allysmiles3
New member
You’ve probably read on the internet things like “T&C templates and generators can serve as a starting point, but every business has unique needs and risks that may not be covered by a generic document. A legal expert can provide invaluable insights into nuances that could otherwise be overlooked.”
Every article is talking about these “unique needs”, “nuances”, and “valuable insights” in a very vague manner. You might think - what’s so unique about my SaaS startup - you can register and do stuff, as in thousands of other products. Post pictures, generate emails, book services - does it really matter that much what we do? I just want my liability to the minimum and the GDPR mumbo-jumbo in place.
And you may be right
but sometimes these “unique needs” are not plainly visible to a non-expert. I’ve prepared a few examples of things that are not always included in the document generators + some explanation of why they may backfire.
Obvious Disclaimer 1: these do not apply to everyone, so for your case they might be useless. If they would be useful for everyone, they’d be included in the templates.
Disclaimer 2 - I’m not a lawyer, this is based on personal experience in SaaS.
Subscription plans and SLAs
Template generators are not good at describing different subscription plans and associated service levels that your SaaS has. The nature of the services that you provide can vary significantly, and therefore it’s difficult to provide a common language.
When addressing this, you do not want to necessarily bake all the details into your T&C. Instead, list the exact services on a separate page, reference that page from the T&C, and include language that enables you to update the page if necessary, even for existing subscribers.
Sponsored features
You may find yourself in a situation where a Big Customer (BC) needs a feature that is useful for other customers, but is not a big priority for them. The BC wants to “sponsor” the feature, i.e. to pay you to raise the priority.
However after you’ve implemented and rolled out the feature, the BC claims full or partial ownership of the feature “because they paid for it” and demands (for example) that their competitors don’t get the feature.
To protect yourself against this scenario, you’ll want to clarify what feature “sponsorship” means and what the sponsor is actually paying for, as well as other conditions.
Consumer rights
In some countries and areas there is legislation that protects consumers (natural persons). This consumer protection legislation applies by default and grants the consumer additional rights - such as the right to unconditionally cancel the contract within a certain period, or the right to certain information.
If your SaaS is B2B and allows users to self-register, it might be a good idea to stipulate that they must act in the name of a company and that your product is intended only for legal entities.
Zero liability
It’s tempting to limit your liability to zero at all times. However, in some countries this is considered unfair, and thus unenforceable. If you have a zero liability clause, the court may disregard it, and hold your company liable.
The answer is usually to limit liability to a reasonable amount, e.g. the total amount paid to you annually by the customer.
Every article is talking about these “unique needs”, “nuances”, and “valuable insights” in a very vague manner. You might think - what’s so unique about my SaaS startup - you can register and do stuff, as in thousands of other products. Post pictures, generate emails, book services - does it really matter that much what we do? I just want my liability to the minimum and the GDPR mumbo-jumbo in place.
And you may be right
but sometimes these “unique needs” are not plainly visible to a non-expert. I’ve prepared a few examples of things that are not always included in the document generators + some explanation of why they may backfire.Obvious Disclaimer 1: these do not apply to everyone, so for your case they might be useless. If they would be useful for everyone, they’d be included in the templates.
Disclaimer 2 - I’m not a lawyer, this is based on personal experience in SaaS.
Subscription plans and SLAs
Template generators are not good at describing different subscription plans and associated service levels that your SaaS has. The nature of the services that you provide can vary significantly, and therefore it’s difficult to provide a common language.
When addressing this, you do not want to necessarily bake all the details into your T&C. Instead, list the exact services on a separate page, reference that page from the T&C, and include language that enables you to update the page if necessary, even for existing subscribers.
Sponsored features
You may find yourself in a situation where a Big Customer (BC) needs a feature that is useful for other customers, but is not a big priority for them. The BC wants to “sponsor” the feature, i.e. to pay you to raise the priority.
However after you’ve implemented and rolled out the feature, the BC claims full or partial ownership of the feature “because they paid for it” and demands (for example) that their competitors don’t get the feature.
To protect yourself against this scenario, you’ll want to clarify what feature “sponsorship” means and what the sponsor is actually paying for, as well as other conditions.
Consumer rights
In some countries and areas there is legislation that protects consumers (natural persons). This consumer protection legislation applies by default and grants the consumer additional rights - such as the right to unconditionally cancel the contract within a certain period, or the right to certain information.
If your SaaS is B2B and allows users to self-register, it might be a good idea to stipulate that they must act in the name of a company and that your product is intended only for legal entities.
Zero liability
It’s tempting to limit your liability to zero at all times. However, in some countries this is considered unfair, and thus unenforceable. If you have a zero liability clause, the court may disregard it, and hold your company liable.
The answer is usually to limit liability to a reasonable amount, e.g. the total amount paid to you annually by the customer.