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Website Terms of Use: What is ‘User Content’?

Website Terms of Use is an important legal document for all businesses, which should be easily accessible on your website, as it applies to every visitor of your website. Your Website Terms of Use is important as it protects your information and also grants rights for you to use content posted by users of your website. If you currently don’t have a Website Terms of Use contract drawn up, it would be a good idea to speak with an online lawyer to help get you started.

What does ‘User Content’ mean?

Some websites have a forum, blog or listing function. If your website allows users to provide content and make it public on your website, your Website Terms of Use should set out how this content can be posted on your website and how it can be used by you.

Your Website Terms of Use should state that users should warrant that they have the right to post such content, and that the posting of such content does not infringe the intellectual property rights or copyright of any third parties. The user must ensure that they have the right to post the content and should provide you with a license to use this content. Your use of their content may include reproducing, changing or otherwise communicating the content to the public.

You may also wish to state in your Website Terms of Use that the user who is making content available by uploading such content onto your website is providing his or her consent to any act or omission which would otherwise constitute any infringement of his, her or a relevant party’s moral rights.

Conclusion

Not every website allows users of the website to post content, but if your website does, then your website needs to ensure that the Website Terms of Use adequately covers user content. This will help you to avoid disputes with users in the future if you want to use any of the user content for the promotion of your business or other related purposes.

If you have any questions regarding Website Terms of Use, and are unsure of whether or not your business requires one, speak to one of our online lawyers today.

 

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Priscilla Ng

Priscilla Ng

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