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What's a terms of use?
A terms of use agreement — also referred to as "terms and conditions" or "terms of service" — is a legal agreement that outlines the rules, regulations, and conditions governing use of a website. Organizations use terms of use agreements to establish guidelines for user behavior and to mitigate legal risks.
How to write a terms of use
Note: MC Professional cannot advise you on or help you write your organization's policies. As an MC Professional customer, you have access to discounted rates with Termly.
The following resources can help you create and manage a terms of use agreement:
Where to publish your terms of use
Several options for publishing your terms of use are available:
- Upload your terms of use document to the Media Manager.
- Create a terms of use article and link to it wherever you'd like.
- Add a link to your terms of use in your website footer.
- Create a consent attribute in your database to track user consent.
- Contact our Support Team to add a policy or consent banner code snippet to your website.
Essential components of a terms of use
A terms of use agreement typically includes the following:
- Introduction and acceptance: A statement that users agree to abide by the terms by accessing or using the website.
- Definitions: Key terms used throughout the document, defined for clarity.
- User rights and responsibilities: What users may and may not do on the website, covering user-generated content, account registration, and prohibited activities.
- Intellectual property rights: Ownership of website content — including copyrights and trademarks — and any restrictions on how users may copy, distribute, or modify it.
- Privacy policy reference: A link to your Privacy Policy, with confirmation of compliance with relevant laws such as GDPR or CCPA.
- Disclaimers: Limitations of liability for damages, errors, or inaccuracies, including warranty disclaimers and jurisdiction-specific clauses.
- Governing law and dispute resolution: The governing law that applies to the agreement and the process for resolving disputes, such as arbitration or mediation.
- Changes to terms: How users will be notified when terms are updated.
- Termination: Circumstances under which the agreement may be terminated or a user's account suspended.
See the Society for Conservation GIS's terms of use as an example.