How to Write a Legal Disclaimer for Your Business

This article was co-authored by Jennifer Mueller, JD. Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006.

There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 491,858 times.

Getting a legal disclaimer drafted for you can be expensive, especially for a small business owner or freelance worker. Luckily, you can learn how to write a legal disclaimer for your business on your own. A legal disclaimer is a statement intended to protect the services, information, and property (both physical and intellectual) of your business or organization. It limits the legal liability of the entity presenting the disclaimer and also protects the entity’s legal rights in its work. A disclaimer is typically a short paragraph. If you are not sure whether you have drafted a solid disclaimer, consult with an attorney.

Identifying Your Need for a Disclaimer

• Also the good provided may be both tangible and intangible. For example, you might sell paintings. A painting is both a tangible good (the canvas and paint) and an intangible good (the likeness depicted). If you created it, it also represents a service.

• Alternately, someone may rely on information you provide to their detriment. They might then want to turn around and sue you for “causing” their injury.
• Some people may also claim injury from words alone. If you write about people, those people could claim that you harmed them because the information was false and malicious. [2] X Research source Although defamation cases require the false statement to be untruthfully or negligently presented as a statement of fact, you don't want to give anyone even the possibility of a reason to try to bring a case against you. [3] X Research source
• You should also write a disclaimer if you run a social media page or website where others can leave comments, so that you cannot be held responsible for someone else's words.

• If you write, or create images or music, then you will want to assert your rights to that intellectual property. Although your copyright exists from the moment you create your intellectual property, you still want to bring that information to the attention of consumers. Registering your work creates a "paper trail" so that it is easier to prove that your property is yours. [6] X Trustworthy Source United States Copyright Office Part of the Library of Congress, responsible for maintaining copyright records Go to source

• Nevertheless, to protect yourself as much as possible you should still write a broad disclaimer. A customer reading a disclaimer may assume that he cannot sue you and therefore not pursue a case.

Writing the Disclaimer

• You should warn consumers of any dangers or hazards posed by your product. You should list specific risks while at the same time acknowledging that the list is not exhaustive. For example, you could write, “NOTICE OF RISK. This product [or service] can at times involve substantial risk of injury, property damage, and other dangers. Dangers peculiar to such activities include, but are not limited to, [list the dangers].” [8] X Research source
• You may want to limit the time period in which someone can return a product or seek a refund to avoid being held liable, for example, for normal wear-and-tear to the item. Be as specific as possible. For example, you might state, “We do not accept returns or exchanges after 30 days unless the item you purchased is defective. If you received a defective item, please contact us at [inset contact information] with details of the defect. You can send the item you consider defective to: [insert address].”

• You can attempt to protect yourself from liability for defamation by stating, “The information provided herein is the author’s opinion and provided for entertainment purposes only.” The key to protecting yourself is to make the reader aware that the post is opinion, not provable fact.
• If you are providing information, you might want to include a disclaimer as to its accuracy. Here is a disclaimer from the U.S. Department of the Interior: "While the Department of the Interior strives to make the information on this website as timely and accurate as possible, the department makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this site, and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this site." [9] X Research source
• You may also want to warn others against relying on the information. If you publish information about health and medicine, for example, you may want to include a long disclaimer, stating that you are not providing medical advice and encouraging readers to seek professional medical assistance.

• For example, if you own a gym, you would include in your disclaimer language that the customer acknowledges there are certain risks inherent in using exercise equipment and that the customer assumes all responsibility for her use of the equipment. [11] X Research source
• However, you should note that a disclaimer is not likely to protect you from liability if the injury is caused to your own negligence or your failure to maintain your equipment properly.

• For example, if you provide original content created by you, you might want to state: "All content is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent of the author."
• You should note that copyright in the US is a complex legal concept and is not unlimited. For example, the "fair use" doctrine allows others to use your content in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. [12] X Trustworthy Source United States Copyright Office Part of the Library of Congress, responsible for maintaining copyright records Go to source ]

• For example, if you run a wedding planning business, you could include in your disclaimer that you cannot be held responsible for the failure of contractors (decorators, musicians, etc.) to perform their duties.
• Your liability disclaimer can extend to include third parties such as subcontractors, if you desire.

• For example, if you sell computers, you could include in your terms and conditions that you are not responsible for damage to the computer if the customer does not use it appropriately.
• If you own a coffee shop with wi-fi, you could include that you do not collect personal information over wi-fi, but that others could possibly do so. By agreeing to those terms and conditions, the customer agrees to be responsible for any information sharing if she uses your wi-fi.

• Contact information also helps generate business. If someone wants to license your image, song, poetry, or essay, then providing contact information helps facilitate that. Include language about requesting permission to use material: “The contents of all material available on this website are copyrighted unless otherwise indicated. All rights are reserved and content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior written permission of [insert your name]. Requests for permission to reuse copyrighted content should be submitted to [your address].” [13] X Research source

• Cover all of your bases. Have your legal disclaimer on any paperwork that your customer might come across to guarantee that they see it.

Sample Disclaimer

Expert Q&A

If you have no idea what possible rights you want to protect or lawsuits you want to avoid, then search online.

If your business or service has the potential for injury to your customers (such as skydiving), a disclaimer is not adequate. Binding liability contracts should be drafted by a legal professional.

If you are unsure about the legal liability of something that you want to write, consider not writing it.

A disclaimer does not guarantee your protection from liability in the case of legal action. A disclaimer, however, does provide notice. If the consumer then decides to assume the risk, you could be protected from liability. [15] X Research source

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1. ↑http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/191778
2. ↑http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/23/nation/la-na-blogger-suits-20100823
3. ↑http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defamation-libel-slander-key-elements-claim.html
4. ↑http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what
5. ↑http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/trademark-basics
6. ↑http://copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what
7. ↑http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/automobile-mechanic-liability.html
8. ↑https://www.lawinsider.com/clause/risk-warning-notice
9. ↑http://www.doi.gov/disclaimer.cfm

1. ↑http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-disclaimer-of-liability.htm
2. ↑http://disclaimertemplate.com/free-gym-disclaimer-example/
3. ↑http://copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
4. ↑http://www.asha.org/sitehelp/copyright/
5. ↑http://www.adamsdrafting.com/all-capitals/
6. ↑http://www.bakerdonelson.com/the-sky-is-not-the-limit-limitation-of-liability-clauses-may-be-the-solution-to-cap-your-contractual-liability-05-10-2007/

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Jennifer Mueller, JD. Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. This article has been viewed 491,858 times.

A legal disclaimer is a short paragraph that describes any possible risks your business or products could pose to customers. It’s meant to protect you and your business from any liabilities if things don’t go as planned. Before you write one, figure out what potential liabilities you have. For example, if you sell gym equipment, you could be held liable for a customer’s injury while using one of your products. Alternatively, if you sell vacation packages, you could be held liable if a customer gets lost or injured during the trip. Once you understand your liabilities, write your disclaimer by listing the potential risks of your product or service. You might say, “Notice of risk: This product can at times involve risk of injury, property damage, and other dangers.” Additionally, if your business involves third party contractors, you could say, “We cannot be held responsible for the failure of contractors to perform duties.” To read more sample legal disclaimers from our Lawyer co-author, scroll down!

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