IPLF: Drafting the E-commerce Contracts

The E-commerce industry is a booming area. With markets getting global and online, the consumer base has been largely shifted towards the online marketplace. The market is also making its greater stand towards getting online thereby increasing the consumer base. With greater reliance, e-commerce contract becomes a very important part in the business. Generally, the contract for an e-commerce setup contains three important parts. The first one is the terms and conditions drafting, the second one is the privacy policy and the third one is the vendor agreement. Let us discuss all three aspects.

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Terms and Condition

A Terms and Conditions Policy, which is also in common parlance known as Terms of Service, Terms of Use, or simply Terms, is a legally binding agreement that allows a person/corporation to protect themselves, the business, and limit their liability. A Terms and Conditions Policy establishes one’s legal rights and limitations in a written form. It primarily covers and seeks to outline how your Website or App, or any other technology is intended to be used. It also out rightly points out and explains the rights you have regarding your website or app or technology. A customer’s agreement with the Terms and Conditions is often implied, which means that there is an assumption that the customer agrees to the Terms by the virtue of entering and browsing your site, downloading information, purchasing products, etc. When looked at from a general perspective, having a robust Terms and Conditions policy for an E-commerce store/App or any other platform which is user-oriented, should contain the following clauses:

• Limitations of Liability
• Intellectual Property Protection
• Pricing and Payment terms, including shipping, returns, exchanges, and cancellations
• Product Information
• Dispute Resolution

Therefore, it has become quintessential to get the Terms and Conditions policy appropriately drawn up and reviewed by professionals, especially in modern times. It is also very imperative to gain an understanding of the clauses and the content of the policy in case an issue or dispute does arise. Our team of professionals at IP and Legal Filings (IPLF) are well versed with all factual and legal scenarios that are primarily required to engage in drafting a sound Terms and Conditions Policy.

Privacy Policy

A Privacy Policy is termed a legal agreement that details the types of personal information that a website collects from visitors. Moreover, it also enumerates how that information is collected by that respective platform, stored, and managed. Laws in almost every country have made it mandatory for the owners of E-Commerce businesses or any other user-oriented platform to make their Privacy Policy. Privacy laws endeavor to protect the personal information of the consumers/users since the number of websites that are collecting personal information to perform or improve online services is increasing day by day. Hence, laws have been enacted to control and protect the user’s information. Therefore, the privacy policy is a disclosure statement of an e-commerce entity. Although you may post the policy, you need to ensure that it completely represents your company and it ensures the company’s liability to keep yourself from facing legal problems in the future. Our team of professionals is well versed with all factual and legal scenarios that are primarily required to engage in drafting a sound Privacy Policy.

Vendor Agreement

A Vendor Agreement is an agreement that specifies and outlines the conditions under which the work ought to be performed by the vendor. These types of agreements have a wide scope as they cover and include various facets of the relationship with the vendor. These features are inclusive but not limited to the quality of goods being supplied or service being provided, duration of the contract, terms, and mode of payment. Moreover, these agreements also outline the liability and the limitations on the vendor. A vendor contract is of extreme importance for any business owner who has to facilitate business with various vendors and suppliers, as the corner store owner or the one having a multi-million-dollar business. Vendor Agreements also cover a variety of areas which include, but are not limited to software, office supplies, professional services, consultants, technology services, event planning, marketing, and much more. Our team of professionals is well versed with all factual and legal scenarios that are primarily required to engage in drafting a sound Vendor Agreement.

Advantages of a Vendor Agreement:

• It specifies and clearly outlines the limitations on the works to be performed by the vendor.
• It protects and insures both the parties as it extinguishes the risk of future litigation to a large extent by laying down the terms and conditions and rights and duties of both parties.
• It specifies the exact procedure which needs to be followed by the vendor while working.
• The vendor agreement expedites the work as the agreement provides the vendor with great clarity about the work which needs to be performed.

For more information regarding the team services and registration of the OPCs kindly contact the IPLF team.

Author: Saransh Chaturvedi an associate at IP & Legal Filings, in case of any queries please contact/write back to us at support@ipandlegalfilings.com.