Что такое дисклеймер, или почему отказ администрации магазина об отсутствии ответственности за оставленные вещи является неправовым

Confidentiality Disclaimer (for Emails)

Digital communication offers more opportunities for confidential information to be exposed or intercepted. A confidentiality disclaimer states who the message is for, why the recipient should not forward it to others, and who they should contact if they receive the message by mistake.

Confidentiality disclaimers are commonly used in law, education, and healthcare — industries that rely on the transfer of sensitive information. For example, they’re useful in situations where a business needs to ensure attorney–client privilege, safeguard sensitive personal data, or protect private health records.

«Views expressed» disclaimer

A «Views expressed» disclaimer is typically seen on blogs or other online media publications, posts or articles.

This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.

Otherwise, what one employee says may be construed as being what the entire company believes, thinks or condones, and this may be very inaccurate and damaging.

«Views expressed» disclaimers are seen most often in personal opinion writing by experts or professionals working in the same field of study as their post.

For example, a climate change scientist writing an editorial or opinion piece that involves the topic of climate change may include a disclaimer saying that the opinions are his own and not that of his employer.

Another common use of a «views expressed» disclaimer is by people who are endorsing or critiquing a product that a company they work for produces or is involved with.

In this situation, a disclaimer will let readers know that the writer is speaking solely for herself, not for the company or as a formal representative of the company.

It’s not uncommon for companies, universities and organizations to have some sort of social media policy in place to dictate how and when these disclaimers must be used.

Here’s how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) handles how employees of the NIH or US government must use disclaimers.

At NIH, official duty activities carried out on behalf of the government don’t need a disclaimer.

However, when engaging in outside activities, such as a personal blog or as a member of an organization, an employee «may not use or reference their titles or NIH affiliation» except if it’s as part of a multi-detailed biographical summary, or if a disclaimer is included.

Writing a «Views expressed» disclaimer is very easy: all you have to do is basically state that the opinions and views you’re expressing at that time are yours and not your employers or anyone else’s.

Here are a few examples of «Views expressed» disclaimers.

Example from blog posts or articles

If you have a personal website or a blog, a «views expressed» disclaimer helps make it clear to your readers that what they’re reading is a product solely of your own.

Douglas E. Rice includes a short, to-the-point disclaimer on his personal website:

Following this subtle but clear disclaimer is a big red «DISCLAIMER» image with a list of «entities you should NOT blame» if anything you read on his website offends you.

Included in this usually-humorous list of those not to be blamed are his wife, his dog, his employer (mentioned twice, maybe on purpose of impact), Batman, and The Republicans:

He then adds a list of the «undeniably exhaustive record of entities that you SHOULD blame» and it contains just one thing: Him.

This is a playful and funny way to get across exactly what «views expressed» disclaimers are meant to get across.

The Post Growth website has its «Disclaimer» and «Legal Information» all on one page.

This page includes a paragraph that mentions views and opinions expressed and makes it known that they are «those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.»

Examples from podcasts

Even podcasts can have «views expressed» disclaimers.

This is seen below in the disclaimer for The World of Anesthesiology podcast series, where listeners are told that «the views, information, or opinions expressed during series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and its employees.»

Examples from slideshows and presentations

If you’re giving a presentation, you may want to (or even be required to) include a «views expressed» disclaimer.

This type of disclaimer will inform viewers that you created the presentation, not your employer.

In the example below, even though the creator of the slideshow works for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and that bank is also hosting the event where the presentation is given, the presenter still adds a disclaimer stating that the views in his presentation are his own and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve:

Investment Disclaimer

Investment disclaimers explain that while a business may provide financial advice, it is not responsible for the consequences of acting on that advice.

This type of disclaimer is suitable for sites that deal with all types of investments, from mutual funds to real estate.

Citibank’s terms and conditions includes a good example of an effective bank disclaimer:

It clearly states that Citibank will not be responsible for the consequences of using its investment products, such as losses associated with the risks of investing.

An investment disclaimer like this also explains that past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Similar financial disclaimers are found on cryptocurrency websites. CoinDesk’s terms and conditions includes the following investment disclaimer clause:

Although CoinDesk provides information about investing in digital assets, its disclaimer says users should not make investments based on this information. In a turbulent industry such as cryptocurrency, it’s important for a company to fully disclaim all responsibility for decisions its users make.

No matter how professional your services, you should not be responsible for how your users act upon them. Investment disclaimers are just one industry example of how you can protect your specific business interests.

«No responsibility» disclaimer

A «no responsibility» disclaimer is also known as a disclaimer of liability.

The «no responsibility» disclaimer works to keep your business from being held responsible for or held liable for things like damages that arise from using your website or app (for example).

A «no responsibility» disclaimer is not disclaiming any warranties, either implied or specific/required by law.

CNN Money has a disclaimer of liability for LIBOR rates:

Here it is:

Limitation of liability clauses are common in end-user license agreements so that users are aware that they will not be able to hold the company liable for any damages arising out of the use of the application.

«Copyright notice» disclaimer

A «Copyright Notice» is a simple way to let the world know that your website material is yours.

A typical «Copyright Notice» disclaimer includes:

• The copyrighted year,
• The author’s name,
• The copyright symbol, and
• The reservation of rights the author wishes to copyright.

Books include a copyright notice on one of the first few pages. This example shows a different copyright in place for the introduction of the book, as well.

Etsy has a very simple and short copyright notice, but it works just fine. Copyright notices are very common and universally understood, so this basic notice will still suffice:

Warranty Disclaimer

Warranty disclaimers explain that sellers and service providers are not bound by any implied promises about their products in the event of failures or defects.

These statements vary depending on the nature of your business, but typically explain that a product or service is offered “as is” — implying that the customer or user accepts it in its current condition, including any unseen faults.

For websites and apps, warranty disclaimers state that the company makes no promises about the accuracy and reliability of the content it publishes. Here’s an example:

The warranty disclaimer in Termly’s Disclaimer Template

As seen above, this standard disclaimer wording allows you to avoid responsibility for any mistakes, errors, or omissions that occur. This prevents users from taking legal action against your business because of a simple mistake.

Tumblr’s terms of service provide a good example of a warranty disclaimer:

The disclaimer tells users that the service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, and that by using it, visitors accept that it may contain defects or not meet their expectations.

Take, for example, Amazon’s disclaimer of warranties. The world’s largest retailer has a suitably comprehensive statement that applies to both its services and its products:

All sites and apps are subject to unforeseen technical issues, and warranty disclaimers like these two examples limit your liability for problems outside of your control, such as viruses and downtime.

Современные дисклеймеры

На сегодня дисклеймеры используются повсеместно в области веб-проектов и носят гораздо более широкий характер.

Кроме того, на данный момент, дисклеймеры интегрируются в код и логику приложений, веб-сайтов и веб-сервисов; имеют множество особенностей по недопущению пользователя к нарушению дисклеймера.

Как один из наиболее простых примеров можно привести предупреждение на сайте о переходе по внешней ссылке и необходимость дополнительного подтверждения такого перехода.

Дисклеймер в данном случае регулирует часть ответственности за возможный ущерб при посещении внешних ссылок.

Некоторые из направлений современного дисклеймера для веб-сайтов и веб-сервисов:

• контент, создаваемый и загружаемый пользователями в любом виде (здесь существует множество особенностей и подразделов, включая отдельные правила использования материалов сайта);
• программный код сайта, его работоспособность, совместимость и связанные аспекты;
• информационное наполнение сайта его достоверность, точность применимость и т.д.;
• вирусы и атаки на сайт, сохранность данных;
• информация, отображаемая на сайте из третьих источников;
• доступность информации третьим лицам и технологиям;
• рекламные ограничения;
• ограничения специфических сфер законодательства (финансы, медицина, игры);
• защита прав детей в интернете и связанные ограничения;
• возможные ограничения ответственности в политиках конфиденциальности;
• юридические ограничения маркетинговой активности (акции, розыгрыши, конкурсы, викторины);
• ограничения и регулирования почтовых рассылок, SMS-уведомлениям и другим методам прямого и (или массового контакта с пользователями);
• многие другие направления.

Эти и другие направления детализируются дисклаймерах в виде множества положений по части оговорок об ответственности администрации веб-ресурса, а также разных видов ответственности пользователя на сайте.

Примеры текста для дисклеймера

Пример для рекламы

Как правило рекламные системы устанавливают их автоматически. Например если вы будете рекламировать в Яндексе финансовые услуги, то система автоматически допишет дополнительный текст:

Если вы рекламируете продукты для которых нужно предупреждение в рекламных системах, в которых нет автоматических предупреждений, то обязательно создавайте их самостоятельно.

Также размещайте предупреждающие надписи на сайтах.

Примеры для Ютюба

Важно понимать, что применение дисклеймера не является гарантией освобождения от ответственности если вы кого-то оскорбите или нарушите авторские права. Вариант №1

Вариант №1

Мнения озвученные в данном видео являются оценочными суждениями и не направлены на возбуждение ненависти, вражды, какого-либо уничижения достоинства человека, равно как и группы лиц по признакам пола, расы, национальности, языка, происхождения, отношения к религии, недееспособности, а также принадлежности к какой-либо социальной группе.

Мнения озвученные в данном видео также не преследуют целью дискриминировать, оскорбить или запугать кого бы то ни было.

Цитирования видео, аудио и др. материалов, производится в соответствии с пп. 1 п 1 ст 1274 ГК РФ.

Вариант №2

Данное видео носит исключительно развлекательный характер и не имеет цели кого-то оскорбить, все мнения высказанные автором являются оценочными суждениями и не направлены на оскорбление, уничижение достоинства человека.

Просмотр видео рекомендуется лицам не моложе 18 лет.

Вариант № 3

Материалы из данного ролика являются собственностью правообладателя, видео создано исключительно в развлекательных целях и не несёт цели кого-либо оскорбить.

Безответственность в наше время[править]

Дисклеймер предупреждает

Так как ответственность, а равно и освобождение от оной, требует ответственного отношения и не терпит безответственности, выдача индульгенций-дисклеймеров во взята под контроль мафии, бездельничающих ренегатов или, изредка, государства.

Так, в России, Внешней Монголии и на континентальной части Старой Доброй Зеландии производством дисклеймеров занимаются все, кому не лень. Эти трое не знакомы друг с другом, к тому же их держат за яйца Спортлото и антимонопольный комитет, поэтому тут всё чисто.
Совсем не так дела обстоят в Калифорнии (стране, где расположены сервера Абсурдопедии) и . Там (или тут — в зависимости от того, в дурдоме какого государства вас сейчас держат) на выдачу освобождений от ответственности существует монополия.

Все без исключения легитимные дисклеймеры имеют собственноручный отпечаток восьмого (с конца) правого нижнего пальца Чака Норриса, как единственного из ныне живущих, кто может разрешить Богу и присным частично делигировать свои полномочия и гарантировать (под страхом удара ногой с разворота) уважение к дисклеймеру со стороны конечных пользователей продукта или услуги. Региональным калифорнийским представителем Чака Норриса, уполномоченным выдавать интеллектуальные индульгенции, является Губернатор-Чебуратор.

No Guarantee Disclaimer

No guarantee disclaimers state that a business makes no promises regarding the outcome of using its product or service.

One of the best examples online is Wikipedia’s disclaimer:

This disclaimer explains that although Wikipedia has a team of editors, it has no formal peer review, and therefore cannot guarantee the validity of information contained on its site.

It includes a separate clause stating that while it covers various topics, it does not constitute advice in that discipline:

If you post any type of informational content, a standard no guarantee disclaimer clause allows you to be a source of industry knowledge without any obligations to your users.

The US Equal Employment Commission’s disclaimer is similar:

Whatever type of website you operate, it’s valuable to include a no guarantee disclaimer like the one above to stop users taking advantage — for example, suing for errors.

Disclaimer FAQs

If you’re looking for more answers, here are some frequently asked questions about disclaimers:

Do I Need a Disclaimer?

Yes, you need a disclaimer to protect your website against legal liability. Disclaimers inform users that your site will not be held responsible for any damages suffered from using your site.

For example, if you run a legal blog, a legal disclaimer will tell users that your content should not be taken as legal advice, and your site will not be held accountable for any legal actions the reader may take.

Whether you run an ecommerce site, blog, app, or general website, you need a disclaimer (or multiple disclaimers) to be transparent with users and protect yourself against legal claims.

Where Do I Put My Disclaimer?

Put your disclaimer where users can easily find it. You can put your disclaimer or disclaimers on a separate page, then link to that page in your website menu, website footer, or impressum page if you have one.

You should also put your disclaimers on relevant content. For example, if you promote an Amazon product in a blog post through the Amazon Affiliates program, you need to add an Amazon Affiliates disclaimer to that blog post.

What Types of Disclaimers Are There?

There are many types of disclaimers that address liabilities for different industries, activities, and content. The most common types of disclaimers are:

1. Fair Use Disclaimer: A fair use disclaimer discloses that you are using copyrighted materials on your website lawfully and with the appropriate permissions.
2. Warranty Disclaimer: Warranty disclaimers explain that sellers and service providers are not responsible for possible product or service failures.
3. Copyright Disclaimer: A copyright disclaimer lets site visitors know that your site contains copyrighted material.
4. No Responsibility Disclaimer: No responsibility disclaimers inform users that you are not responsible for the actions they take based on content found on your website.
5. Confidentiality Disclaimer: Confidentiality disclaimers assure users that some content, such as contact information, is only intended to be seen by certain parties.
6. Affiliate Disclaimer: Affiliate disclaimers disclose your participation in an affiliate program, such as Amazon Associates.
7. YouTube Disclaimer: YouTube disclaimers are any disclaimer found in the video description of a YouTube video. Commonly, copyright disclaimers and no responsibility disclaimers double as YouTube disclaimers.
8. Views Expressed Disclaimer: Views expressed disclaimers specify that the opinions found on your website are not the views or opinions of your business.
9. Investment Disclaimer: An investment disclaimer informs readers that your investments commentary is information, and should not be taken as official investment advice.
10. No Guarantee Disclaimer: No guarantee disclaimers announce that your website or business makes no promises about the results of a product or service.
11. Use at Your Own Risk Disclaimer: Use at your own risk disclaimers instruct your site’s visitors to act on your content or recommendations at their own risk.
12. Email Disclaimer: An email disclaimer is any disclaimer added to the footer of an email. Most often, confidentiality disclaimers act as email disclaimers.
13. Past Performance Disclaimer: Past performance disclaimers state that previous results do not equal future results.

How Do I Write a Disclaimer?

You can write a disclaimer by modifying a disclaimer template to address any liabilities you have on your site.

Using a disclaimer template will make it easy for you to pick and choose the disclaimers that may apply to your website, and then customize those disclaimers to include any information unique to your site.

«Investment» disclaimer

The «investment» disclaimer informs users that you’re not an investment advisor, broker or dealer and that you don’t have any insider information.

If you have an investment website or app that provides general news, publicly-available information, analyses, or other materials that would help someone while making investment decisions, you’re going to want to have an «investment» disclaimer in place.

The Sequoia disclaimer page has a section at the bottom of its first paragraph where investment advice is mentioned.

Sequoia states:

Here it is:

The Investment Blog includes a paragraph in its disclaimer that addresses investment advice and disclaims it as being based on «personal opinion and experience» and that it «should not be considered professional financial investment advice.»

The author of the Investment Blog goes on to add that «the ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.»

Stockopedia has a very robust «investment» disclaimer section with a lot of sections relating directly to the issue of investment advice:

• First, users are presented with a «Do Your Own Research» section where they’re encouraged to «do their own research.» Users are told that the content on Stockopedia is «intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only» and that they should «take independent financial advice from a professional» and «independently research and verify» information.
• The next section titled «No Investment Advice» lets users know that the website is «a financial data and news portal, discussion forum and content aggregator» as well as an «educational forum for analysing, learning and discussing general and generic information.» It is «not a broker/dealer» nor an investment advisor» and the site-operators or authors have «no access to non-public information about publicly traded companies.»
• Then, users are told that «this is not a place for the giving or receiving of financial advice, advice concerning investment decisions or tax or legal advice.»

Here’s a screenshot of this disclaimer from Stockpedia:

Что такое дисклеймер

Дисклеймер представляет собой письменное уведомление об отказе от ответственности. Данный термин является производным от «disclaimer» и пришел в российское информационное пространство из США. По сути, это небольшой текст, информирующий об отсутствии ответственности данного лица за использование предоставленной информации.

Дисклеймер появился в США после серии громких судов. С его помощью крупные корпорации хотели обезопасить себя от судебных издержек.

Дисклеймер представляет собой короткое сообщение:

• перед началом видеоролика;
• на первой странице книги;
• перед началом кинофильма или сериала;
• в прессе.

Но дисклеймеры используются не только в отношении видео или книги. Например, индустрия развлечений может использовать уведомление об отказе от ответственности в некоторых случаях: в игровых зонах, парках развлечений, аквапарках. Содержание будет сводиться к тому, что администрация не несет ответственности за безопасность посетителей при неисполнении ими требований и возрастных ограничений.

Дисклеймер в России обязательно сопровождает рекламу медицинских препаратов: «Перед употреблением проконсультируйтесь с врачом», «Не является лекарством», «Перед употреблением ознакомьтесь с инструкцией». Дисклеймеры на сигаретах служат подтверждением, что курильщик осознает все последствия пагубной привычки и вреда, которые наносит курение.

Отказ от претензий часто встречается в инструкции к иностранной бытовой технике. Здесь обычно приводится перечень случаев, когда нецелевое использование прибора может нести к существенным негативным последствиям, например, нашумевшее «Не допускается сушка кота в микроволновке».

«Errors and omissions» disclaimer

Another «as-is» type of disclaimer is the «errors and omissions» disclaimer.

The «errors and omissions» disclaimer is commonly found on blogs and websites, and works to let users know that if there are any errors in the material, or omission of information that turns out to be material, the site-owner/author isn’t to be held liable for damages that arise out of them.

At Forensic Accounting, a disclaimer states:

Here it is, highlighted:

PwC includes a paragraph that states:

Here is is, highlighted:

If your website contains information about topics that a user may rely on for practical information, such as legal advice, medical diagnosing, financial subjects and others, consider including an «errors and omissions» disclaimer just in case you accidentally leave something out or get something wrong that may affect your users.

No Responsibility Disclaimer

No responsibility disclaimers explain to users that your business will not be held responsible for any damages they suffer as a result of using your products or services.

Because these agreements limit your liability, they are also often referred to online as “no liability” disclaimers.

No responsibility disclaimers address both tangible and intangible damages — for example, physical harm caused by using a product, loss of profits or loss of data, and defamatory comments.

Twitter’s terms of service includes a particularly detailed limitation of liability disclaimer:

This disclaimer explains that Twitter will not be held responsible for the content its users choose to share, which may be offensive to others.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which enforces global privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the UK, also has a disclaimer on its site:

As the ICO website discusses privacy law compliance, it must inform users that the information it provides is not legal advice, and that the external website links it provides are only for reference.

It’s critical to limit your business’s liability for all aspects of your operations — even for small things like linking to other websites.

«Use at your own risk» disclaimer

A «use at your own risk» disclaimer is handy for websites or app that share things like recipes, instructions, advice, medical information, articles and more.

Whenever you’re sharing information with people that they may actively use or follow, you should include the «use at your own risk» disclaimer so that your business can’t be held liable.

Here’s an example why it’s useful to include this type of disclaimer.

Imagine you write an article telling people about a method you’ve used to successfully treat a skin condition, and someone who reads your article decides to follow your method and has a terrible allergic reaction and ends up in the hospital.

The «use at your own risk» disclaimer will make it so that you cannot be held legally responsible for sharing your method when it doesn’t work for someone.

Otherwise, someone may attempt to sue you and claim that following your advice landed him in the hospital.

Here’s how Miss Mary includes a disclaimer on its website. Readers are informed that «any action you take upon the information on this website is strictly at your own risk…»

Wikipedia has a disclaimer that states:

Here it is, highlighted:

Additionally, Wikipedia users are informed that they should «take all steps necessary to ascertain that information you receive from Wikipedia is correct and has been verified» by doing things like checking references and revision history, double-checking information with independent sources and remembering that «anyone can post» on Wikipedia:

Copyright Disclaimer

A copyright disclaimer protects original content against user theft. It explains that you own your website and everything on it — and that there are legal repercussions for using your work without permission.

Copyright is a form of protection offered by US law for “original works of authorship.” An original work is defined by the US Copyright Office as:

As soon as a work is created and becomes reproducible, copyright protection automatically applies. A detailed copyright disclaimer is therefore not legally required, but acts as a strong deterrent against copyright infringement. It shows that you are aware of the law and will defend your claim.

Your business’s copyright claim can be detailed in your terms and conditions under intellectual property rights:

The intellectual property rights clause from Termly’s Terms and Conditions Template

This example disclaimer clause allows you to lay claim to your site’s creative assets. However, notifying users of your copyright as soon as they access your site is also important.

One effective way to do this is to place a copyright notice in your site’s footer. It should comprise three parts:

• The copyright symbol
• The year of publication
• The name of the copyright owner

Here’s how a copyright notice looks on Instagram’s homepage:

By proving that users were made aware of your copyright as soon as they access your site, you will have a stronger case if a dispute goes to court. Follow Instagram’s example, and put a copyright notice in your site footer.

The NFL’s terms and conditions includes a detailed copyright disclaimer:

It states that the NFL owns all the content provided through its services, and that users have no license to copy, modify, or distribute it.

Use a copyright disclaimer to establish ownership of original content, and prevent users from benefiting commercially from your hard work.