Using someone else's disclaimer???

by Brian John

Posted: 13 years ago 17 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Just wondering, is it legal to use someone else's disclaimer? They basically all say the same thing, but would it be ok to simply find a good one and use it as your own. I'd guess changing of a few words might be a good idea, but what if it was used verbatim?

#disclaimer

LooseChange 13 years ago

Well, it depends on what you're "disclaiming"

Yes, most people copy and paste innocuous bits of legal verbatim but here's the spin....

If you have a "real" company doing "real" business, it's best you follow through with a lawyer to write any sort of legal user disclaimers.

If you're just creating search engine spam Adsense or affiliate sites, just use the available disclaimers.
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LB 13 years ago

Why would the disclaimer not be be copyrighted?

Why would it apply to your business?

And why, of all things, would you want to steal a document written by a lawyer?
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- Brian John 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by LB
  
  Why would the disclaimer not be be copyrighted
  
  good question!
  
  Originally Posted by LB
  
  Why would it apply to your business?
  
  basically selling the same type of product just with different bells and whistles. (health care niche)
  
  Originally Posted by LB
  
  And why, of all things, would you want to steal a document written by a lawyer?
  
  another good question. I ask because it seems like all of the disclaimers on comparable products are very similar, such that the wording may be slightly different but the concepts they are conveying are identical. i could have my own written but it would be very similar to what everyone else already has. in the end it's not really even worth the trouble, it's easy enough to make my own...that's what I'll do.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  Bryan Zimmerman 13 years ago
  
  There are lots of disclaimer, Privacy Policy, and TOS templates all over the internet for people to use. Just Google any one of them and you can just copy and paste
  
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Willie Crawford 13 years ago

Many of the disclaimers that you'll find on website are copyrighted.

Many are also licensed to the website that you see them on, so
that webmaster doesn't even hold the copywriter.

Some of the people who create these documents will
aggressively pursue you, and any of your providers who
support you (web host, merchant account provider, etc.)
if you steal their intellectual property.

There ARE sites that provide legal documents that they
give permission to freely use. If I were not going to have
a disclaimer, or other legal documents, professionally done,
I'd probably start at one of these sites.

Willie
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LB 13 years ago

Also a good time to add that there are some Warrior attorneys that sell such templates at affordable prices.
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BubbaJay 13 years ago

Do I smell WSO?

Jay
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Targeted Traffic 13 years ago

Why not just have something really unique to your website? If you were thinking of being able to spend, there are a lot of attorneys who can create this for you at an agreeable cost for both of you...Good luck
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Frank Ayres 13 years ago

might be good if someone did a WSO for doing Custom Disclaimers etc
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rockone 13 years ago

Disclaimer is a standard content for sites and I think it cannot be copywrited. You can use others disclaimer. Just make few changes. That will do.
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- Frank Ayres 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by rockone
  
  Disclaimer is a standard content for sites and I think it cannot be copywrited. You can use others disclaimer. Just make few changes. That will do.
  
  sorry but that is rubbish, An adsense site disclaimer is going to be different to a paid membership which is different to a free membership etc
  
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- davezan 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by rockone
  
  I think it cannot be copywrited.
  
  You're right that it can't be copywrited. But it can have a copyright the moment
  it's created by its author.
  
  While "advice" like what you said is intended to be helpful, unfortunately it won't
  really help anyone if/when it turns out factually untrue. And it does in this case.
  
  OP, you might want to check member kindsvater if his WSO is still open. That's as
  affordable a solution as you get without having to essentially "rip" someone else's
  legal disclaimers or so.
  
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  David
  
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Henry White 13 years ago

Initially, you have to watch your startup costs and expenses, and for a limited time you can get away with doing everything on the cheap and fly under the radar.

Once you start making money, this is no longer a "hobby" and you need to treat like a business - because that's what it is! You need to upgrade to business accounts at PayPal and your bank, incorporate, register your copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks, get your local business licenses, yada-yada-yada. None of this is all that expensive, and it's part of owning/running a real business, so it's a legitimate deduction from your incomes taxes.

As one of my profs in business school put it, 'CYA or you're certain to lose it!'
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sbucciarel Banned 13 years ago

Just get a templated disclaimer instead of stealing someone else's. A disclaimer that has been created for someone's site is copyrighted just as any other material on their site is.
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- Brian John 13 years ago
  
  i just realized what I can do. my products are in the healthcare niche and i own several RR products that are also in healthcare and closely related. i can simply dig through some of the many products that i have full/unrestricted PLR rights to and modify, or use as is, one of those. that's probably the simplest solution.
  
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scubasteve-cr 13 years ago

I just use the default disclaimers that come built into optimizepress.
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amarketing 13 years ago

I've often wondered what I would do about a disclaimer for an affiliate or adsense site. So, I can just download free templates?
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