Overview of Content Sharing Terms of Use

What is this document?

A Content Sharing Terms of Use is an agreement between a contributor to a website and the company operating the website.

When would I use this document?

A Content Sharing Terms of Use is used when the owner of a website invites members of the public to contribute material to the website. It sets out the details about how the contributor can contribute, who owns the contributed materials, profit sharing etc. It is placed on the website by the owner of the site so that potential contributors can sign up as contributors.

Who signs this agreement?

This document is part of a website, and is not physically signed by the contributor. A person who wants to become a contributor can contact the company by email to begin the registration process, or register on the website. If a person registers as a contributor they are agreeing to be bound by the Content Sharing Terms of Use Agreement, and are stating that they have the legal capacity to accept the contract.

More details about this document

A Content Sharing Terms of Use is a one-sided agreement in favour of the company that owns the website. It is not an agreement that is negotiated by the parties. The agreement will specify what types of content a contributor can place on the website; how any revenue is to be shared; whether the contributor has an exclusive right to contribute for a geographic area or type of content; how frequently the contributor must provide content; whether the website will permit referrals or click throughs to the contributor’s website or social media page; and who owns the content on the website.

The agreement will also require the contributor to confirm that all content is accurate; and will prohibit reverse-engineering of the website. The contributor will be bound by the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of the website. The agreement will provide for how the parties are to communicate with each other, and when each party can end the agreement. The company will have a license to use all contributor content.

What are the core elements of this document?

The core elements include: Contributor Responsibilities; Approval of the Terms; Prohibited Use; Revenue; License; Disclaimers; Amendment; Limitation of Liability and Intellectual Property.

Related Documents

  • Terms of Use - a general agreement governing the use of a website.
  • Privacy Policy - part of the website setting out how private information will be used.
  • End User License Agreement - an agreement granting the user a license to use software or services that are distributed online.

Written by Rajah. Rajah Lehal is Founder and CEO of Clausehound.com. Rajah is a legal technologist and technology lawyer who is, together with the Clausehound team, capturing and sharing lawyer expertise, building deal negotiation libraries, teaching negotiation in classrooms, and automating negotiation with software.