Before writing the terms and conditions page ask yourself is it really important to have Terms and Conditions for the use of the website. If you have a single page website where there is no two way interaction between the website and the user and you are not really selling any product or service, then all you might really need is this line "(c) Your name. All right reserved." basically to indicate that the content is owned by you. So if you have taken the content from someplace else i.e. you are not the original owner or a licensee it may not be valid.
But if you decide that there are legal requirements for you to have a terms and conditions for your website then the followings are some of the things you might want to keep in mind before you go ahead and type out the document.
Introduction - Identify Yourself i.e. the First Party
Identify the Second Party
Like all other agreements, the terms and conditions of your website must define / identify as to who are the parties to the same. So you need to make it clear as to who are users(those who browse your site) and who are customers (those who buy or avail services from your site) and what applies to each of them. Example the shipping policy may not apply to all users but to only those purchase from your website, but incase of Intellectual Property Claims the terms will be applicable to both users and customers.
Eligibility
Specify the eligibility - If you are selling products or services then ideally you want to restrict the sale of goods to children under 18 years of age because they are not eligible to contract under the Indian Contract Act. If you are based in another country then you might want to look at the governing act applicable to you.
Jurisdiction
Its good to spell out where the disputes will be resolved. It might save you considerable cost in terms of litigation if you make clear the place of litigation. Note that it is the discretion of the judge and the governing law as to whether your jurisdiction clause will hold in court or not but nevertheless it will add weight to your argument to dismiss the suit on ground of lack of jurisdiction.
Intellectual Property Rights
Establish your claims and ensure a channel where in you can address the claims of any one who disputes your claims to the content of your website.
Dispute Resolution
Anticipate the disputes that can arise from the usage of the website and make your position clear before with respect to those points. It is wise to have a dispute resolution mechanism in place, e.g. a grieviance officer.
Shipping & Delivery
Specify the terms of shipping, liability of goods during the period of shipping, whether transit insurance is available to the customer etc.
Exchange, Returns & Refunds
Set out your policy beforehand with respect to defective goods, goods damaged during transit, goods which are not according to specification, etc. Usually the more successful businesses have liberal policies with respect to the customer, so that the customer can trust you more.
Indemnification
Indemnify yourself against any third party acts, such as hacking, viruses, i.e. acts which you are not responsible for but might be held liable for. For example if someone hacks your website, etc and steals customer data.
Privacy Policy
Make a list of all user and customer related data and information that you will be storing and make it clear to the user as to how is it going to be used. Ideally there should not be any misuse of the user data. The user data should not be shared except in aid of any government investigation and / or any other legal purpose, etc. In India it is necessary to have a grievance officer for every website. There are no legal guidelines as to the qualifications for the same but it is necessary as per the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 Rule 3 Sub Rule 11 for every website in India to have the contact details of atleast one grievance office and the mechanism by which the user or victim can notify their complaints against harmful access or usage.
As per Rule 3 Sub Rule 11 mentioned above "The intermediary shall publish on its website the name of the Grievance Officer and his contact details as well as mechanism by which users or any victim who suffers as a result of access or usage of computer resource by any person in violation of rule 3 can notify their complaints against such access or usage of computer resource of the intermediary or other matters pertaining to the computer resources made available by it. The Grievance Officer shall redress the complaints within one month from the date of receipt of complaint."
Jurisdiction
Its good to spell out where the disputes will be resolved. It might save you considerable cost in terms of litigation if you make clear the place of litigation. Note that it is the discretion of the judge and the governing law as to whether your jurisdiction clause will hold in court or not but nevertheless it will add weight to your argument to dismiss the suit on ground of lack of jurisdiction.
Intellectual Property Rights
Establish your claims and ensure a channel where in you can address the claims of any one who disputes your claims to the content of your website.
Dispute Resolution
Anticipate the disputes that can arise from the usage of the website and make your position clear before with respect to those points. It is wise to have a dispute resolution mechanism in place, e.g. a grieviance officer.
Shipping & Delivery
Specify the terms of shipping, liability of goods during the period of shipping, whether transit insurance is available to the customer etc.
Exchange, Returns & Refunds
Set out your policy beforehand with respect to defective goods, goods damaged during transit, goods which are not according to specification, etc. Usually the more successful businesses have liberal policies with respect to the customer, so that the customer can trust you more.
Indemnification
Indemnify yourself against any third party acts, such as hacking, viruses, i.e. acts which you are not responsible for but might be held liable for. For example if someone hacks your website, etc and steals customer data.
Privacy Policy
Make a list of all user and customer related data and information that you will be storing and make it clear to the user as to how is it going to be used. Ideally there should not be any misuse of the user data. The user data should not be shared except in aid of any government investigation and / or any other legal purpose, etc. In India it is necessary to have a grievance officer for every website. There are no legal guidelines as to the qualifications for the same but it is necessary as per the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 Rule 3 Sub Rule 11 for every website in India to have the contact details of atleast one grievance office and the mechanism by which the user or victim can notify their complaints against harmful access or usage.
As per Rule 3 Sub Rule 11 mentioned above "The intermediary shall publish on its website the name of the Grievance Officer and his contact details as well as mechanism by which users or any victim who suffers as a result of access or usage of computer resource by any person in violation of rule 3 can notify their complaints against such access or usage of computer resource of the intermediary or other matters pertaining to the computer resources made available by it. The Grievance Officer shall redress the complaints within one month from the date of receipt of complaint."
