As a business owner in the UK, you need various pieces of legal documentation to ensure your business runs smoothly.\u00a0Some documents are more complex than others and some companies make the mistake of copying policies from other UK businesses.\u00a0Doing so runs the risk of causing your organisation harm from a reputational, financial and legal perspective. This article will consider why your organisation should avoid copying another company\u2019s website terms of service and obtain a suitable version instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This document lives on your company website and sets rules for site users. It is akin to a rule book outlining when users may receive suspensions or permanent bans from your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website terms of service<\/a> documents should fit the organisation, particularly concerning how they do business in the UK and their potential customers.\u00a0So, for example, any website that sells children\u2019s toys (and has no age restrictions for entry) should police abusive comments much more heavily than a power tool website for adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst these documents differ according to the relevant company, most will mention some of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following sections explore the potential downfalls of simply copying and pasting a website terms of service from another company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsurprisingly, copying and pasting a terms of service policy<\/a> from another website is a likely breach of copyright law.\u00a0The work was likely commissioned for them (at their cost) and for their use only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lifting a policy would be akin to a newspaper simply copying another newspaper\u2019s article word for word and posting it online. It would be a reasonably straightforward copyright infringement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some business owners seek to subtly change the policy wording to get around this, so it is different. However, there are two significant disadvantages to doing so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
1. Breach of Copyright<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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