Disclaimer on website indispensable? Thread poster: Gudrun Wolfrath
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Hello all,
I am not sure whether to include a disclaimer on my website. Wikipedia tells me it might even be detrimental...
What's your opinion?
And where would I find a German, English and French disclaimer that I can use (copyright aspect)?
Thank you in advance for your answers.
Gudrun
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Neil Coffey 
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:24
French to English
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| Disclaiming what...? | May 27, 2010 |
Gudrun Wolfrath wrote:
I am not sure whether to include a disclaimer on my website. Wikipedia tells me it might even be detrimental...
What's your opinion?
What are you wanting to disclaim?
If rabbits may have been harmed in the production of your web site and you think somebody might sue you if they are not forewarned of this fact, then I'd put a disclaimer saying "Warning: rabbits may have been harmed in the production of this web site".
As regards it being detrimental to put the disclaimer, I think I'd have to see the specific example.
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Gudrun Wolfrath
Germany
Local time: 11:24
English to German
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for answering, Neil. | May 27, 2010 |
A disclaimer like the following:
http://www.disclaimer.de/disclaimer.htm?farbe=E5E5FF/000088/1111FF/1111FF
(in English and German)
And regarding the possibly detrimental effect:
("Mit Urteil vom 12. Mai 1998 - 312 O 85/98 - "Haftung für Links" hat das Landgericht (LG) Hamburg entschieden, dass man durch das Setzen eines Links... See more A disclaimer like the following:
http://www.disclaimer.de/disclaimer.htm?farbe=E5E5FF/000088/1111FF/1111FF
(in English and German)
And regarding the possibly detrimental effect:
("Mit Urteil vom 12. Mai 1998 - 312 O 85/98 - "Haftung für Links" hat das Landgericht (LG) Hamburg entschieden, dass man durch das Setzen eines Links, die Inhalte der gelinkten Seite ggf. mit zu verantworten hat. Dies kann - so das LG - nur dadurch verhindert werden, dass man sich ausdrücklich von diesen Inhalten distanziert. Hiermit distanzieren wir uns ausdrücklich von den verlinkten Seiten.")
A judgment of the regional court of Hamburg (roughly saying): By setting a link you might be held responsible for the page linked. In order to prevent this you have to declare expressly that you have nothing to do with the linked site. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| How effectivce would such a disclaimer be in such a case? | May 27, 2010 |
Gudrun Wolfrath wrote:
A judgment of the regional court of Hamburg (roughly saying): By setting a link you might be held responsible for the page linked. In order to prevent this you have to declare expressly that you have nothing to do with the linked site.
I can understand this reasoning (although I strongly disagree with it), but my question is whether a disclaimer on a separate page would be sufficient to protect you from the German courts. I'll tell you why I ask this:
A common trick for web sites to get "consent" to send you spam is to have a line somewhere on the terms and conditions page that say that if you contact them, you give them the right to send you spam. In the Netherlands (and possibly elsewhere in Europe) this would no longer fly. If you send spam to someone and you claim that the person gave permission because it is written somewhere on some other web page (on the same web site) that the person gives permission, you won't get far, because spam laws in this country require that the user be made aware of his consent-giving action at the very point of giving access (and not on some separate page elsewhere on the web site).
If the same approach is to be applied (some time in future) to link disclaimers, then it means that you (the web master) would have to disclaim the link at the point of the link itself (and not on some separate disclaimer page).
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Ask your country's chamber of commerce | May 27, 2010 |
Gudrun Wolfrath wrote:
I am not sure whether to include a disclaimer on my website. Wikipedia tells me it might even be detrimental...
This may be a legal issue, so don't trust the Wikipedia on this. Ask your local chamber of commerce, or any legal expert in your country. I'm under the impression that German business must have some kind of impressum statement on their web sites. South African businesses are supposed to have a link on their web sites to their business' PASA manuals (but few people do that). Find out what your local laws and regulations require there to be on your web site.
I would not put a disclaimer on my web site unless I'm forced to do so. I would, however, encourage you to consider adding a privacy policy page (i.e. a page on which you tell people what you do with their contact details after they've contacted you, and what sort of information you're gathering on them).
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Gudrun Wolfrath
Germany
Local time: 11:24
English to German
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TOPIC STARTER
Thank you very much for your information.
As far as I know an imprint in mandatory (here). It seems to be a different story with disclaimers.
The websites I have seen so far always include an imprint and either no disclaimer of just a short version of it.
I wonder who reads them anyway...
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I am not aware of a legal requirement. Barring that, I would say that it depends.
In my professional site (www.freelance-translator.biz) I do NOT have a disclaimer, I never saw a reason for it.
However, on my translation links site (http://www.freelance-translator.info/) I DO h... See more I am not aware of a legal requirement. Barring that, I would say that it depends.
In my professional site (www.freelance-translator.biz) I do NOT have a disclaimer, I never saw a reason for it.
However, on my translation links site (http://www.freelance-translator.info/) I DO have a disclaimer. Why? Because in this latter case I am on purpose linking to other sites, and cannot guarantee anything about them. I found them to be useful, so I linked to them. That does not mean they will remain useful, or that they cannot be used at a certain moment in time for doubtful activities. So, as they are outside my control, I placed a disclaimer.
Gudrun Wolfrath wrote:
And where would I find a German, English and French disclaimer that I can use (copyright aspect)?
Gudrun
BTW, Gudrun, if you want to copy the disclaimer I mention above, please feel free to do so, I provide you hereby with permission.
[Editado a las 2010-07-02 19:35 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Gudrun Wolfrath
Germany
Local time: 11:24
English to German
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you Ramon | Jul 2, 2010 |
for your answer and your offer.
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