Is it possible to limit the company's liability in the user agreement?

User agreement (Term of Use, Terms and Conditions) - a document that spelled out the terms of interaction between users of the site or application and the owner of the product. Literally this name is translated as "operating conditions". The user agreement is intended to settle disputes at the legal level that may arise during the interaction of the parties. As practice and experiments have shown, users of services and programs are extremely careless about studying the terms of the document. Most simply do not read it, but tick the box that they have read and agreed with the listed conditions.

The frivolous attitude of users does not mean that the Terms of Use do not play any role for the company. This document allows the business owner to protect their business and financial interests. Terms of Use, if properly formatted, helps:

1. Avoid abuse when using the product by users. For example, the owners of online services can register in the document the right to block violators of the site rules.
2. The user agreement defines the boundaries of the company's legal responsibility. For example, some users tend to blame the site owners for their losses. If there are clearly agreed terms of the agreement, the company will be able to avoid unreasonable claims and penalties.
3. The Terms of Use document defines the procedure for using the site materials, which is an additional measure of copyright protection.

What provisions must be included in the user agreement?

There is no universal solution to the preparation of a document, since different services and software products differ in their content and purpose. There are a few points to highlight that should be included in any Terms of Services. Among them:

• User acceptance of the terms of use of the product.
• Explanation of terms (Product, Client, User, Company, etc.).
• The rules for creating and using an account, including restrictions on age, access to certain information and sections of the site, etc.
• Terms of service and technical support, the procedure for their changes.
• Legislation that the terms of the agreement comply with.
• Responsibility of the resource and users.
• Product use rules.
• Content Disposal Restrictions.
• Information about the company that owns the product.

If we are talking about an online store or a paid service, it is worth adding information about the procedure for accepting and returning payments, resolving controversial issues.

How to enforce the user agreement?

According to the Russian law, the user agreement is an offer. This means that for the Terms of Use to become effective, the user needs to read the document before starting to work with the site or program. In case of disputes that require litigation, it is important for the owner of the company to prove that users had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the content of the document before using the product. This means that the link to the user agreement must be indicated wherever you need to familiarize yourself with its terms. As a rule, such a link should be indicated:

• when registering a new account;
• when installing the program;
• when you first visit the pages of the service;
• in the section with legal information;
• when filling out the order form or when submitting an application.

It is recommended to place a link to the user agreement in the footer of the site and in the general menu so that the visitor of the service can see this information and get acquainted with it. It is advisable to use the so-called confirmed consent. The user must check the box after the phrase that the person has studied the materials and agrees with the terms of use of the service or program.

Procedure for limiting the company's liability

When drafting Terms and Conditions, it is important for the site owner to take into account as many conditions as possible under which the parties are legally responsible. Specify in detail and in a form accessible to the reader the procedure for interacting with the service and the situations in which your company has the right to block or restrict access. The same applies to cases which the owner of the service is not responsible for the possible risks and losses of the user.

To avoid possible shortcomings in the drafting of user agreements and limitation of the company's liability, we recommend that you consult with A4 Law Firm lawyers on these issues.