Disclaimers - Are they Necessary? Do They Work?

Excellent post. Very true as well. Too many products are being hyped to death and making huge promises that they never keep. I think they then hide behind the disclaimer instead of being up front and honest in the first place. I've never heard of any lawsuits, but I could provide a long list of sales letter type pages that would be great candidates for one.

Intersting question.

The problem is where the disclaimer appears.

Maybe you couldn't sue the author of the book for presenting the information that has a disclaimer, but I wonder if you couldn't after the sales page?

If the sales page doesn't have the disclaimer, then it may be fair game.

Not being a lawyer, I'm not speaking with any authority.

Still, it makes you wonder how and where the disclaimer applies, and if it's enforceable.

Some site do have a disclaimer page, or will add a few glossed-over phrases to protect themselves, but will they hold up in a court of law if put to the test? Again, good question, but I have no idea.



All the best,
Michael

There's two real issues here:

1) A legal disclaimer to cover certain things is very important; Things like "results may vary", "testimonials listed do not reflect what the average buyer will experience", "no earnings claims or guarantees are being made", etc.

However:

2) Trying to use legal disclaimers to void fraudulent claims in your sales letter won't help you. You can't blatantly lie in a sales letter and then mention in hidden fine print that you lied.

To sum up: Disclaimers can keep honest sellers from accidentally running into trouble. They won't keep necessarily keep dishonest sellers from getting away with something.

I know that any claims regarding income from trading stocks or options requires a very specific disclaimer by law, stating that markets are unpredictable on the whole and that there is no way to guarantee that following certain steps will result in a profit.

For most "how to" methods, disclaimers are a good way to CYA, to make sure you have at least some protection over people reading your book, not using your methods correctly, and then getting angry.

Like Tim said though, you can't use a disclaimer to counteract fraudulent claims, but rather to ensure that potential customers know that "results may vary".

A disclaimer is only effective if it is incorporated in the terms and conditions of use.
Terms and coonditions of use are only enforceable IF there is clear evidence that the purchaser signed as having read them them.
A disclaimer may be seen to infringe basic rights under commercial law and so, whether signed or not, could be deemed invalid.

On top of all that, you need to take into account all the rules of contract performance and individual interpretation of the actual meaning of phraseology as opposed to the intended meaning.

Put simply. Disclaimers in the wrong place using imprecise language do not work.

I don't know about anyone else on this thread but I do know that Brian is a working lawer here in California.

He is just right up the road from me and his office has actually done some legal work for a friend of mine.

Disclaimer: He and I do not know each other personally and I am not receiving compensation for this endorsement.

Humm... Reality check here. I'm not a lawyer, although I have experience with them. It comes down to money and emotion. The widget being disputed costs "X" amount of dollars. If a lawsuit begins, both parties are now paying upwards of $200 per hour to solve this dispute (not to mention time, energy, and aggravation sprinkled in.) Is it worth it to pursue/defend? This is where the emotion comes in. We were taught of a case back in grad school (graphic design) where an artist's original work was "stolen" and the "thief" used the art to make money selling tee shirts. The artist came across her original work in a gift shop one day and a lawsuit followed. The price of the legal fees were more than the damages. However, it got personal for that artist and she chose to follow through and take legal action. The lesson learned by the students is that, yes, you could be in the legal "right" but it will probably cost more than it is worth to pursue a lawsuit.

So, if the "widgit" you are selling upsets the buyer so much that they want to take legal action, they probably will no matter what type of disclaimer is on the product. At that point, even if the seller's disclaimer "protects" them, they still lose, because legal action is expensive. Wouldn't it be better just to make peace with the buyer and offer them their money back? It seems an "unconditional money back guarantee" is the better way to go. It is less expensive, patches wounds, and not only builds trust, but maybe the seller can learn from it - why did the buyer not want to keep the product? What made the buyer so upset? If there is any validity to the reason(s) you can learn from it and improve your produt for the future.

The possibilities are the, in my opinion if the disclaimer is incorporated in the terms and conditions of use of such a website than it may be more effective. it's best to take precautions and promise what you can keep and keep your promises. Paying thousands of dollars as a result of a lawsuit can be very frustrating