Wednesday, May 26, 2010

MKT595 Week 9

Disclaimers, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Given all of the news about privacy on Facebook, it seems that any website should be concerned about privacy policies, if the users are storing data on the website.

In the course of designing my website, WellDash, I have added a disclaimer in the footer area on each page.

"WellDash content is for educational purposes only. WellDash and its contributors cannot be held liable for any damages incurred by following any of the advice found on this website. Copyright © 2010 WellDash"

WellDash gives information and advice on wellness. I was wondering what type of disclaimer I should use. I consulted with a professor at DePaul. He said that a simple disclaimer is sufficient for now, but as the site grows the disclaimer should be revised and additional documents added.

In the case of an initial privacy policy, disclaimer and terms of use to start with, simple is better. More complicated online documents should be written under the advice of a lawyer.

Copyright
The image on this blog is taken from a stock.xchng, a website that provides free images. For the legal reasons we discussed in class it is better to have your own images or ones that are free.

Using PowerPoint Images and SmartArt on a Website?
One of the questions I have about copyright is, are the images and SmartArt that a user creates in PowerPoint copyrighted by Microsoft? Is it ok to use those on a website? It would seem to me that if the product was purchased by the user then the images are ok to use.

1 comment:

James Moore said...

The stock art question is an interesting one. Even if the stock art you use from sources like Microsoft are legal to reuse on your website, this may result in your site lacking "uniqueness."

I would advise looking at the terms and conditions of any products you purchase - this way you can clarify how you can use them