Since the early days of the internet it has always been prudent to include legal disclaimers on your website in the form of a Terms of Service Policy and a Privacy Policy in order to protect your business from legal action. With the introduction of the new FTC guidelines, to come into effect on December 1 2009, it is now imperative that internet business owners include an affiliate disclosure agreement on their website as well.

But website owners, especially those involved in online business, do not just operate websites. Most website owners also distribute information in other forms including, but not limited to reports which can be either free or paid and series of auto responder emails. It is important that you protect yourself from legal action which may be taken against you if you distribute information in these ways. You may worry that legal disclaimers will make your information seem less authoritative and consequently decrease sales, but when you weigh this against the possibility of having to deal with expensive legal bills you will realize that it is an easy choice to make. Legal disclaimers are vital.

As a general rule, you should bear in mind that you do not know who is going to be reading your information. There are all kinds of people on the internet who vary across the whole spectrum of different codes of morality, of intelligence and of simple “common sense”. In the offline world there have been countless numbers of cases of businesses being sued, or having other legal action taken against them for what, on the face of it, seem the most bizarre, unjustified or unworthy reasons. Even when businesses win these cases they often end up spending a lot of money in the process. The same problems can occur just as easily online as they do offline, so anyone who owns a business or even just offers information on the internet really needs to protect themselves.

No matter what manner you are distributing information on the internet, please use legal disclaimers to protect yourself. Whether it be a website, a report, or an email responder series please include legal disclaimers to protect you and your business. Some information you may wish to include is as follows:

- The information presented is for general information purposes
- You do not guarantee the accuracy, applicability, fitness or completeness of the   information
- The information should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.
- That you hold no liability for what the user of the information does with the information or the consequences of any such action.
- All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for accuracy, content or any implied or implicit purpose
-That if any legal proceedings are commenced they will take place in your locale, not that of the plaintiff.

In conclusion, be smart and protect yourself and your business. It is your livelihood and you should not take risks by eschewing legal disclaimers in the fear that they may discourage potential sales; the loss of a few sales would pale in comparison to fighting a legal battle against a disgruntled or greedy customer who wants more than just a refund. Whether you run a website, distribute a report, offer information in the form of an email responder series or deliver information in any other way always use legal disclaimers.

If you are wondering why you need a Terms of Service (TOS) page on your website and just exactly what it should contain then you need to read this article. A TOS is extremely important for your webpage in order to protect you from possible legal consequences from a disgruntled user, or even worse, a money gabbing extortionist.

If you are selling or promoting something on your website and the consumer does not get the results they expect they may well try and sue you. If you are offering information and the reader somehow feels that they have been harmed or misled by it, they might sue you. If you are an affiliate for another website and the user does not like what that website sells them they may sue you for leading them there. A Terms Of Service page can help protect you against all of these situations.

What you will need in your TOS will depend on the purpose of your website, the information it offers, the actions users can take on the website, the information that is collected on the site, and the products you promote or sell. Some important things  that you may wish to have in a Terms of Service page are the following:

- The site is for general information only and may change without notice.
- That you do not guarantee any of the information on the website with regards to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, suitability or performance and that it may contain errors.
- That the reader of your site uses the information at their own risk and you will not be liable.
- That the material on the website is owned or licensed by you, is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced.
- That all trademarks mentioned on your website or acknowledged by the website.
- That unauthorized use of your website may be subject to claims for damages or may be a criminal offence.
- That you do not bear responsibility for any other websites linked to from your own.
- That if legal proceedings commence they will take place in your jurisdiction, not the plaintiffs.

You may well need other clauses depending on the purpose of your website. A quick glance at the Terms of Service on sites such as Yahoo or Facebook will show you just how lengthy these can be. Even though they are generally ignored by the user they should always be included to protect you from possible legal harm.

If you need a TOS for your website you should either consult a lawyer, use free online legal forms, or use a legal form generator. Whichever method you choose, just make sure you try and cover all your bases to protect both yourself and your business from possible legal consequences.