Hi Everyone, I'm starting up my own business and looking for a starting place for our terms and conditions. Is it ok/legal to use another similar company as a template? If not where is a good place to get some kind of template so I can make it specific and then have it checked out by a lawyer? Thanks
Technically...no, you can't, however, most T&C/ToS are pretty much the same. Find several similar companys, take what you want out of there, and make sure you change all the information such as your company reserves.... Technically its illegal, but, how can they prosecute you for something like that if everyone uses pretty much the same template (most lawyers that do this stuff have templates they go off from previous clients and just slightly modify)
Hope it's not too late to help. Have a look at these: Terms Of Service Generator http://www.webmasters-cavern.com/tools/tosgen/ http://www.bennadel.com/coldfusion/privacy-policy-generator.htm Code (markup): Just remember to make appropriate changes where required to suit your business.
You might check out All Business for some boiler plate agreements. But you should have an attorney review them to make sure that all aspects of your business is protected. You might even consider speaking with a couple of attorneys - if they specialize in the industry, they will have some boiler-plate agreements and they will help tailor it to your business. You might also look at Internet Litigators.