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
This would first state that any content and logos on your website or app are your property and are protected. Furthermore, if a client believes that material or content residing on or accessible through your product infringes a copyright, this policy will establish how and to whom they should send a notice of copyright infringement, so you can most efficiently resolve the situation.
You can review a sample Terms of Service in Priori Legal's Document & Form Learning Center.
Pricing
Depending on the the complexity of your services, the cost of drafting terms and conditions and a privacy policy can vary significantly. When you hire a lawyer in the Priori network, drafting terms and conditions typically costs anywhere from $300 to $5,000. Drafting a privacy policy may cost anywhere from $275 for simple policies to $5,000 for more complex documents. In order to get a better sense of cost for your particular situation, put in a request to schedule a complimentary consultation and receive a free price quote from one of our lawyers.
FAQ
Can I just use a template privacy policy I’ve found for free?
One of the most common mistakes a company can make is posting a privacy statement on their website that does not reflect their actual internal processes. This often happens where a privacy policy is merely copied and pasted from another website or from an online template. A privacy policy, however, is only effective when it reflects how your company collects, stores, uses, shares and if applicable, protects customer/visitor data. Therefore, your business should hire a lawyer to draft a policy that reflects your company’s processes.